A while back, New Wave of Standup showcased on TV’s with the CBC network and CBC Gem, while I was bogged down with interviews, announcements, and a seasonal job I’d rather not do again. So I kind of missed the opportunity to talk about this in particular because it happened during this year’s JFL, an event we rarely cover due to lack of films and screeners lately, but since the show was being recorded in Vancouver, I got a rare opportunity to attend and even watch in person. It was a good hectic crowd being made on the same street as another film shoot, then Ivan Decker started it off by doing some routines talked abut fast food, cereal, and taking an outing in the dark. Somehow I got instantly hungry. If you’ve seen this season, I don’t have to into detail or even simplicity about what each of these comedians talked about. But I can go into detail on my interview with three of them and what the experience was like at the time. They seemed to be enjoying themselves in Vancouver when I spoke, so I unearthed the long lost interviews and got them transcribed. A little blast from the past if you will as this year wraps up. Enjoy.
HNMAG: So you got selected for this year. How does it feel?
Faris Hytiaa: Feels great. It’s an honour, and I’ve been working for a while and it feels good to be noticed. As a fan of the show myself, it’s cool to be able to say I’ll be on it.
Eva Alexo: It feels amazing, it feels definitely like a breakthrough for my career, that’s for sure. It’s a really great honour to be here in Vancouver and part of something like this, especially as the only Montrealer in the lineup this year.
Moe Ismail: It’s pretty good, it’s awesome! Feels really awesome that it’s the third city I’m doing JFL in, so in Toronto, and I was doing New Faces in Montreal and then Vancouver. That’s a nice fine Canadian stop so it feels to check them all off.
HNMAG: What do you do to keep your material fresh and relevant?
Faris Hytiaa: I stay writing. Just write, write, and write. Make sure I’m never afraid to bomb, always work on new stuff and try to make sure I’m applying my own life, own lens to things.
Eva Alexo: I just try to have as many life experiences as I can, I spend a lot of time trying new things and having a lot of conversations with people. I try to understand them as best as I can, and I like to implement my stories with them and communicate the best I can.
Moe Ismail: I try to tell my material in a way where I kind of have to be involved in it or in a way that’s livid. I kind of try to tell it in a way where it feels like I’m telling it to a friend for the first time. I’m not necessarily reciting jokes, I’m just telling it very conversationally and try to limit saying it in a memorized way.
HNMAG: What inspired you to take this opportunity?
Faris Hytiaa: I guess the fact that it was offered (laughs)
Eva Alexo: I believe that you need to take every good opportunity that comes your way in order to grow. New Wave is a really big accomplishment for comics and Canadian comedy, so I don’t think there was ever a situation where I would’ve said no.
Moe Ismail: I’ve heard of JFL from CBC, and CBC has been doing an amazing job covering my career thus far in the last few years. It’s just more of an honour than anything else.
HNMAG: Who is one of your favourite comedians?
Faris Hytiaa: Right now, I’d say Michael Che. Love his work on SNL, both his standup specials, yeah. He’s one of the best working right now.
Eva Alexo: Ooh. That’s a big question… Steve Martin is my biggest comedy inspiration.
Moe Ismail: There’s a lot, but I like the classics. There’s Patrice O’Neal, Phil Burr, Dave Chapelle, and Chris Rock.
HNMAG: And do you hope to make it big no matter what the outcome?
Faris Hytiaa: I hope I can be comfortable. Like I’ve never been huge on the fame thing, but I’d like to enjoy it in the least. Pay my bills and not worry.
Eva Alexo: I think that whatever is meant to happen for me is going to happen. That’s going to be very dependent on what I do with my career afterward, it’s about riding the wave from here and putting yourself out there. I believe if it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be. But it’s definitely something to take into your own hands when you get opportunities.
Moe Ismail: I mean it’s subjective, I think I just kind of want to be in a place where I’m happy with my career. I want it to be sustainable, I think making it big means different things to different people but I think I want to be able to live a comfortable happy life.
HNMAG: How does it feel knowing this is part of JFL?
Faris Hytiaa: It’s awesome. I’ve been working with JFL for the better part of the year on different festivals, different shows, different productions. It adds a degree of comfort if anything, there’s people from production stuff that I’ve already worked with and people behind the scenes so I think it’s been a great relationship this far and I’m excited.
