Shane Clark is a Vancouver-based comedian who got his start turning the oddities of his everyday life into stand-up gold. With a knack for finding himself in unusual situations — whether through weird jobs or unexpected run-ins — Shane draws almost all of his material from real-life experiences. His comedy is candid, clever, and often dark, but always rooted in truth.
Influenced by greats like Richard Pryor, Norm MacDonald, and Doug Stanhope, Shane brings a no-frills honesty to the stage that resonates with audiences across the country. Whether he’s joking about UFC slogans, testing the limits of a crowd’s comfort zone, or calling out Vancouverites for complaining about the weather, Shane’s material is as relatable as it is unpredictable.
How would you describe your comedy style?
Almost all of my jokes come from true things and events that happened throughout my life, like weird jobs, unique experiences, etc. For some reason, I find myself in strange situations and have strange things happen to me all the time. I do the odd observational joke, but I’d say 80-90% of what I do is from things that directly happened to me.
Who are some of your influences?
Norm MacDonald, Dave Attell, Doug Stanhope and Nate Bargatze are a few of my influences in terms of writing and how they approach comedy, but I try not to be too much like other comedians and try to just to be myself.
Who was your favourite comedian growing up?
Definitely Richard Pryor. He’s still my favourite all-time comedian. At any given point in comedy history, there’s been the best dirty comic, the best political comic and the best clean comic. Almost all the time, that is three different comedians, but Pryor was the best dirty comic and the best political comic at the same time. He transcended genres. That’s what makes him the GOAT in my opinion.
Who is your favourite comedian now?
Doug Stanhope. I tell people about him every chance I get because he’s not selling out arenas or stadiums. He’s still doing smaller theatre venues because his fanbase has remained about that size, but more people need to know who he is. His writing is right up there with any of the current great comics you can name. His special that came out in December, Discount Meat, is my favourite comedy special of 2024, and it’s free on YouTube.
What is your pre-show ritual?
I have to eat something before I perform haha. What’s weird about this is when I first started comedy, I couldn’t eat before performing because I was so nervous, but now I have to eat otherwise all I can think of when I’m on stage is how hungry I am. I don’t drink alcohol at all before I perform, and I don’t rehearse other than reviewing what jokes I hope to perform, because I don’t want my act to come off too rehearsed and I also want to be able to pivot to other ideas on the fly if the audience isn’t vibing with what I’m doing.
What is your favourite place you have performed? Why?
Definitely Heckler’s in Victoria. First of all, I’ve never been there when the show isn’t close to sold out, if not sold out, so they’re great at marketing shows and getting people in, and every comedian would agree a full show is better than an empty one. That’s just the beginning, though. Their crowds are great and really love comedy and come out to have a good time. When you have a packed room and everyone is invested, it’s really hard to beat. On top of that, the staff are fantastic and really treat the comedians so well. Every time I’ve been there, I’ve been given a meal and at least one drink, usually more, on top of the compensation. It’s really nice to feel appreciated as an artist, and I don’t know anywhere that makes comedians feel appreciated better than Heckler’s.
What is your favourite bit you have written and why were you proud of it?
I have two actually. The first one is I have a joke about UFC apparel that says, “Jesus Doesn’t Tap Out,” and my punchline is he can’t tap out because his hands are nailed down. I’ve been doing that joke for years. It was one of the first really good jokes I wrote, and now it’s been put into meme form by people who have never even seen me perform. So I’m proud of that one because I guess that’s a sign you’re starting to make it. When you see jokes you wrote on memes haha. The second one is that I have a bit about African babies that I like because it’s a good litmus test for the crowd to see how dark I can go on the show. It’s a pretty dark joke, so if it hits, I know I can go darker. If it doesn’t, then I know where their line is and I can pivot back to stuff that is more universally accepted.
What is your favourite medium for listening or finding new comics/comedians?
I don’t really have the time to listen to podcasts nowadays, so I tend to rely more on word of mouth from friends. If a comedian friend tells me to check out a comedian, I make sure I do. Just hanging out at comedy shows is a great way to discover new comics, too. Especially the shows that have a bunch of comics doing less time. Not open mics, but booked shows that have a lot of up-and-coming comics on them are great to sit and watch and see people I haven’t seen perform before. I’ve seen a lot of great local acts for the first time like that. Otherwise, I sometimes watch specials on streaming services when I’m on the road and looking for something to watch.
Tell us a joke about your city.
Well, I live in Vancouver and I love it here, but most of my friends know I hate how much people complain about the weather here. It’s any weather too. When it’s raining, it’s too much, when it’s sunny, it’s too hot, when it’s overcast, it’s too grey. There’s no pleasing people who live here. So what do you call a Vancouverite who doesn’t complain about the weather? A tourist. Another funny joke is anytime someone tells me they’re thinking about buying a house in Vancouver. That one always makes me laugh.
Do you have anything to promote right now?
I hopefully have an album recording later this year in Vancouver. No firm dates on that yet as I’m still figuring out a venue, producers, etc, but I’m performing with Yuk Yuks at the Fort Pub in Fort Langley, BC on August 9th at 8 pm, and then I will be headlining Yuk Yuks Surrey on December 26th and 27th. One show each night at 8 pm. Tickets aren’t available for that one yet, but you can get tickets for all those shows at yukyuks.com. Get out and watch live comedy, even if you don’t come to any of these shows. It’s still some of the best entertainment value you’ll find for a night out.
Where can we follow you?
PAY IT FORWARD: Who is another local comic/comedian we should know about?
Joey Commisso, out of Kelowna, is really funny and a guy more people need to know about.
