Second City’s Next Comedy Legend comes home

BY MEGAN VENNER

It will be the first time Megan McDowell has performed in the Annapolis Valley since her theatre days at Acadia University. The newcomer to the comedy scene is fresh off her win on the reality TV show Second City’s Next Comedy Legend and hoping to hone her skills back home Oct. 13 in front of a friendly audience.

“What I’ll be doing is more of a stand-up type gig. I really don’t have much experience with that. I had only tried stand-up comedy once before auditioning for the show. So I’m more nervous about that, doing something I’m not altogether comfortable with.”

Twenty-seven-year-old Megan McDowell has been living in Toronto for two years with dreams of pursuing a performance career. She admits to getting lazy and comfortable with temporary office jobs and didn’t pursue the dream of comedy until auditions for the Second City show were advertised.

What she calls a ‘quarter-life crisis’ prompted her to hit the stage again, and she realized her comedy dreams would never come true if she didn’t make them happen. Winning the Second City competition was the start of what she hopes will be a new life onstage.

“It has been really hard for me to go back to the office work,” she said. “I’m hoping I can keep it going and get to a point where comedy is my career.”

Earning a salary as a comic for the first time, McDowell says she still has a lot to learn. Second City has launched the careers of comedy greats like Eugene Levy and John Candy, but she says there’s still a lot of work ahead.

While she’s getting a regular comedy gig and starting a cross-Canada tour, McDowell says her phone isn’t ringing off the hook. She says she hopes performing here in the Valley will help her hone her skills and give her the confidence she needs to pursue more stand-up comedy.



Not as easy at it looks

“It’s definitely not as easy as it looks,” McDowell said. “I don’t think I’ve quite honed that confidence you need to have on stage when you’re doing stand-up so I’m looking at this as a good opportunity to help me develop that skill further in front of a hopefully friendly audience.”

McDowell will take the stage at the Gaspereau Winery this weekend at a fundraising event for the Valley Women’s Business Network. The group’s Shannon Read says, when they started looking for a performer, they knew they wanted someone to keep things light.

“We wanted to have a fun event; we wanted to have some laughs.”

Read says McDowell was a great fit, asking her to come even before the young comic had won the Second City competition.

“People really want to see people they know and love and who are from the community do well and achieve their dream, to celebrate that and be a part of it,” Read said. “This gives us an opportunity to see her at the beginning of her career.”

McDowell says she’s excited about the opportunity to come home. She says having her father and all of her friends in the audience will be a great way for her to kick off her cross-Canada tour later this month.

“The whole process of the (TV) show was terrifying for me. I was stressed out all the time.

“I haven’t got that feeling of fear or apprehension yet about the Valley event. I’m actually quite looking forward to it. In my head I see it as being very laid back and hopefully a good vibe and a lot of fun.”

Funds raised from the performance will go toward bursaries awarded to Nova Scotia Community College-Kingstec women business students, programs and education for business women in the Annapolis Valley. Tickets are $10.

The Oct. 13 event at the Gaspereau Winery Barn starts at 6:30 p.m. and will include wine- and food-tasting and a silent auction.