Thereโs a widely held view within the stand-up comedy world that it takes 10 years of performing to find your voice.
Without that knowledge it might have otherwise been confusing to hear that Chris Ryan, a Canberra comedian with seven years in the game, has just been awarded the prestigious Best Newcomer Award at this year’s Sydney Comedy Festival for her show Bogus.
โStage time is everything, the more you do it the better you get,โ Ryan told Canberra Daily.
โIt does sound funny to some of my friends that Iโve won a newcomer awardโฆ but thatโs the game. That was my first solo show at the Sydney Comedy Festival.โ
โWinning this award is a big deal within the industry, and feels like validation after seven years of doing comedy.โ
Those seven years, clocking countless hours of stage time, has culminated in Ryan taking her comedy to the next level since pursuing it full time last year.
โWhen you go full time with something that was previously just a passion or a hobby, you tend to put more on the line,โ Ryan said.
โI didnโt want to turn down gigs anymore, I wanted to always say yes to good gigs when I could.
โYou reach an age as well, you reach middle life โฆ it sounds like a Narnia thing or a Tolkien thing, middle life,โ she smiled. โYou start to re-assess and think โIโm not prepared to wait any longerโ, and you have a crack if youโre lucky enough.โ
Ryan said the opportunity to pursue comedy full time wouldnโt have been possible without her very supportive family.
โIt takes a big toll, any artistic career is taxing on a family life, because you have to travel to get work, you canโt keep doing the same material in the same spot.โ
Alongside the recognition she received at the Sydney Comedy Festival, 2019 has seen Ryan take her show to the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, the big dance in Australian stand-up, and launch a new local comedy room, Club Sandwich Comedy at the Tuggeranong Arts Centre.
โThereโs a lot of great comedians here who are under the radar โฆ we have incredible talented comedians in this town,โ she said.
โWe have smart people, with very interesting day jobs who do stand up at night, and that lends itself to some really interesting and intelligent comedy.
โHowever, if they get ambitious and get really good, they look at Sydney and Melbourne and see thereโs a lot more opportunity there.
โAny Canberra comedian who gets some success interstate, it reflects well on our scene and shows outsiders thereโs some depth here.โ
The recent launch of Club Sandwich Comedy now has Ryan running two comedy rooms in Canberra. Her other, Beyond Comedy at Beyond Q Bookshop, will celebrate one year later this month.
โI had no idea it would be this welcomed โฆ the comedians tell me regularly this is their favourite room to perform in,โ Ryan said.
โWhenever I get on stage here I feel welcomed by the audience, they have very kind eyes,โ she said.
โThe room here is divine, getting surrounded by quirky old books you donโt see anywhere else is just interesting. You feel like youโre having an interesting night out.โ
Ryan put the eventโs sustained success down to a number of factors that come together to make Beyond Comedy a truly local event.
โPeople love a neighbourhood event, they donโt always want to drive to Civic or Braddon โฆ doing something in your community locally feels easier and more accessible.โ
Ryan has two regular comedy rooms – Beyond Comedy at Beyond Q Bookshop, Weston Creek and Club Sandwich Comedy at Tuggeranong Arts Centre; see comedyact.com.au or chrisryancomedy.com for more.
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