Prince George’s “domesticated Hillbilly” is inviting 100 Mile House to come laugh with him later this month.
Comedian Alex Mackenzie is hosting a one-night comedy show at Martin Exeter Hall on Saturday, May 27. Mackenzie says tickets for his second show in 100 Mile House are already half sold out, which fills him with excitement.
“I’m so happy with it. I really think my comedy connects with people, especially from the north and smaller communities,” Mackenzie says. “To have people come out and support this means the world to me.”
Growing up in Prince George, Mackenzie says he always loved comedy and used to watch Just for Laughs on Comedy Central after school every day. He used some of the stand-up jokes with his friends, but never thought he’d make a career of it. After graduating he started working at a pulp and paper mill and eventually worked his way up to owning his own home and making six figures a year.
Despite his success, he says he was unhappy with his life, and turned to doing stand-up comedy part-time eight years ago. Four years later Mackenzie decided to take a leap of faith: he quit his job, sold his home and then bought an RV in order to pursue comedy full-time.
“I never thought I’d be able to do it, but I just loved how it was able to change the perspective on so many different things in life through a comedic lens,” Mackenzie explains. “I do a big piece on being a ‘domesticated Hillbilly.’ I grew up in the northern region and now I live in the big city, so I talk about the dichotomy of that. That’s my demographic, people from a small town. Those are my people.”
While the COVID-19 pandemic did shut down his touring for a time, Mackenzie says he used the break to improve his joke structure and writing. His humour tends to focus on finding the funny side of his own life, relationships and family.
The last time Mackenzie was in 100 Mile House was in 2021 when he did a show at Jackson’s Social Club and Brewhouse, now the Cask and Cleaver. Based on the success of that night, he says he was eager to return to the South Cariboo.
“We had a good turnout and it made me want to come back and do it again. This time I thought ‘Let’s try to get a bigger venue and have more people out and have a big old fun time.’”
With a larger venue this time around, Mackenzie is hopeful the community will come out in force. Tickets are on sale online at alextellsjokes.com for $30 each. Assuming they don’t sell out, tickets will also be sold at the door.
The doors open at 6:30 p.m. with the show itself set for 7:30 p.m. Mackenzie says there will be a 20-minute opening act by Toronto’s Aaron Raya to warm the crowd up. Raya comes from an East Indian background and has a routine about growing up in Canada and being mistaken for Russell Peters. Afterwards, Mackenzie will do a full hour of comedy.
“One thing I tell people is that I guarantee they’ll leave my show feeling better than when they got there. It’s going to be a good time, a ton of fun and a ton of laughs,” Mackenzie says.
“You’ll create a memory with the people you love. My favourite part about comedy shows is meeting people and building a sense of community through laughter.”
patrick.davies@100milefreepress.net
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