St. John's comedian Matt Wright joins 22 Minutes writing team

Another Newfoundlander has joined the popular CBC television program This Hour Has 22 Minutes, the weekly comedy that made Rick Mercer, Mary Walsh, Mark Critch and others household names. 

St. John's comedian Matt Wright will travel to Halifax to start writing for the show full-time in August. 

"I went up there last year for a week. And then I got called back for three weeks. Which got extended to 10," he told CBC's St. John's Morning Show.

"And was lucky enough to get extended for the season next year."

Well-oiled machine 

Wright said he'll be part of a team of seven comedy writers — plus cast-members Cathy Jones, Mark Critch, Shaun Majumder and Susan Kent. There are also writers who contribute material from across the country.

"The show has been on for a couple decades so it's a well-oiled machine and I'm a small spoke in a big wheel," he said. "And everyone is very nice."

Wright's credits include the Montreal Just for Laughs Festival, the Halifax Comedy Festival and appearances on CBC Radio's The Debaters. But this gig is different because he's working with a big team and the landscape is always shifting.  

Exciting, nerve-wracking, embarrassing

"Every week the news changes and you have to stay on top of it. So I don't think there's very much time for quibbling with one another," he said. 

"Very exciting, and very nerve-wracking." is how Wright described the experience of seeing his work appear on the show. "And sometimes it's embarrasing." 

Wright said his first piece, a sketch called Justin Trudeau's Very Diverse Cabinet, called for a baby and a cat. 

"I don't know if that's weird, but it's such an extravagant production of something silly that came out of your head."  

While Wright is aware that writing for 22 Minutes can lead to an on-air role (it worked for Mark Critch) he said he's not thinking that far ahead. 

'My job there is to do what I'm told to do. And what I'm told to do is write," he said. "And that is an amazing job." 

If you want to sample his comedy before he leaves for the mainland Wright is organizing a show at the Yellowbelly Pub in St. John's.

He calls it Matterday Wright Live and he describes it as a blend of music and sketch, stand-up and improv comedy. The shows run Sunday July 10, 17 and 24 starting at 8 p.m.