Comedian Adam Schwartz offers “Seasonal Affective Hilarity”

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This article was published 21/01/2021 (2066 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

During these dark times, Adam Schwartz is making good use of whatever light he can find.

Schwartz, a talented comedian who’s been honing his craft for nearly a decade in Winnipeg and across Canada, sits at his kitchen table each morning, with the newspaper flipped open, his breakfast in front of him, and the bright glare of his Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) lamp blasting down on him.

“It’s supposed to simulate the sun,” he says. It’s supposed to brighten his day, and his mood, make him feel a little less alone.

That’s what comedy does for Schwartz, who has autism and found a community in the Winnipeg scene, going to shows three or four nights a week, pre-pandemic. And that’s exactly what he hopes “Seasonal Affective Hilarity” a Jan. 22 showcase of local comics celebrating mental health awareness, will do for his fellow jokers and the audience watching at home.

Tickets sell for $10 at brownpapertickets.com, with 50 per cent of the proceeds going to Inspire Community Outreach, with live performances by Schwartz, Tim Gray, Sarah London, Julian Rowan, Chad Anderson, and Kristen Einarson. The show starts at 7:30 p.m.

“All comedians have their own struggles, with mental health or with life, and we turn our pain into comedy,” says Schwartz, who’s producing the show through his company, Autistic Productions. On stage, “you’re telling your truth disguised as a joke.”

Schwartz’s truth? Life can be tough when you feel different. Things don’t go smoothly, and hardly ever according to plan, and it can lead to frustration, confusion and self-doubt. For Schwartz, those feelings fuel his comedy, and the beauty of speaking out about his own mental health struggles is it empowers others to do the same.

(An example of Schwartz’s humour: “COVID is sort of good for people with autism like me … I’m not going on any dates, but neither is anyone else.”)

The other comedians on the bill for “Seasonal Affective Hilarity” have their own foibles, identities, and stories, and Schwartz says he expects the show to highlight how comedy can be a strong outlet for expressing how you feel.

Personally, stand-up Kristen Einarson feels like she probably shouldn’t be eating peanut butter right out of the jar at this point in her life, but during a pandemic, it is what it is.

Einarson says COVID-19 has added anxiety and stress to her life, like everyone else, and to be free to reflect on those feelings through comedy is something she’s looking forward to, in addition to her usual schtick.

“Is it necessarily the healthiest coping mechanism to laugh at your own pain?” she wonders. “I’m not sure, but it is effective.”

That’s what Schwartz has found, in both his solo work, his published children’s books, and as a member of “Not Otherwise Specified: The World’s Most Awkward Boy Band,” a trio formed with other comedians with autism across Canada.

Schwartz hopes the show will be “a moment of sunlight, or a beam of refreshing humour to make people feel good and normal, and to be able to enjoy themselves for a brief hour during all this craziness.”

A SAD lamp. But funnier.

ben.waldman@freepress.mb.ca