2007 marks the tenth year since John Sheehan has had to do anything other than theatre to make a living. In May of 1997, John auditioned for a role in the original production ?Sheila Nageira: A Legend of Love and Larceny?. The show was a tremendous success, and for John, it was confirmation that this was what he wanted to do for a living. The following spring, he was offered a job with a new company, Acting-Up Entertainment, out of Gander, Newfoundland. His time with the Gander company was certainly a learning experience, as the job not only entailed performing, but for the first time he was expected to write as well. As it turned out, writing became something of a passion, particularly sketch work. John credits his time in Gander with helping to develop his style of writing, and well as honing the timing that has become a signature of his work. It was in Gander that John was given the opportunity to try his hand at improvisational comedy, a sort of precursor to the stand-up that would later become his career focus. After 2+ years with Acting-Up, and having performed in everything from Shakespeare to Christmas variety shows, John was offered the job of interim Artistic Director, while the A.D. was on leave. This was his first foray into the managerial side of show business. When his contract with Acting-Up expired, John made the move to Carbonear, where he was offered a position within another new company, Rebel Island Theatre, under the Artistic Direction of Peter Soucy. Where Gander had been a learning experience, Carbonear was more of a chance to put skills to the test. Here, John was not only given the tasks of writing and performing, but had his first experience with directing a show. One of the highlights with Rebel Island was the writing and performing of a show aimed at high school students, and the many directions their lives may take. This show, entitled ?What?s on Next??, toured the entire province of Newfoundland, and was met with rave reviews. John?s crowning achievement to this point in his career also came from his time with the Carbonear company. It was in the spring of 2002 that he wrote a sketch comedy show based on the history of his hometown of Harbour Grace ? ?The History of Harbour Grace: A Gull?s Eye View?, with original songs by Shawn Lidster played to sold out audiences during the summer ?06 season. During one part of the high school tour, John received a call from the Donna Butt, Artistic Director of Rising Tide Theatre, asking if he was interested in auditioning for a role in that company?s annual political satire, ?Revue?. This is a show that to that date had been running for 19 years, and was one John had followed for years. He was successful in the audition, and now has six ?Revues?? under his belt. Writing and performing for ?Revue? has been a large part of further developing John?s type of humour, and has given him the chance to write with some of the province?s finest comic writers. It would not be until September of 2006, over nine years since he began in theatre, that John would discover the niche he had been seeking in the world of show business - stand-up comedy. With hardly any experience in this field, John made a demo DVD which was sent to various festivals across Canada. While on tour with ?Revue?, John got a call from the Halifax Comedy Festival inviting him to perform in April (2007). From that festival, John has been invited to tour Ontario with Yuk Yuks, one of the most recognizable names in Canadian comedy. This coming November, John will be making this trip - officially throwing his hat into the comedic ring! Also on tap in the near future, John will host a series of comedy nights at the Battery Hotel and Suites in St. John?s, as well as being booked for the 2nd annual St. John?s Comedy Festival in June of 2008. He will also tentatively be returning to sketch comedy with Rising Tide?s ?Revue ?07? this December. |
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