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Prince Albert man bringing laughs to Montreal

Jun 16, 2014 | 11:44 AM

Getting on the bill for three days at the Just For Laughs festival in Montreal is an accomplishment in itself, but Prince Albert’s Kelly Taylor has even higher hopes.

He notes on top of being funny, comedians are looking to sell their persona to agents who could cast them in a movie or television show, or hire them as a writer.

The need to do both means eight minutes of material needs to capture the audience.

“Montreal is more of, I’ll try to find my best eight, which describes what kind of person I am. These guys [agents] want to know who you are, what you are, what they could do with you. If they see something they like they want to know what kind of person you are and how they can put you in a TV show, Taylor said.

He said he imagines the somewhat unique angle of being not only from the prairies, but from Prince Albert will help him stand out.

Taylor’s no stranger to festivals. He performed at Just For Laughs in Montreal almost a decade ago.

 “The first time I did it, it was very overwhelming because it was too new to me. But now when I get there I think I’ll be a little more relaxed,” Taylor said.

“Lewis Black was actually one guy I did have a drink with at the bar, he was right there and turned around and I said ‘hey,’ and we talked and go from there. This time hopefully I’m not as giddy as last time.”

Even though he had trouble settling in, Taylor did quite well. In the only competition Just For Laughs puts on, he placed in the top two and ended up with four extra shows throughout that week.

Getting back has been a challenge, simply because of the possible $3,000 cost of showcasing for a festival that you risk not getting a spot in.

This time around, Taylor found extra incentive in the cost by showcasing for two other events at the same time – Halifax ComedyFest and another tour.

While he got a call back quite quickly from those, Just For Laughs left him hanging. A couple of Taylor’s friends got their go-ahead to perform, his phone was silent.

“I was kind of disappointed thinking, ‘I couldn’t really have had a much better set.’ I was like ah, ‘that kinda sucks,’” he said.

Then on Thursday, he was in the middle of a golf game when he got an e-mail inviting him to perform in Montreal.

As of right now, all he knows is he’s booked for three days somewhere in the July 21 to 27 schedule. 

His optimism is high because at Just For Laughs, “absolutely anything could happen.”

Taylor added any material he has previously performed on television can’t be duplicated in his Just For Laughs sets.

While he would ideally take his best material, now he needs to focus on finding something great that hasn’t already broadcast.

Material can come from the strangest places, he said, pointing to one bit that started off randomly at a performance at JT’s in Prince Albert.

“It was just off the cuff I talked about this fish thing, and a guy came up after and said ‘man I couldn’t stop laughing. My favourite part was that fish joke,’ I said ‘fish joke, I don’t have one. Oh yeah, I kinda did that stupid fish thing,’ ” Taylor said.

That story ended up being a full story and his best joke. Last time he went to Montreal, he ended up with a reputation as the ‘guy with the fish joke.’

With no plans to mess with that success, he’s trying to find another good story to expand on during the festival next month.

– With files from Thia James

claskowski@panow.com

On Twitter: @chelsealaskowsk