Vancouver comedian hopes the laughs bounce back in an industry hard hit by pandemic losses

The COVID-19 pandemic depressed a lot ofindustriesand Vancouver's live-comedy scene is no different.

Once a thriving place for budding comedians to start out and work on their ideas and performance, the city's stand-up scene has been "decimated" by the pandemic, according to comedian Sam Tonning.

"We're at the point now where you can't get on stage. That stunts development quite a bit," said Tonning.

Even though COVID-19 has taken a huge toll on the industry, with places like the Kino Cafeand Yuk Yuk's Vancouver shuttering this spring, comedians like Tonning are hopeful the comedy scene will bounce back post-pandemic because people are craving live entertainment.

"Stand-up comedy, specifically, is so much about that interaction between the performer and the audience and I think people are going to be starved to have that interpersonal connection with a stranger again," he said.

Vancouver has a history of producing great acts:Ivan Decker, Sophie Buddle and Jacob Samuelwon Juno Awards for comedy album of the year in 2018, 2019 and 2021, respectively.

Tonning said Vancouver's scene is worth paying attention to.

"It's a tough place to do comedy but if you do it well and you get appreciation here, you're going to succeed anywhere."

'On and off'shows not helping

Suzy Rawsome, a comedy producer in Vancouver, said it's been tough for the industry to adapt to the changing public health orders which allowed for live shows last summer, but stopped again in the fall due to rising COVID-19 cases.

"The off and on definitely made it hard to fully adapt to online," said Rawsome.

She said normally comedy clubscharge around $12 to $20 per person for a live show. But with the switch to online viewing, she said entire households are tuning in and people aren't willing to pay more than $10 to watch a show.

Similar toTonning, she is hopeful the industry will make a comeback.

"People are so hungry for comedy and they're so hungry for entertainment. They want to get out of the house, and they want to get back to normal life," said Rawsome.

The way forward now, Rawsome said, is for comediansto do independent shows until someone steps up and invests in a comedy club.

The jump from online to in-person performing is something Tonning is looking forward to as well.

"This is a city for comedy and we can't let that go."