Lots of learning lessons, beginning right from childhood to different experiences in his working career before comedy, has prepared one Ontario comedian for a stand-up comedy career.
For comedian, Jason Allen, he has absorbed many different life experiences like a sponge. It has been a valuable tool, when he adds all of it into his stand-up comedy arsenal.
“It is how I have always been able to deal with things, beginning as a kid,” Allen said. “My dad had an influence on me with how he would make jokes about himself to watching different comedy shows with me on television that we enjoyed together. From there, my interest in comedy just took off and grew from there.”
The majority of his life has been spent living between London, ON and Hamilton, ON. Allen’s comedy career was launched in the London area, after winning an amateur contest and has branched out from there. Currently, Allen is in his sixth year of doing stand-up comedy.
Right now, Allen is proud to call Hamilton home. For his career, he enjoys being able to utilize proximity to the border to his benefit for growing his own brand and feels the city has lots of character. Overall, it suits him on many levels.
“I enjoy my current location, as I feel I’m in the middle of everything,” Allen explained. “In Hamilton, you are not too far away from the heart of Toronto and also close border access into the United States, with the possibility of booking shows in Buffalo or the New York area.”
For eight years, Allen was in social work and assisted with different programs assisting others in need. During this time he was a front line employee at both a homeless centre and detox centre to doing some public speaking, while working for the United Way.
“It was something I wanted to get involved in right from a young age,” Allen said. “I take a lot of pride in giving back and trying to assisting others.”
Allen describes his comedy of a taste of real life. Presently, Allen enjoys more of the New York style of comedians, along with popular comedian Bill Burr and Patrice O’Neal (deceased in 2011) who tackled some controversial topics while doing stand-up comedy.
“I like to share my own experiences in everyday life and hope people can learn from them and of course have a laugh at the same time.”
Allen’s main goal with his comedy career is to step it up to gain more notoriety and book more shows in the United States. Lately, Allen feels that he has begun to get a following across different parts of Canada.
This year, Allen acknowledged that he has started to get more bookings across the Midwest and would like to see that trend continue with further shows on his calendar.
In the short term and a stop in Windsor this weekend, Allen is pumped and looking forward to returning to Windsor for three shows this Friday and Saturday.
“I always enjoy my visits to Windsor,” Allen said. “The city has always been good to me. In a lot of ways Windsor does remind me of Hamilton, which is something that I truly appreciate.”
Close the month of April out with an excellent night of comedy with the funny Jason Allen, with a show on April 26 and a doubleheader on April 27, at Haddon’s Comedy Club in Windsor, Ontario. Tickets are only $15 available at the door or online.
