A lot to learn... but she quit her day job

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DiGiovanni says she’s excited about being here for the comedy festival. ( SUPPLIED PHOTO)

Debra DiGiovanni hasn't reached the top of the comedy mountain... yet.

"I kind of feel like I'm at Base Camp No. 2," DiGiovanni said during a telephone interview earlier this week. "I'm not just starting out at the bottom, but there's still a long way to go. I feel confident, I feel comfortable, but I realize that I've got work to do."

The Toronto-based performer -- who kicks off this year's CBC Winnipeg Comedy Festival by hosting this evening's Opening Night Gala at McPhillips Street Station, and then follows up with appearances in two more galas this week -- has been on a steadily upward career trajectory during the last few years, thanks in large part to regular appearances as a judge on MuchMusic's Video On Trial and an impressive Top 10 finish in the fifth season of NBC's standup-showdown reality series, Last Comic Standing.

"The year 2005 was a very good year, a heavy-duty year for me," she explained. "That's when I was able to quit my day job, because Russell Peters took me on tour with him."

After nearly a decade in the standup-comedy game, DiGiovanni trusts her comedic instincts enough to know she can take any stage and wring big laughs out of her audience. It doesn't take much, however, to remind her that there's still lots to learn.

"I am really confident -- after almost 10 years at this, I know that I'm meant to be a comedian and this is what I'm doing, and I'm following my path," she said. "I'm at a different level now -- more people know who I am, and it's easier for me to get places -- but every once in a while, thank goodness, you have one of those humbling moments.

"For instance, Louis CK was just in (Toronto); when I saw him, I went, 'Oh, yeah -- I'm not even close.' Ten years is really just the beginning -- it's when you get to become an overnight sensation in comedy."

To suggest that DiGiovanni's onstage persona is a tightly wound bundle of neuroses would be something of an understatement. In real life, the comedian is relaxed, engaging and at ease in conversation, but there does exist an undertone of self-deprecating uncertainty that reminds one that the person and the performer share the same brain.

"I'm very truthful -- sometimes I'll catch myself onstage and think, 'What are you doing telling them that?' -- but it's me multiplied by, like, 10,000," she said with a laugh. "There's always a kernel of truth in everything I'm talking about, but it's multiplied. In real life, I'm actually quite quiet and shy and a little bit dull; onstage it's that alter-ego that we all have and try to keep inside, except I let it all out."

Her experience on Video On Trial, Last Comic Standing and other on-the-tube vehicles has convinced DiGiovanni that she'd like to work in television, but she's quick to point out that she'll always be a standup comic first.

"Standup is so meaningful to me; I love it so much that I can't ever imagine leaving it behind," she said. "In my fantasy, if I could have Ellen DeGeneres's career, that would be perfect. Standup, standup, standup, and then if I could someday have a talk show, I'd love that. I like things that are live and in the moment."

This week's journey to the wetlands marks DiGiovanni's first trip to the Winnipeg Comedy Festival (she has been to the city before, headlining earlier this year at Rumor's Comedy Club), and she said she's excited about the possibility of spending several leisurely days in the company of the country's best comics.

"From a comedian's perspective, festivals are just lovely," she said. "It's like summer camp for comedians... you have a weekend of fun, you don't sleep, you eat too much, you drink too much, and you hang out with people you don't usually get to see that often. All comedians want to be part of festivals, because they're always such a good time.

"It's like a vacation -- a really great working vacation."

* * *

No KID-ing: The comedy-fest hall is down one Kid, thanks to a last-minute cancellation by Scott Thompson. The ever-flamboyant Kids in the Hall and Larry Sanders Show cast member "has fallen ill, and will not be able to attend this year's event," according to a release from fest organizers.

Thompson's spot as host of Friday night's Queer As Jokes -- second half of the double-header Friday Night Super Gala at the Pantages Playhouse -- will be filled by Elvira Kurt, one of the scheduled performers in the show. Kurt will also replace Thompson on Saturday afternoon's Gender Panel (4 p.m., Park Theatre), hosted by Meryn Cadell.

Another lineup change: The second of the fest's scheduled book readings, featuring comic authors John Wing, Bob Smith and Sean Cullen -- originally scheduled for 4 p.m. Sunday at Aqua Books -- will now take place Sunday at 4 p.m. at the Gas Station Theatre. Admission to the event is still free.

brad.oswald@freepress.mb.ca

On your mark... get set... GIGGLE!

The 8th Annual CBC Winnipeg Comedy Festival is off and joking, and the Free Press will be there to cover every wisecrack, pun, witticism and punchline along the way. Read about the comedy fest daily in our entertainment pages, and follow the funny stuff even further in Brad Oswald's Comedy Festering blog at www.winnipegfreepress.com

A few dates with DiGiovanni 

Opening Night Gala (tonight at 8 p.m., McPhillips Street Station, tickets $21.95 at Ticketmaster), with performers Ron Sparks, Elvira Kurt and Glen Foster.

Saturday Night Evening Gala: The Seven Deadly Sins (Saturday at 6:45 p.m., Pantages Playhouse Theatre, tickets $39.95 at Ticketmaster), with host Andy Jones and performers Jeff McEnery, Marc Maron, Ron Sparks, Tim Nutt and Brad Muise.

Best of the Fest (Sunday at 7 p.m., Pantages Playhouse theatre, tickets $39.95 at Ticketmaster), with host Big Daddy Tazz and performers John Wing, Marc Maron, Bob Smith, Tim Nutt, Jonny Harris, Steve Patterson and Rob Pue.

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition April 15, 2009 d3