Eric Andrews had the last laugh as the Toronto comedian beat out 700 competitors to be named SiriusXM's Canada's Next Top Comic at a gala in Toronto on Tuesday night. Andrews takes home a $10,000 cash prize from the third-annual competition.
AJ Messier
Sometimes self-doubt, deprecation and awkwardness pay off. On Tuesday night, it did for Eric Andrews, a 23-year-old Toronto-based comic who walked away with the $10,000 grand prize at SiriusXM Canada’s third annual Canada’s Next Top Comic competition.
Sparring with 10 other contestants at Yuk Yuk’s in Toronto, Andrews’ quips about his stepparents, toast and scary movies put him over the top. SiriusXM Canada went through more than 700 submissions to whittle the competition down to 45 semi-finalists. The final 11 contestants were flown to Toronto to compete at the gala in Toronto.
“I think to be a really good comic, first and foremost, you have to be original and bring something new to the table where maybe it will one day revolutionize comedy,” Andrews said. “I don’t know. I’m not saying I do that, but originality is really important.”
Despite being a relative newcomer to the scene and maintaining a part-time summer job on the side, Andrews’ quick success is an anomaly in the otherwise hard-knock world of comedy. “I think in Canada it can be tough,” said Eddie Della Siepe, a fellow Toronto-based contestant. “You’ve really got to hustle and you’ve got to be constantly in motion, improving yourself and your act and working on other aspects of your career. It’s really hard to be a comedian in Canada. You’ve got to be a Jack of all trades.”
For many comedians trying to make a go at comedy full-time, the going is tough. It can take years to gain recognition in the community, and the rewards are often small. Recently, Dominque Pare, another Toronto finalist, traded in his career in the fibre optic data connectivity space so that he could concentrate on his comedy. “I actually quit a very lucrative technology job to make maybe $20k a year as a comedian,” he said. “So if you ever want to know if I love this, yeah, I really love this because I’m dying right now.”
Making the leap and investing time in comedy comes with its rewards too, however, argued Della Siepe. Since beginning his stand-up career in 2001, the comic has shot his own Comedy Now special, toured across the country and performed at Massey Hall.
“There have been times where you say to yourself, ‘What am I doing?’” the comedian confessed. “If I put this time into a doctorate, I could be a physician of some sort. But I love what I do and those thoughts fleet right away and then I realize that I’m not working a job I don’t like, looking at a guy on television saying, ‘That could have been me.’”
There may be fame, but along with the quick glimpses of glory come tinges of regret too. “Oh, I have tons of regrets,” Pare deadpanned. “You have no idea how many regrets I have, but I also couldn’t continue living my life without knowing I at least tried this with all of my heart and everything I can put behind it.”
Pare is giving himself two years. In the meantime, Andrews is still trying to make sense of his motivations. “I don’t even know. I think about it and I’m like, ‘Why am I going to this bar to perform for three people?’” Andrews said. “And then in the end, it’s like I just want to get this joke better. I want to see if somebody will laugh at this joke that I just thought of. It’s this quest to just build something great, I guess.”
Backstage before the competition, Andrews contemplated what he’d do if he won. “Oh boy, I’ll probably buy everyone a drink. Not everyone, but people I know. And then pay off any debts I have, which I have a lot. And then I’ll just party. You know how it is.” he said. “Dreams could come true. I don’t know. I’m living a fairytale.”
What does Andrews mean by fairytale? “I’m not sure,” he admitted. “Maybe I just said that because everyone else was so harsh. I just look at the positive side of it and look at the things I’ve done so far instead of the things I haven’t.”
Andrews’ game plan proved to be just enough on Tuesday night. “My recipe for success tonight is just a tablespoon of charm and then just be myself and just be as funny as I can be out there and hopefully it works out."