Where are the now? Abby Stonehouse brings comedy to your backyard

After the past couple of years, it’s always nice to find time to laugh. Howick native Abby Stonehouse is a standup comedian, writer, and producer working in Montreal. She is currently working on multiple projects including Comedy on Demand, Funny Juice Open Mic, and soon, a new podcast. On top of this, she works to promote accessibility in comedy settings. Stonehouse got into standup by watching it and listening to podcasts about it in her early twenties. She eventually got on the stage in 2017: she was supposed to be attending an open mic to support a friend, but when she decided to get onstage herself, she was hooked. She describes her style as autobiographical rather than observational comedy. In terms of training, she’s taken a few classes including two storytelling courses with Montreal Improv, and says, “I cannot recommend enough learning how to craft an autobiographical story and making it entertaining. … and making it entertaining.” Throughout the pandemic, standup comedy went through a bit of a dry spell. “There were people running ZOOM shows and there were opportunities there, which was really great. It let people keep creating and performing. However, there were a lot less opportunities to perform .” Abby Stonehouse performs and produces comedy around the city and beyond. Her style focuses on a storytelling approach to standup. PHOTOS Provided Stonehouse participated in many online shows, but also started a comedy series called Lawn Laughs, a service that staged small, intimate comedy shows right in your own backyard. Some of these have taken place right in the Valley! That service has since branched out to be Comedy on Demand, which provides both Lawn Laughs and Lounge Laughs (a more traditional comedy show). Though the pandemic hindered her chances to perform in some ways, it also opened doors for opportunities she wouldn’t have had otherwise. “I’ve been able to perform for organizations like the Canadian Hard of Hearing Association, which is a Canada-wide organization… So, people across Canada got to know me and got to see me perform.” Stonehouse herself has some hearing loss. Because of this, she has worked to create more accessible performance environments. “Being that I’m a person with this disability, I see that a lot of art forms are not accessible. I try to lead by example, whenever I can.” Some of her material in her standup revolves around her hearing loss, and she tries to create inclusive environments as much as possible. This has opened up new opportunities: “As a result, because of my hearing loss, I was able to secure funding to produce a podcast that’s fully accessible.” This podcast will come out later this year. For folks hoping to make their own events more accessible, Stonehouse says, “There’s lots of organizations in the city that can consult with them.” In her experience, she explains, live closed-captioning or ASL are great places to start. For more information on Stonehouse and her experience with hearing loss, you can check out the article she wrote for the Canadian Hard of Hearing Association called Perspective Inspires Art: A Superpower. Stonehouse is looking forward to continuing her work with Comedy on Demand and launching her new podcast, House of Stone, this summer. Information and updates can be found on Instagram, @houseofstonepodcast or @abbypstone_mtl.

Where are the now? Abby Stonehouse brings comedy to your backyard

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