Get ready to laugh with the one and only Miguel McKenna, a truly unique voice in comedy. This comic from Montreal, originally from Winnipeg, brings a style that’s a mix of everything, from silly observations and character work to sharp, topical humour. With a background in filmmaking and comic books, Miguel’s sets often feel like a hilarious script reading, complete with voices and impressions. His material is all over the place, and that’s exactly what makes him so funny.
How would you describe your comedy style?
I feel like I’m all over the place. I usually find the humour in most, if not all, forms of comedy, so I don’t really hesitate to include it in my act. Observations, personal stories, one-liners, act-outs and character work, absurdism, shaggy dog jokes, crowd work, some dark or edgy stuff, even topical comedy. It’s all going in the pot.
I come to standup from the world of filmmaking, screenwriting, and making comic books, so sometimes my material can feel like a comedic script read. Typically, my stuff will feature a lot of act-outs, where I voice multiple characters within one bit. I’ve always loved doing voices and impressions of people. You should hear me do an impression of my Congolese depanneur guy; he does NOT like it.
My mother always called me “Cartoon Boy” cause I had a tendency to come up with totally outlandish scenarios and funny voices. Then she’d put a cigarette out on my arm and give me a nickel.
Who are some of your influences?
I used to watch a lot of movies and TV as a kid, so my earliest exposure to scripted comedy was likely from the original Looney Tunes cartoons, which are still just as funny as they were when they were made 70 years ago. Cartoons in general were and still are my jam. If it were animated, I’ve likely seen it. There are too many media influences to list here, so if you ever see me in person, if I somehow materialize in front of you, be prepared to have me talk at you about all my favourite movies and tv shows.
My parents and my little sister are all very funny people, my father especially being one of the funniest people I’ve ever known. He’s a lawyer, so his sense of humour can be a little dry and subtle, but he’s a lot like me in that he embodies a multitude of genres of humour. If you ever see me in person, ask me to tell you my dad’s joke about the lawyer, the farmer, and the goat. It’s one of the filthiest, funniest jokes I’ve ever heard, and my father denies ever having told me it (to be fair, he was very very drunk when he did).
My best friend from high school, Tucker, as well as my other two besties, Jay and Ben, are a never-ending source of laughter who have shaped how I construct and deliver jokes in ways I’m probably not even aware of. That being said, I will leave all of these people in the dust at even the faintest glimmer of fame and fortune. I’m talking no contact, restraining order, NDA, everything. That’s showbiz, baby.
Who was your favourite comedian growing up?
I used to watch the Just for Laughs TV show all the time when I was young. So whoever was on screen in that moment was, in my young mind, the greatest living comic of our time. Even the ventriloquists.
In high school, I was a huge fan of Scott Aukerman’s Comedy Bang Bang podcast, which featured a lot of comics from the 2000s LA alt-comedy scene that I enjoyed like Patton Oswalt or Paul F. Tompkins, and brilliant character work from guys like Andy Daly and the incomparable James Adomian.
A lot of the favourite comics from my youth haven’t aged well. Louis C.K. with his sexual harassment, Dave Chappelle with his weird politics, Dylan Moran with his succumbing to alcoholism, and even Norm Macdonald with his being dead. I can only assume (and hope!) my career will play out in some similar fashion.
Who is your favourite comedian now?
It’s hard to pick a favourite once you’ve consumed so much comedy, so usually I just tell people what I’ve been checking out lately.
I never seem to come across comedians when they’re popular; I’m always late to the party. Like, I just discovered this Bernie Mac fella. Man, he’s got a bright future ahead of him.
Lately, I’ve been watching old stuff like the aforementioned Bernie, Katt Williams, Paul Reiser, and even older stuff like Andy Kaufman, Dick Gregory, and Mort Sahl. My roommate and fellow comedian Arthur Sim Jr. showed me Brent Weinbach recently, genius stuff. I got to see Todd Barry live this past winter, that was an absolute treat.
