Starting from scratch, and she’s stoked

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This article was published 01/04/2010 (5991 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

They say you can’t go home again.

Chantel Marostica had to.

Early in this new millennium, the Winnipeg-born performer had followed her comedy-career dreams east to this country’s funny-biz epicentre, Montreal, and had quickly risen to the level that landed her a spot in the 2006 edition of Canada’s biggest comedy festival.

And then…

"I was doing really great for myself — I did Just For Laughs, and was basically at the level where I am right now — and then I got myself into trouble, with drugs and stuff," she explained. "So I took a hiatus from comedy; I just wasn’t feeling it. I wasn’t there as a person.

"I was very numb; I was just going up there and doing it, but I didn’t really know what I was doing. But now I have a greater understanding of what it takes to make people laugh… I’ve learned so much about myself, and now I’m able to put everything I’ve got into it. And now I think I’m starting to get out of it what I’m putting in."

It took a while to regain her footing, but once she re-established her local roots, Marostica was able to approach her craft with a renewed energy and a sharpened sense of focus that made her a standout on Winnipeg’s burgeoning indie-comedy circuit.

"I’ve learned that you have to know how to promote yourself, and that you have to approach every show like it’s the last one you’ll ever do," she said. "And then one person might see that show, and then that leads to another show, and so on. So I’ve just been trying to really bring it, every time I go onstage."

Marostica’s act caught the eye of festival artistic director Al Rae; in 2008, she was invited to take part in the Big Daddy Tazz & Friends show, a rather modest showcase for new local talent within the larger festival lineup studded with important stars.

Two years and hundreds of show-honing performances later, Rae has decided Marostica is ready to play the big rooms.

The 26-year-old comedienne is in the lineup for Tuesday night’s Trevor Boris Homecoming Show and DVD-Release Party (9 p.m., Gas Station Theatre), and will also appear in The Winnipeg Show (Wednesday at 10:30 p.m., Gas Station Theatre), Friday, April 9’s late-night The Shock of the New (10:30 p.m., Gas Station Theatre), Saturday, April 10’s sure-to-be-sold-out The Dark and Stormy Show (10:30 p.m. Garrick Theatre) and Sunday, April 11’s fest-closing Going Too Far comedy panel (7:30 p.m., Gas Station Theatre).

"I didn’t actually realize that that was the case," she explained. "I thought I had The Winnipeg Show, and that was it. I got a bunch of congratulations from friends, and then I went online and realized I’m in five different shows.

"I’m really stoked, and really honoured."

Marostica, who maintains a day job as a server at a local steakhouse while seeking out as many standup and improv gigs as possible, said she has been greatly encouraged by the faith Rae has shown in her writing and performing abilities.

"Al has always led me to believe that he has full confidence in me," she said. "He has this belief in me that I don’t even understand. When we talk, we seem to talk about everything else except comedy, and then that comes up at the end of the conversation. I think he’s putting a lot of trust in me, and believes that I’m going to shine at the comedy festival."