New comedy tour takes on tokenism in stand-up, starting in Waterloo

A brand new comedy tour kicks off in Waterloo Sunday night, taking on tokenism in the southern Ontario comedy scene by stacking the lineup with diverse voices.

Town Hall features Gavin Stephens, Erinn White as well as Dave Getachew and promises to take on the political and personal.

"We're trying to do something different and something for a crowd that's maybe a little bit more woke," said White, who is hosting the show. "When we do regular stand-up comedy shows around Ontario, it's not uncommon to be the only woman on the show or the only person of colour on the show."

White, Stephens and Getachew are all friends, and said they wanted to change that pattern and take a show through some of southern Ontario's smaller communities.

"One of the things you butt up against — even though it's typically well-intentioned — is the idea of tokenism. So, you know, 'We do have that one woman who can speak for all women on this particular show,'" said White.

It's not uncommon to be the only woman on the show or the only person of colour on the show.- Comedian Erinn White

"I think we're often called upon to speak for all of the people like us, no matter how diverse or different we might be as a group. Where the kind of norm we think about as a stand-up comedian — a kind of young, straight, white man — they're kind of all presumed to be different."

White runs a queer, feminist comedy night in Waterloo and said there's been a real appetite and interest in the region for shows with diverse lineups.

White said that's part of the reason they chose Waterloo for their first show.

"Our hope is, basically after the launch show, we'll build some interest in some of the other communities we've performed in and take this on a tour of Ontario," she said.

The three comics take the stage Sunday night at the Watchtower at 8 p.m.