What is your pre-show ritual?
I like to dress nice for a show, which makes me the butt of many a joke from the other comedians, but I can’t fault them. Their bloated, arthritic chimp hands can’t operate shirt buttons, and they’ve only just discovered the belt. I had an old comedy mentor in my hometown of Winnipeg who told me that a well-dressed performer has more confidence and authority on stage. I’m still waiting for it that stuff to kick in for me.
Usually, I get off of work, change into stage clothes, then either I go get sticky rice and dumplings from my boy Zheng Wang or I catch a movie at Cinéma du Parc to clear my mind before the show (both, if I’m lucky). Some independent foreign film about an old Armenian guy whose donkey kills itself or something. You know, something to get the laughs going.
Then I go to the show, get made fun of for my outfit, get extremely nervous in the minutes before I go on stage, briefly consider relapsing on drugs and alcohol, and then it’s showtime!
What is your favourite place you have performed? Why?
There’s too many to pick here in Montréal. 3rd Floor Comedy Club has the best comedy space layout-wise, McKibbin’s has great crowds and good energy, Hurley’s and Grumpy’s are a great hangs. This summer, I performed in a really funky backyard for fellow comedian Dayna Leiberman’s one-year comedy anniversary show, which was so much fun. I also got to do a set opening for Ali Macofsky at Rumor’s Comedy Club in Winnipeg for 200+ people, that was wild.
Also, I have to shout out one of the shows back in my hometown. I started comedy at the Wee Johnny’s open mic in downtown Winnipeg, such a great place to learn the ropes. The long-running mic was shut down in August, just after my annual trip back home. Wee Johnny’s itself suffered a huge fire not long after the show’s cancellation. Coincidence?! It’s like I always say: Follow the lack of money.
What is your favourite bit you have written and why were you proud of it?
Recently, I’ve been doing this bit about the delay in communications between the TV news headquarters and the reporter in the field while they’re covering whatever latest atrocity is happening in the world. It involves imitating the delay itself and being utterly silent on stage for 10 seconds at a time, which can be a risky move, but it almost always gets a laugh.
It kind of combines everything I want to do in one bit. Silliness, some dark social commentary about current events, playing with the form a bit, and funny characters for me to voice.
I also have a quick one-liner about having a thing for older women that always works; it’s a good closer.
What is your favourite medium for listening or finding new comics/comedians?
If you have the spiritual fortitude to make it through a late-night open mic, I recommend that you do. You’ll get to see what Montréal’s finest comedic minds are doing when they’re not huffing computer duster in a windowless room.
Go to all kinds of comedy shows. Check out the comedy clubs, the weird bar shows, the edgelord rooms, the queer rooms, the shows in backyards or in parks. As a comic, I will do literally any spot that is offered to me as long as my schedule permits for it, and I think it’s a good way to take in all the different kinds of comedy this city has to offer. Just be a patron of the arts in your town.
Tell us a joke about your city.
Montréal is where dreams go to come out of the closet.
Do you have anything to promote right now?
I’m all over town doing shows; if you go check out live comedy in Montréal, you’ll see me eventually. Come say hi and watch me immediately break eye contact.
I wrote and illustrated my first comic book which was published back in 2023. It’s called Block Man and Punch, it was published by Paranoid American, and I think it’s a really good humour book. You can find it on Amazon.
Where can we follow you?
PAY IT FORWARD: Who is another local comic/comedian we should know about?
Without a doubt, the aforementioned Arthur Sim Jr. is my favourite cryptid comedian. If anyone is going to make it out of this city and into the big leagues, it’s that guy. When he does, it will be a great day for comedy and a catastrophic end for civilization as we know it. That strange, orangutan-bodied man is a star in the making.
Some say that when the moon is full and the wind is still, you can hear his ghostly wail. If you’re unlucky enough to find his tomb and sing his eldritch song, his withered form may just rise from its eternal sleep to give you a poison kiss. Or you can just follow him on Instagram.
