A Burnaby comic is one of 12 Canadian performers featured in a new original comedy series on CBC Gem.
The New Wave of Standup launched on the free streaming service on Friday, July 17. It’s a 12-part series, with each performer offering up a 10-minute set. The sets were filmed in front of a live audience at JFL NorthWest, Just for Laughs’ Vancouver festival, this past February – before COVID-19 brought live events to a halt.
One of the 12 featured performers is Aaron Read, a Vancouver-based comic who grew up in Burnaby. Read is an award-winning comic, improviser, actor and visual artist whose comedy “fluctuates somewhere between silliness and sad-psychedelia,” as a bio notes.
He’s been previously named JFL NorthWest’s Breakout Artist of the Year and Toughest Act to Follow, and he has been performing solo sketch and standup across Canada for the past 10 years.
The performers featured in the series include Matty Vu, Jacob Samuel and Yumi Nagashima of Vancouver, Calgary’s Brett Forte and Brittany Lyseng, and Toronto performers Cassie Cao, Salma Hindy, Al Val and Kyle Brownrigg. They’re joined by Paul Rabliauskus of the Poplar River First Nation in Manitoba, and Ola Dada, a Nigerian-Canadian raised in Fort McMurray, Alta.
“We’re proud of the diversity and comedic talent we bring to our shows at JFL NorthWest, and it was exciting to record this series live from this year’s festival,” said Heather Wallace, director of JFL NorthWest and executive producer of The New Wave of Standup, in a press release. “We’re certain audiences will be seeing a lot more from these comics in the future.”
You can find out more about the series or watch here.
