Review: About Freakin' Time (Zoofest)

The Adorable Unknown

It jumps from topic to topic, from trash talking two-year-olds to the pros and cons of lesbian relationships...

by Valerie Cardinal

DeAnne Smith had me charmed when she climbed onstage at Underworld with an old-fashioned alarm clock around her neck, and completely won me over when she pulled out a ukulele. I love my comedy neurotic, energetic and slightly self-deprecating, and Smith’s About Freakin’ Time delivered just that. She finds just the right balance between a comedian’s ego and insecurity, managing to relate to the audience all while twisting the familiar into something unexpected. Smith is already a pretty well-known local performer, having been listed as best comedian #3 on the Mirror’s Best of Montreal list this year, but I had never heard of her before. I left this show wondering how in the world I hadn’t.

The Upstage Interview: DeAnne Smith and Sarah Quinn

Logo for Other People's Problems

Australia/Montreal/The Zoo

Upstage Contributor Alison Louder and Upstage Host Eric Sukhu spoke with DeAnne Smith who will be presenting About Freakin’ Time as part of Just For Laughs Zoofestival. She also wrote one of the pieces in Other People’s Problems by Sarah Quinn. Below is an abridged version of interviews with both Smith and Quinn, edited by Estelle Rosen, CharPo Editor-in-chief.

UPSTAGE

Tell us about your time in Australia and how that’s informed the show.

SMITH

The show has grown and changed a lot. Having done it about 30-40 times, it’s a different show now - used to be some staged choreography which has been cut out but there’s other good stuff - sorry don’t know what else I could say