The standup comedy apprenticeship of Rick Mercer

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This article was published 23/04/2022 (1582 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A guy walks into bar with a standup comedy stage and asks, “OK if I do a short set?” The show’s producer agrees, but wonders just how “short” it will be.

The comic slays his audience with carefully crafted material, then walks off to cheers — having vigilantly respected his allotted time.

OK, so this traditional joke setup has no jaw-dropping punchline. But to the producer, what was jaw-dropping was witnessing an uber entertainer of tremendous pedigree and stature strictly adhering to the rules of a charmingly intimate comedy one-nighter on the Danforth.

“I honestly thought there’s a good chance he’s going to go over his time,” recalled Carolyn Bennett, a comedian and occasional contributor to the Star, who co-runs Hiroot Hoot at the Hirut Café. “The ego usually gets in the way and they just want to keep going.”

But Rick Mercer, she quickly realized, was different than so many other A-listers who storm into these kinds of small shows, cavalierly shrug off any understood protocols and do as they please.

“Rick was incredibly conscious of the time and of the other comics,” she said. That he also stayed to watch the other acts, she adds, “was amazing.”

It’s also consistent with the deference displayed by Mercer during his immersion in an art form he freely admits he “came to late in life. If it’s 11 minutes or five or 13, it’s important to stick to that (allotted time). Because every minute you go over, you’re robbing from someone else,” said Mercer, on the phone from Moncton, the first city on a Just for Laughs (JFL) Comedy Night in Canada tour, which he’s hosting. “I just wouldn’t do that. I know it’s also disrespectful to blow in and out. You can’t do that to people.

“And I love standup!” he added, his voice rising. “I’ve always been in awe of standups. I’ve never watched one and not learned something. So (staying to watch the other acts) is a win-win.”

The man who long ago carved out a place on the country’s entertainment mantel as one of its most revered comedians (his “Rick Mercer Report” regularly garnered north of a million viewers) may be relatively new to standup. “Unlike anything I’ve ever done,” he conceded, comparing it to recorded TV “where nine times out of 10, if you absolutely need to, you can do a take two.”

But the quick ascent, and how he’s been embraced by these new peers, can be attributed to the company he kept — and hired. During its 15-year run, the “Mercer Report’s” writers were almost always exclusively seasoned standups, two of whom are now his writing partners.

In his standup apprenticeship, Mercer adhered to another rule: “Shut up and listen to the people who’ve done it. I’m the student, they’re the teachers. The ones with 25 years of playing clubs, touring the country … If you go in with ego, but without having put in the work (finding a stage to hone material), it’s just not going to work.”

That’s a refreshing contrast for anyone who’s witnessed a sitcom actor flounder as host of a JFL TV gala — where you can almost hear the voice in their head screaming, “Oh, no! This is wayyy harder than I thought.”

Still, it’s not like Mercer was completely beholden to others when it came to charting his path to bona fide standup — and, especially, finding that all-important comic voice.

He had to, for instance, steer his writers away from the customary standup route fuelled with cynicism and scorn. “I’m a glass half-full guy. I’m looking for the positivity, the celebration,” said Mercer, author of four bestselling books, including a recent memoir, which he said served to shape material that’s more personal than anything he’s ever done. It’s a novel, non-negative approach, he said, which other standups reacted to by saying, “No one ever told us that was even an option. We only tear down!’”

He also wielded creative control when the JFL brass came calling several years ago with the offer to host these tours; the recipient of a truck load of Gemini Awards insisted on only acts from this country.

“Because I reached a point in my life where I’m not going out on the road with my name above the title … and not have an all Canadian cast,” said Mercer, 52. “Just for Laughs had never done that. But they agreed.”

Keenly aware of the expectations that come with his name, Mercer believed this tour had to be “a clean show. And most standup shows aren’t. (A blue show) can be a lot of fun, I know my fan base (is) the people who watched my TV show. A lot of families.”

Still, Mercer, who splits his time between Toronto and his hometown of St. John’s, N.L., was standup savvy enough to recognize and recruit very good acts, regardless of how they’re more accustomed to performing.

If there’s such a thing as a standup knowing how to properly swear onstage, Dave Merheje, one of the acts on this tour, does it with aplomb. He might drop a dozen F-bombs in the first 10 minutes of his regular routine, but it always comes from an honest place and genuine voice. But he’s also learned to deftly censor himself when necessary, drawing on smart material inspired by his Lebanese upbringing in Windsor.

“You gotta respect the show you’re on,” said Merheje, 41, who now lives in California and stars in the Hulu/Crave TV show “Ramy.” “Over the years, I’ve taken that more into account.” Also, his young nieces follow him on Instagram, he added with a laugh.

For Mercer, this new chapter has been rejuvenating, if a bit nerve-wracking — which is fine by him. “Everyone I know who is any good, musician, comedian or actor, if they don’t have nerves before they go onstage, well, they’re dead inside.

“And it’s our job to make (the audience) walk out of that room 90 minutes later with a spring in their step.”

Spoken like a true standup.

Correction — April 24, 2022: This article was edited to correct that Rick Mercer is from St. John’s, N.L., not Saint John, N.B. as misstated in a previous version.

JFL’s Comedy Night in Canada comes to First Ontario Centre in Hamilton April 28 and Meridian Hall in Toronto April 29. See hahaha.com for full tour schedule and ticket info.Denis Grignon is a standup comedian and journalist — who always sticks to his allotted time.