Sharilyn Johnson is a Toronto-based communications professional, with an appreciation for all things comedic. She has experience working for media outlets such as CTV, Global TV and Corus Radio, as well as organizations in the non-profit and corporate sectors.
A published entertainment journalist since 1995, Sharilyn began writing about comedy in 1998 and served as the comedy reporter for Winnipeg’s Uptown Magazine from 2002-2007. She covered the 2004 Just For Laughs Festival in Montreal for the Winnipeg Free Press, which led to her three-year run as host and producer of Laugh Tracks, a weekly radio program about comedy.
Over the years, she’s had the pleasure of speaking with a diverse group of performers that includes Andrea Martin, Colin Mochrie, Brent Butt, Rob Corddry, Greg Behrendt, Henry Rollins, Alonzo Bodden, Tommy Tiernan, and Greg Proops. She currently writes opinion-inspired comedy news stories on her blog, Back of the Room.
Among her extensive volunteer work in in the arts, Sharilyn sat on the Board of Winnipeg’s West End Cultural Centre for four years, as well as the Board of the Gas Station Theatre/OVCC – the producing body of the CBC Winnipeg Comedy Festival.
Considered a comedy expert by those in the local comedy scene, Sharilyn finally gave in to the prodding of local standups and got onstage herself. Those first five minutes infront of a full house at Rumor’s Comedy Club were described by headliner John Wessling as “one of the best first times I’ve ever seen”, and she continued hitting open mics while based in Winnipeg.
She began her improv training in 2006 at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in New York City, where she studied under Bobby Moynihan (Saturday Night Live), Lennon Parham, Porter Mason, and Owen Burke. She has also trained with Steve Sim and Lee White (Crumbs) at Prairie Theatre Exchange in Winnipeg, at the Impatient Theatre Co. in Toronto, and under Sean Browning and Lisa Merchant (Train 48) at Toronto’s Bad Dog Theatre Co.
She successfully competed against 130 other writers for a spot in the highly regarded Writing For the Daily Show program, taught by Emmy-winning Daily Show writer J.R. Havlan. She was subsequently among the first group to complete its companion course, Writing For the Colbert Report, taught by Colbert Report Co-Executive Producer Tom Purcell. Both programs were offered through the People’s Improv Theatre in New York City.
She has also studied comedy writing under Jack Mosshammer and Scott Montgomery (The Hour) at Second City Toronto, as well as Joe Flaherty (SCTV), Brian Crosby (Air Farce Live), Randy Perlstein (Chappelle’s Show), and Ali Farahnakian (Saturday Night Live).
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Hello from the United Socialist States of America!
http://www.aarondavidward.com
http://www.myspace.com/aarondavidward
Comment by Aaron David Ward October 14, 2008 @ 4:09 pmHello,
I was reading a few of your blog posts, and I think you would get a kick out of our new comedy web series, “More on America,” on Candortv.com. We’ve done four webisodes so far, political satires on things like gun control and immigration. My favorite is the episode asking “should blind kids be able to play with real kids?” Below is a press release for the show, let me know what you think!
Enjoy,
Krystle
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Gift Arrow Sponsors “More on America,” a web series on Candor TV
Los Angeles, California – December 15, 2008 – Gift Arrow announces its integrated sponsorship of the new live comedy web series “More on America” produced by Candor Entertainment, which began airing December 4 exclusively on Candortv.com. The announcement was made by Joe Sorge, Managing Member of Gift Arrow.
“More on America” squeezes politics until comedy oozes out. With a slew of insane guests, the hosts tackle controversial topics while the show disintegrates into hijinks, hilarity, and hokum.
The first webisode, “Gun Control,” tries to put the sexy back in gun control, causing the debate to turn hostile when the hosts are forced to settle things like the ancient Romans did – with pistols.
In the second webisode, “Blind Rights,” the hosts tackle the age-old question “Should blind kids be allowed to play with real kids?” Accusing a foundation for blind children of exploitation helps heat up this debate.
The third webisode, “Immigration,” explores the pros and cons of indentured servitude for immigrant laborers. What they discover will shock and amaze you, if you are a person who is easily shocked or “amazabled.”
In the fourth webisode, “Micro-Terrorism,” terrorists are forced to shrink their attack methods due to increasing security measures in the U.S. The show’s guests describe the latest methods for combating the frightening new threat on a micro level.
“We felt that Gift Arrow would be a perfect fit to sponsor these webisodes” said Sorge. “Men who are fans of this type of comedy are also concerned with impressing the women in their lives with a clever, tasteful, thoughtful gift.”
About Gift Arrow: Giftarrow.com is a premier gift giving service that offers a fresh, innovative, and intelligent way to find the perfect gift by means of the Gift Profiling Solution, or GPS. The GPS homepage allows customers to answer questions about the intended gift recipient, and produces a list of suggested gifts based on the particular individual.
About Candor Entertainment: Candor is a boutique media production company based in Los Angeles focusing on music and video content for the web. For more press inquires please contact Bill Lucas at 310-621-7152.
For more information:
Comment by krystle December 17, 2008 @ 5:27 pmGiftarrow.com
Candortv.com
I love your site!
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Comment by Michael Tim February 28, 2009 @ 2:08 pmExperiencing a slow PC recently? Fix it now!
Hello Sherilyn,
My name is Lidia and I do digital marketing for Sierra Mist’s Funny Beaks campaign. I thought your site was the perfect place to reach out to your readers about these comics!
What’s a Funny Break?
It’s a moment to laugh and a chance for this young talent to be a discovered.
Sierra Mist supports young comedic talent through the Sierra Mist Creative Lab by providing tools and exposure, leading to a break into the funny business.
Watch their videos and support young talent. http://www.youtube.com/funnybreaks
I was hoping you might be willing to write about this or feature some of these videos on your site? I hope to hear back from you!
I really like your blog, I was also wondering if I could send you more of the latest comedy information for other comedians and comedy festivals? We have many comedians we do work for like George Lopez, David Spade, Jeff Dunham and many others. It would be great if we could send you the latest in comedy! Let me know if it’s alright, I hope to hear from you soon!
Thank you,
Comment by Lidia July 6, 2009 @ 6:34 pmLidia
E-Comic Branding
lidia@ecomicbranding.com