Comedy tour bringing the laughs to Opera House

Just chatting with Erica Sigurdson about the upcoming evening at the Gravenhurst Opera House and it’s clear that the Snowed In Comedy Tour will bring the funny.

The intelligent and affable comic took some time out from a busy tour schedule to give some substance to the standard promo info that gets distributed to media types.

She’ll be visiting Muskoka on March 20 as the tour continues it’s 70 city, coast-to-coast adventure.

Sigurdson is coming with her friends of 20 years (and counting) Dan Quinn, who founded the tour, Paul Myrehaug and Pete Zedlacher.  Each bring their own brand of humour and are accomplished entertainers.

“It’s such a gift to be able to do what you’ve always dreamed of doing with really great friends and see the country,” says Sigurdson, who herself is known for her 70-plus appearances on the Debaters. “Who could argue with that being the best possible situation.”

The Snowed In Comedy Tour has come a long way from the humble beginnings where Quinn and a few comic friends came up with the idea to snowboard for free by doing some shows in British Columbia in bars and small venues.

That was back in 2009. They did a small, six date tour and a couple of weeks of snowboarding were covered. It went so well, they decided to do it again. Then, it started to get popular and in year three, the tour moved to bigger venues and theatres.

The tour started from a few friends wanting to do things together and has organically grown (with some help from the comics) to a must-see event nationally. They have even taken the tour overseas to rave reviews.

“Dan has a brilliant mind on how to put together a tour,” says Sigurdson. “What he has accomplished is absolutely amazing.”

Although, it’s fair to say this winter has seen much less snow fall than usual throughout most of the country, including B.C., so as Sigurdson notes, “we were not Snowed In anywhere, it was sunshine and great roads.”

I asked Sigurdson about how she prepares and keeps things fresh year after year. She explains that it takes time and effort: she reads lots, writes lots, and gets together with friends to challenge each other to create. It means what an audience member may have previously seen, digitally or in person, won’t be the same as they’re getting this time.

“You just have to be cognizant of it, and keep writing, and building new material,” she says. “It’s like a wardrobe, you’re constantly updating and changing . . . on this tour we’re only wearing our newest, fanciest jokes.”

Sigurdson recommends that anyone interested should check out previous tours online – they record shows each year – to get a feel for what’s coming on the Snowed In Comedy Tour.

“We each do 25 minutes of new material every year, so we’re not bringing the same material,” she says. “The great thing is you can look at things online, come to show, and see a brand-new set.”

To learn more and get tickets vist: https://tickets.gravenhurst.ca/TheatreManager/1/online?performance=1253

If you miss the Gravenhurst show, but still want to catch them live, the show is on stage in North Bay on March 21, Barrie on March 22, plus a few more upcoming Ontario and out of province dates that you can find at Snowed In Comedy Tour.

“Come on out. We need laughter right now,” says Erica, and she means it.

Especially with the world in chaos, and as Sigurdson notes, “Kate Middleton is missing, for the love of … I haven’t got anything done this week, I’ve just been a private investigator finding out what happened to Kate Middleton.”