Biography
DeAnne Smith, a New York native, knew she wanted to be comedian at age 11 as she watched Live at the Improv in the living room with her dad. She exploded onto Montreal's comedy scene in 2005, after just 16 short years of repressing her dream, which included stints spent as a creative writing student, a research assistant, an editor, an English teacher, a street outreach counselor, a nanny, a dishwasher and a grocery store cashier.
Today, there's hardly a nook or cranny of the city she hasn't performed in. In addition to co-creating the popular, weekly Comedy OFF The Main show, DeAnne was voted one of Montreal's top five comedians by readers of The Montreal Mirror for two years in a row. Fresh off the "Dykes of Hazard" tour which took her throughout the United States, DeAnne received international attention by making the Canadian finals of NBC's Last Comic Standing. In July 2007, she was featured in the Just For Laughs Comedy Festival, whose website predicted, "You can expect this alternative comic to make some noise and garner a great deal of attention." Confident that her quirky and cerebral brand of humor was well-received at home, DeAnne travelled to Australia in early 2008 to perform her hour-long solo show, "Shouting Over Drunks." After charming crowds at the Adelaide Fringe Festival in February, DeAnne was invited to perform in Sydney's Cracker Comedy Festival in April, where she picked up an award for Best Newcomer. DeAnne was nominated for a Canadian Comedy Award for Best Newcomer upon her return to Montreal. In October, she taped a set for a special for The Comedy Network. In March 2009, she's headed back to Australia with her show "DeAnne Smith Lacks Focus," which will be shown at the Adelaide Fringe Festival, the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and the Sydney Cracker Comedy Festival.
Incidentally, DeAnne comes from an alcoholic family and sometimes wonders if this is the real reason she's chosen a career in which she competes for attention in a room full of people with drinks in their hands. In writing bios, she's never sure if she should aim to be funny, sincere, or self-aggrandizing. DeAnne Smith is a powerhouse of hilarity! Thank you for reading!
Buzz
"See her once and, guaranteed, you'll never forget her...Fresh, cutting and decidedly deadpan."
"Socially aware and ridiculously, ridiculously hilarious. Next time you see DeAnne Smith's name, run, don't walk, to the venue box office."
"Certainly packs a punch with her worldly observations. DeAnne Smith is considered the new breed of female stand up comics."
"DeAnne Smith is a neat little dynamo. Succeeds by keeping the punches coming."
"Smith’s as deft on her feet as she is with her prepared material."
"Her lack of cynicism and her exuberance on stage disarms audiences. But then, a twinkle gleams in her eye, and finally she lets out a zinger, landed smack dab in the very space she opened up."
"Her observations were sharp and delivered well."
"Her ability to establish a quick rapport is a measure of her talent."
"If you like smart comedy, go see this girl!" "She's a clever, quick thinker." "Very funny, must see." "Wonderful."
"DeAnne has an immediately likable presence that every crowd relates to
[and] a wealth of range and material. She can do cute; she can do angry.
At the heart of DeAnne's comedy is an original, insightful social satire."
"DeAnne has been charming crowds all over the continent with a cynical wit and her conversational style."
"If you think girls aren't funny, you're wrong, and DeAnne Smith can prove it."
"Mercifully unpretentious and pleasantly hip."
"You look at DeAnne, a petite, soft-spoken sweetheart in a hoodie, and you have to wonder where her energy comes from. In her sets, she's so dead-on that you’re sure, 100% positive, that you’ve thought the same thing somewhere in your brain… but you haven’t. You’ve never heard it, said it, or thought it, perfect as whatever statement or observation it is may be. DeAnne is just that brilliantly quick-witted."
"I think she's smart, original, and funny; she's great. I say yes."
"I don't think she's ready."
"No."
home | about | shows | media | logbook | contact
