When you announce a country wide talent search, people get excited and the truly talented ones rise to the challenge. Canada’s Got Talent is looking for the best of the best! That includes most everything you can imagine someone being amazing at. Most of us know someone that has an incredible talent but can they wow a crowd and is it worthy of a standing ovation? Okay, I’m putting my hand back down because I just realized my talking dog actually had a piece of jerky stuck in his throat, long story. CGT has truly cornered the market in terms of creating golden opportunities to change someone’s life! Imagine Gail the hairdresser as a now famous singer or your mechanic Brian mesmerizing the crowd with his magic. Remember that sweet gal Courtney? She took the stage on Canada’s Got Talent and made them laugh so hard with her comedy act, that she’s now in contention for winning it all. I can absolutely imagine it because I’ve seen her audition and her comedy is off the charts!
If the great comedy genius Howie Mandel tells you you’re funny, it’s the gospel truth. Courtney Gilmore impressed Howie and the rest of the judges because her comedy is immersive, its story based and it’s revealing. Courtney was born without hands and with one leg. Most people might be hindered by the challenge to fit in but Courtney isn’t your average individual. She grew up in a small town in Ontario surrounded by a loving family that inspired her wild flower essence. With a quick-witted mind and the grace of a speech writer, her comedy act made me an instant fan/cheerleader. Where did I put those pom poms? I am a huge advocate for anyone that can break the mold and become the best version of themselves. They blaze a trail when most are still on their first coffee. They achieve success when others see the mountain too tall and they inspire others to quit doubting themselves to the point of failure. She hasn’t won it all yet, but she’s won over Canada’s full support. At a time when we need laughter more than plastic, Courtney shines a light on some personal stories and life’s quirky social experiment we sometimes refer to as society.
Soon to be a Canadian comedy legend, she brings her A game and realizes the importance of leaving it all on the stage. She’s been performing comedy for years but Canada’s Got Talent is by far the biggest stage and the biggest opportunity in her comedy career. She was my extremely funny guest and I didn’t want to say goodbye but I wasn’t the only one asking for her time. She’s funny as hell and she knows how to command a crowd. If you want to see a comedy legend in the making, watch CGT and cheer Courtney on. Roll the tape!
HNMAG “I absolutely loved watching your routine on stage. It was completely hilarious. When did you first realize you were funny?”
COURTNEY “That’s a good question because I think I realized I was funny before anyone told me I was (laughing). I think I’ve always been funny. I come from a very funny big family. We have a lot of uncles and cousins, people living nearby and there were many family gatherings. There was always lots of joking and laughter; I was always the introvert surrounded by very outgoing people. There’s a strong probability that I learned some performativity from them, personality-wise. As a kind of wildflower growing up, I was the sort of person to make little jokes/little comments to my friends. We’d see funny things happen and we’d make secret jokes to each other. I think that kickstarted it slightly. In the dawn of the internet, where I was able to blog a little and write funny Facebook and Twitter posts, is when I really realized I was funny. I started to write my thoughts out and was seeing positive feedback.”
HNMAG “Was it difficult to break in and find venues to perform?”
COURTNEY “Yeah, at first because I didn’t live in Toronto back then and I never grew up there. The town I grew up in, Windsor, Ont., there weren’t really any comedy clubs. There were some bars that were doing comedy shows but it was fairly isolated. I tried a few open mic nights in Windsor but it wasn’t until I moved to Toronto and went to my first Yuk Yuk’s amateur night on a Tuesday. That’s the famous Tuesday night auditions and I was pretty nervous because I didn’t know how it would go. I probably spent a year going to comedy shows to watch and see how it was done, while getting familiar with the comedy community before asking them how I could do it and get on stage. I met some really kind peers and colleagues that were so kind and gracious enough to point me in the right direction. Soon enough, I was hitting the stage. On open mic night, you put your name into a bucket and if your name gets pulled – you get to go onstage for 5 minutes. That’s how I got started.”
