A series of hybrid events livestreamed from cities across Canada.
CANCOM Comedy Symposium has many faces working behind the scenes to make things happen.
Meet the team that helped make it happen and continues to work on the Symposium.
As Program Manager, Victoria oversees the curriculum and scheduling of the CANCOM Symposium. She manages the Programming team including Peer Coordinators, Facilitators, and Educators. Victoria also oversees the Marketing Team, collaborating on design, PR, social media and outreach strategies. She works with ACTRA, UPBC and other partner organizations to create an exciting and equitable event.
Victoria is also a comedian, producer, writer, director who hails from Edmonton, but now calls Toronto home. Dedicated to creating new comedic content featuring women for screen and stage, writer/producer of the series “Brennan & Victoria Make Rent” (Fearless Network), and produces comedy shows around Toronto. Victoria also performs stage comedy around North America with her duo "Two Girls One Trench Coat", and teaches Improv workshops with a focus on acting. Additionally she has worked with emerging and established comedians in positions at Bad Dog Theatre and Second City Toronto. Victoria also brings 15 years experience working on large scale in-person events, in addition to organizing and producing virtual film festivals and asset production during the pandemic with organizations such as imagineNATIVE, TIFF, Hot Docs, and Images Festival. Victoria is a board member for Breakthroughs Film Festival, a Film Programmer with the Toronto Youth Shorts Film Festival, and a proud ACTRA and WIFT-Toronto member. As an actor you can see her on Amazon Prime as the lead of the feature “Space and Time”.
As Operations Manager, Jen oversees the coordination of the CANCOM Symposium Production Team including Online/Field Producers, Venue Owners/Managers and Staff, and Video Editors. She is also responsible for managing Website Design, Promotional Partners, Prize Sponsors, Auditor, the overall Symposium budget, and providing input on the curriculum content.
Jen has been a fixture in the Canadian comedy and media industry for over twelve years. Prior to CANCOM, Jen served for ten years as General Manager of Toronto's beloved Comedy Bar and was part of the production team for a number of Canadian Comedy Awards festivals. During this time she also served as a liaison to a number of industry related festivals including Just For Laughs, Toronto International Sketchfest and the Big City Improv Festival.
She also brings extensive experience producing large scale in-person/virtual events and awards programs such as Realscreen Summit, Realscreen Awards, Marketing Evolution Summit and Media Innovation Awards. Previously Jen spent six years as Sr Production and Music License Coordinator for multiple Corus Entertainment brands such as YTV, CMT Canada, OWN Canada and W Network.
Jen is a mother of two neurodivergent children and is a constant champion for accessibility and understanding.In an earlier life Jen was a special education kindergarten teacher in the Ottawa Valley. But that's a story for another day.She is the team captain of the reigning Toronto Comedy Softball League Champions, The Comedy Bar KFC Big Krunchers. “The Perfect Season”™.
Adam co-founded CANCOM, sits on the Board of Directors, and is the Executive Producer of the Symposium. With more than 30 years on-stage, on-air, and on-screen, Adam is an accomplished comedian and most recognized as the Host of “Cash Cab”.
Janelle Niles is a Black - Mi’kmaq woman from Sipekne'katik, Nova Scotia. She launched her comedy career in January 2019 in Ottawa, ON. Exploding in the nation's capital with her indigenous comedy show Got Land? Janelle aims to communicate solidarity through humour and laughter. Her dream is to perform for Just For Laughs in Montreal and one day tour Turtle Island. You can catch her on CBC Gem’s New Wave Of Stand-up Season 2, she has also performed with the Arctic Comedy Festival in Iqaluit, Nunavut alongside her peers. appeared on APTN’s Indigenous Day Live 2022 on Lumi. Janelle’s humour is described as eccentric and captivating. She is the Creator & producer of “Got Land Comedy - Indigenous Comedy Show”.
One of Canada’s rising young comedic talents, Alistair’s blend of clever wit and self-deprecating silliness first brought him to prominence when he won CBC’s Next Up Competition in 2019.Since then, he’s taped a televised set at the Halifax Comedy Festival, appeared at Toronto SketchFest, had his show Comedy Pants featured as part of the Just For Laughs Vancouver festival, and regularly performs at comedy clubs across Canada.When not onstage, Alistair works as a Digital Marketing Coordinator for the likes of Comedy Here Often, Blind Tiger Comedy, and now CANCOM! He's very excited to bring his expertise to the 2022 Comedy Symposium and help connect and grow the Canadian comedy scene.
Nordicity
Christiana is a leading data collection and analysis for the CANCOM Symposium. Nordicity is an international consulting firm providing private and public sector clients with solutions for Economic Analysis, Strategy and Business, and Policy and Regulation across three priority sectors: Arts, Culture & Heritage, Digital and Creative Media, and Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and Innovation. Christiana has a background in the arts and creative industries, with a specific interest in Canada's film and television landscape.
Earnest Creative
Other than branding CANCOM and CANCOM Comedy Symposium, Stand-Up Comedian, Producer, Actor and Designer Mike Payne has toured most of North America and Edinburgh while being a Burger King (National Impossible Whopper Commercial 2021). Mike and has been a guest on Jason Rouse’s Safe Word Podcast. Mike has also appeared in The Brantford Comedy Festival, The Dirty Bird Comedy Festival, The Cottage Country Comedy Festival and was a winner of the 2019 Gemini Comedy Festival. As a designer Mike has worked on projects including CBC’s Hockey Night In Canada, Canada Votes, The NHL Awards to name a few. Mike produces a successful monthly stand-up comedy show, at the world famous Comedy Bar West, called The Stand-Up Show with Mike Payne.
King Events
Courtney is an experienced, hands-on event professional with a customer-service mindset. With a strong technical and project management background, she is equipped to deliver high quality, professional event solutions for live, virtual and hybrid events of all sizes. She is passionate about ensuring that King Events has a positive impact in the community and specifically focuses on causes that celebrate diversity and promote the empowerment of women and girls.
The Mob's Press
Johanne has been a promoter, supporter and advocate for comedy for over a decade, including bilingual digital marketing strategy support for individual artists. She is currently the President of The Mob’s Press, a marketing and promotions company that caters to artists. With her art, comedy, culture and event ticketing platforms, she provides artists the tools they need to maximize online visibility, create new opportunities and expand comedians’ networks.
She is a comedy producer under her Red Fedora Comedy brand, with the goal to put Canadian comedians first.
She is a founding member of The Canadian Association of Stand-up, Sketch and Improv Comedians and continues to volunteer her time to the organization as an Industry Ally. She also sits on the board of CANCOM, bringing her experience in marketing with comedians to the team.
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Sierra Wilson-Furr is an emerging Director, Writer, Actor, Editor, and Comedian living in Vancouver, BC. She plays the “Flawed but Strong Female Lead” in her own life; and is passionate about realizing more empowered, evolving & relatable characters on screen. Sierra's been in-and-out of classes with Blind Tiger and is just starting to step out on her own.
Keep an eye out for her in the Vancouver scene to hear her spill about moving every 2-3 years, being sent to boarding school in Utah, and navigating mental health struggles before it was cool. TV shows she’s obsessed with and strives to join the calibre of include: Fleabag, Atlanta, Girls, Insecure, and The White Lotus. Sierra is currently in prep to direct her second short film with her company Lawless Spinster Productions.
You can watch their first short, Anything Anything, here.
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