Great comedy isn’t about one-liners of gimmicky gags for Kevin Heffernan and Steve Lemme.
A good story is always at the core of their comedy routine. Life is funny. Strange or ordinary things that happen every day are fodder for the stage.
“Kevin and I both have kids so there is plenty of humour to be inspired by,” said Lemme. “We’re much more real life story orientated.”
Lemme said he was always a bit of a ham as a kid and used to perform plays for his family. But his career into the world of comedy didn’t start until he went to Colgate University in Hamilton, N.Y. During their time at university they became part of Broken Lizard, a five-member comedy group that created films. The first feature film in 1996, Puddle-Cruiser, won various awards. They followed up that success with the cult-hit movies Super Troopers and Club Dread.
In 2009 the comedy duo went on tour with the Broken Lizard Stand Up, which was filled for Comedy Central.
What the duo loves about standup comedy compared to films is the immediacy of creating material and getting an audience reaction.
“We had a blast. You could write a joke and put it up there and have a reaction that night,” said Heffernan. “What we loved about standup was how stripped down it was … just a man and a microphone.”
Now they are hitting the road again and touring British Columbia for the first time in their careers. They perform in Nanaimo at the Queen’s Monday (July 22).
During the tour fans can hear about some funny behind the scenes moments from their films or funny scenarios that have happened to them as a result of being in their cult-hit films. Both have had interesting encounters with police because of their roles in Super Troopers.
Lemme said once he was speeding on the highway and was pulled over by the police. When the officer walked up to the window and recognized Lemme he got extremely excited because he was a huge fan of the movie. The two ended up on the side of the highway doing selfies.
“It was weird for spectators and weird for me. The cop was a major fan,” said Lemme.
Heffernan and Lemme perform at the Queen’s at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $20 in advance from the bar, Lucid, Harbour City Music, The Dog’s Ear, www.ticketzone.com or $25 at the door.
arts@nanaimobulletin.com