HNMAG “Do you have any mentors/people that inspire you to keep pursuing comedy?”
COURTNEY “We have a lot of homegrown Canadian talent that are incredible. There’s a comedian, Laurie Elliot, that’s been doing comedy longer than I have and she’s always been supportive, she has such a kind personality and she’s uproariously funny. I’m actually doing a show with her tonight and she’s been a big influence in my life. She’s shown me that it’s possible to sustain a life in a comedy career while being a good person. Maria Bamford is also one of my favourite comedians that I look up to. I’ve worked with her several times and she’s exceedingly kind and just hilarious. I admire her courage to do comedy that addresses pretty heavy topics in a wacky light-hearted way. I’m always impressed by that and I think it’s shaped my voice a little too.”
HNMAG “Has auditioning on Canada’s Got Talent been the largest stage you’ve performed on?”
COURTNEY “Exposure to large stages has been relatively minimal. I’ve worked theatre tours, but they weren’t very long. No matter the number of seats I’ve performed for before, this has been by far the biggest opportunity. Just considering the show itself and the grandiosity of it. It was metaphorically and physically the biggest stage that I’ve performed on. When you’re out there and you have the big graphic behind you and the judges in front of you – it all feels very big. That was definitely an opportunity that I’d never come across before.”
HNMAG “Are you still going forward in the show, still competing?”
COURTNEY “I can’t say (laughing), I’m being very cautious, I don’t know. After my audition, I felt very good about it and the judges seemed very positive with me. Anything else beyond that is really icing on the cake, so you’ll have to keep watching to see. My biggest fear was that I’d be X’d out. Not because I doubted myself but because it’s intimidating. There’s so much build up in performing in front of a panel of stars. I was just happy to get any positive feedback at all. I was overwhelmed with how it went, so keep watching.”
HNMAG “I really love your style of comedy. You immerse your audience with your storytelling. Will that style/line of comedy continue forward or does it always change?”
COURTNEY “I’m glad you asked that. Because I have a very unique vantage point in my storytelling – I’m talking about not having hands. I have a wealth of other material. I’ve been doing comedy for years and have over an hour on all types of subjects but when you go on a show like CGT, I have a very short window of time to introduce myself to people. Because you only have 2-3 minutes on stage, much of that time is going to be spent talking about that. If I’m awarded the opportunity to continue doing tv appearances within those time slots, my strategy would be to explore other areas but still address the obvious. I do want to talk about other things and don’t want to be pigeonholed with only disability content. Keeping in mind that the girl with no hands is introducing herself to the world, and is gonna talk about it. She’s not going to spend her precious 2 minutes talking about iPhones versus androids – there’s a bigger elephant in the room (laughing).”
HNMAG “If you could walk in anyone’s shoes for a day, who would that be?”
COURTNEY “I’m going to choose someone with enormous feet. I know it’s probably not at all what you meant when you asked the question… but you asked a comedian. I’m going to go literal and say Shaquille O’Neal. He’s got huge feet and I’m a very small framed person, I’m 5 ft exactly. Something I didn’t address on CGT was that I was also missing my right leg. I only have 1 foot, so if I’m going to walk around in someone else’s shoes for a day, it’s going to be Shaquille O’Neal’s shoes. I’m going to walk around in those big clunky size 16 shoes like a clown. That’s my go to (laughing).”
When you think of comedy greatness, you now have another name to add to that list… Courtney Gilmore! She’s going to put Canada on the map, like Howie did many years ago. Lot’s of people think they’re funny but to be comedy gold, you have to be smart, witty and know how to deliver at the precise moment. Courtney does make it look effortless, when many of us would freeze up, start stuttering and jump into doing bad impressions of the judges. Her comedy is unique to her, which is why I think it’s so important to foster it and celebrate the diversity of it in these changing times. Go Courtney Gilmore!!!