The comedy scene in Moose Jaw continues to gain momentum, and to build further on this success, three home-grown comedians – Brandon Purington, Garret Delaurier, and Dustan Hlady – will be performing on Saturday, April 13 at the Chillers Brew Pub on South Hill.
The upcoming show is intended for adult audiences over the age of 19, which is the minimum age requirement to enter Chillers. Doors will open at 7 p.m. and the show will start at 7:30 p.m. for an expected duration of around two-and-a-half hours.
All three names currently form the nexus of Moose Jaw’s comedy scene, and their aspirations to get recognized could be just what it takes for the idea to gain enough traction to flourish.
The headliner for the upcoming show will be Brandon Purington, a local comedian who’s developing quite a name among the ever-increasing scene in Moose Jaw.
“We’re all doing separate stuff, but it’s a real… working together kind of thing…,” Purington said.
“And yeah, we’re always looking for something different to put on or (to do) whatever we can.”
Purington has become an established name after he began to take his comical talent seriously around one year ago.
“It has been going really good so far,” he said. “(I’m) just trying to make connections with everybody and (am) just (trying) to get out and do it as much as possible.”
When Purington organizes a show, guests can anticipate more of what they’ll recognize as a traditional comedy format. His usual method is to schedule two comedians to perform and then he’ll step in as the headliner.
Garret Delaurier, by contrast, prefers to organize open mic comedy shows with the expressed aim of discovering talented local comedians. It was here that Purington was discovered.
After stepping up during an open-mic event at Ruchi’s Masala House at the suggestion of a friend, Purington is now at the point where he’s starting to organize his own shows. This ongoing involvement as well as the demand for his performances serves as a testament to his skill as a comedian.
Today, all three comedians set to partake in the upcoming show continue to work together in something of a shared effort to grow Moose Jaw’s comedy scene.
Purington describes himself as “a silly goose” and said his personal style is more observational in nature.
Observational comedy is a well-established format with stand-up performances, and bases material on the commonplace aspects of day-to-day life. Topics tend to be common enough for the audience to find them familiar, but many of these topics aren’t the subject of frequent discussion.
Prior to his growing recognition in the community, Purington said he used to create random, small-scale video content with his friends when he was still in his 20s. Now, he’s returning to his past hobby.
“I like filming videos and stuff, (and) I’ve always been performing. But now, my kids are older… (and) it’s something to take seriously and just see where it goes.”
The future of Moose Jaw’s comedy scene remains to be determined, but Purington shares the same hopeful optimism expressed by Delaurier and remains convinced that there’s a demand for it.
For now, he said the group is keeping its options open, and there are even some talks about booking out-of-town shows. As momentum continues to grow, Purington confirmed that he’ll keep at it and said anyone can contact him to book a future comedy show.
Admission for the April 13 performance will cost $5 per person and can be paid at the door.
Chillers Brew Pub is located at 510 Home Street West.
For more information or to contact Purington, he can be reached at BPurington25@gmail.com.
