JNT Comedy Tour Comes to Vegreville

JNT Comedy Tour Comes to Vegreville

Rosanne Fortier - News Correspondent

JNT (Jokes ‘n’ Tokes) Comedy Night was a crowd pleasing event with an audience of 100 people in attendance at the Royal Canadian Legion Branch No. 39 Hall on Feb. 12.

Stand-up comedians Andrew Packer, Che Durena, and Jacob Balshin all performed in the show.

Andrew founded the JNT Comedy Tour. He said, “I attribute a lot of credit to my dad for wanting to be a comedian. He has an incredible sense of humour. I have so many memories of my childhood just laughing along with him, we’d watch comedy specials often and it taught me from a young age that being funny is rewarding.

There’s an added catharsis that comes with making humour about tougher subjects. It is maybe considered a defense mechanism, but it is also just a fun way to deal with the inevitable hardships in life.

When I was six years old, I had a severe allergic reaction, my tongue got inflated to the size of a tennis ball and my dad just started cracking jokes the whole way to the hospital. It was hard for me to focus on what was happening because he was joking so much about the situation. I love comedy for that, taking a struggle, and turning it into something that can be enjoyed, and something that doesn’t need to be feared.

L-R: Jacob Balshin, Andrew Parker, Che Durena.

(Rosanne Fortier/Photo)

I love performing comedy because I love going off script, making fun of myself and the audience. Spontaneity comedy, I find, leads to more hilarious and exciting show for everyone. I feel very connected with others through this art form and I love the real time feedback.

My ideas just come to me out of thin air, usually when on a hike at extremely high altitudes where the air is extremely thin. But seriously, the best ideas usually just kind of hit me. As a comedian, I’m always searching for joke ideas but often times when I’m just living life and present, something will strike me as hilarious and then I need to figure out how to structure and relay the idea to an audience. It usually starts out as just a bud of an idea but it’s really through constantly performing in front of audiences that allows me to grow it into a really funny piece.

Family and friends have dinner together.

(Rosanne Fortier/Photo)

Jacob Balshin said he discovered he wanted to be a comedian when he excelled at helping others laugh at school. “Everything I say on stage is an autobiographical as I can be. I aim to share who I am with an audience and tend to only write and talk about my own life and experiences.

My favorite part of performing comedy is connecting with the audience. I love to ask questions and learn about things that peak my interest. My goal each night is to find those. As much as I want to learn about life where you live, I want to leave each city, town, hamlet, and village with a story to tell.

I studied philosophy. It taught me that the experience you have in life leads you to whom you are. And I love my life right now,” Jacob mentioned.