Eva Alexo: It feels really cool, it feels like a milestone. Then when you start comedy, it’s a dream to do a taping, to get on the festival. I’ve been really blessed to get on the festival for a couple years but this is my first taping with the festival and it’s just very personal to me. It means a lot as a personal accomplishment as I got here.
Moe Ismail: Honestly, it’s an honour. It’s a true honour, it’s not my first JFL, but anytime I get to be in the festival or associated with that festival it’s a really really big honour. I remember watching a lot of JFL on TV growing up and that was before I considered standup as a possible career.
HNMAG: Will you be doing anything else at JFL this year, like attending some of the comedy acts?
Faris Hytiaa: Yeah, I’ve been hopping on some other shows. I was opening for Christina P last week at the Vogue. I’m also at the Biltmore Cabaret with Camille Joaquin and Steff Totlef. Busy, busy.
Eva Alexo: I’m definitely going to be checking out a couple of the shows. I did Big Dog Energy, which was at an awesome venue, and I’m planning to see a couple more acts.
Moe Ismail: I actually just got to Vancouver yesterday, I was on Vancouver Island with some really amazing guys putting on a show. In terms of events and that, I’m just kind of really getting my ducks in a row. Then we have our first warmup show tonight and then the taping is tomorrow. I think just trying to keep my mind sharp and ready for that, and if anything along the way comes up then absolutely.
HNMAG: Besides comedy, what else do you see yourself doing in the future?
Faris Hytiaa: Well, I would love to do more acting. I enjoy messing around in film and tv, and I’m writing a couple of my own projects as well.
Eva Alexo: I don’t know if I see myself doing anything other than comedy in the future. (laughs) My whole life is comedy, man. I hope I don’t do anything else with my life but comedy.
Moe Ismail: I might actually be writing on a TV show or a little bit of acting work. I got something down the pipelines for that, so not able to discuss in great detail what it is, but some cool stuff coming down in terms of acting and outside of standup, but during the day I’m an elementary school substitute teacher. Whenever I’m back in Toronto, I work at the school that I went to as a child, so that’s kind of cool just to go back and help other kids that are kind of like me and otherwise be able to connect with them on that level.
HNMAG: Are you looking into becoming an actor to branch out?
Faris Hytiaa: More as a fun thing, I think standup is always going to be my one true love but it’s always fun to diversify.
Eva Alexo: Honestly, dude, I am the kind of person who will try just about anything. If I think that an acting opportunity came my way, I would absolutely try and jump onto it. But my other love is producing and I produce a show called The Kickback. It’s Canada’s largest comedy party, so with my crew I just hope to bring together comedians.
Moe Ismail: I think it’s more so just keeping something creative going on in my life. Standup is everything, but acting is kind of like just another creative outlet and if I’m doing more comedic acting and things like that it’s just something that’s satisfying I need to keep busy and keep creating funny stuff and just really enjoying the ride.
HNMAG: What are you looking forward to most at this year’s NWOS?
Faris Hytiaa: I think people seeing another side of me, I’ve been working on this set for a while now and just bringing something different. I think it’ll be a product that really hasn’t been on there before.
Eva Alexo: Honestly, my friends. I have a lot of friends who are also sharing this moment and this opportunity with me. Moe, Faris, Mara, and many others. It feels really cool to be experiencing this with many other people that I’ve met up with in the comedy scene and we’re all in different cities but we’re all friends and this is really what means the most to me. The fact that I get to share this with my other comic peers and it’s a very special moment for us. We all work hard in Canadian comedy, it’s not easy to make it as a comic, let alone a Canadian comic in the larger North American scene.
Moe Ismail: I’m really just looking to take in that experience of a live taping for a festival, and I’ve done audio recordings for SiriusXM and things like that in the past as part of the festival. But I think that just the part of having an actual video and a taping is just what I’m looking forward to. I look forward to seeing the other acts from the other comedians.
Well, JFL 2024 was the best, and I have a feeling next year’s is going to be amazing too. Maybe someone else on here will be making an announcement regarding it’s forthcoming in a month or two. Either way, it feels good to finally get this out of the way, and I can’t wait for JFL 2025.