Topping his list of life goals when he graduated from Maple Ridge Secondary were 1) Move to Vancouver. 2) Get a bartending job. And 3) Book a commercial.
Comedian did all those things in his twenties, and now his list consists of finishing his feature film Steel Viper Force of which he is a writer/producer/lead actor and eventually opening his own comedy bar. Not bad for a little more than a decade invested in a city that hasn't been known for its comedy.
Given the size of Vancouver, his name might sound familiar.
Macleod was the comedy curator for the Olio Festival for its entire four-year run, and also for Comedy Waste part of a bigger East Vancouver-based independent music festival called which emerged in 1994.
Macleod and his partners from the comedy group Bronx Cheer were inspired five years ago by what they were seeing with comedy sets at music festivals. They aligned the two genres locally and Comedy Waste was born. (Eight to nine shows between June 6-9; each show $5 cover, or you can pick up $15 passes, available from Zulu, Red Cat, Neptoon and Audiophile.)
Macleod landed these festival gigs based on his reputation for creating a comedy scene out of nothing. Give him your quirky, odd and awkward venues, and hell fill them with a laughing audience.
He is an institution at the China Cloud, floating above Chinatown at 524 Main Street, having produced the wildly successful Hero Show (which kicks off June 6 with Graham Clark and Dave Shumka).
You can catch him almost every Sunday at Havana on Commercial with an improv production company currently under the wing of artistic director Alistair Cooke. Instant Theatre produces the Young & Spontaneous festival and the 麻豆传媒映画International Improv Festival each year. It also offers popular improv comedy classes for regular people who want to learn the rules and when to break them.
Through Instant Theatre, Macleod formed Mattterhorn, which takes part in the first Tuesday of every month at China Cloud, and Hobos and Gentlemen, which is starting a monthly baseball-inspired show at called Dugout.
But life is not always a stage. Macleod is also comfortable with the camera.
Two years ago, with his comedy trio, , and members of six other local comedy groups, Macleod started fleshing out that feature film .
To understand his humour, a lovable blend of hanging out with your buddies in the basement and your dads bad jokes, its perhaps best to picture him.
His beard, while not inherently funny, certainly adds a sardonic stoicness to his stage presence. And his hair is currently in character for his role in Steel Viper Force as the action movies alcoholic anti-hero Lance Fiero (although he says his real-life girlfriend also likes it). Inspired by the legends of the 90s (Seagal, Van Damme) and ready to be man-bunned at a moments notice, no threat can withstand his hirsuteness.
To manage the task of filming their first full-length movie, Macleod and co. broke it down into comedy Funyuns bite-sized skits, perfect for snacking.
They first shot product placement commercials for fake beer, offensive 2L coolers, and a high-end whiskey for .
After those came the confidence to pull together a 22-minute on a $900 budget, that ultimately makes up the first act of the movie.
That short screened at a handful of film festivals. No big ones. Kind of small, weird genre-based ones like the Toronto Independent Film Fest and Interplay in Fort McMurray, he says bashfully. It was at Interplay that Macleod won Best Actor.
And as for that teenage intention to be a bartender, Macleod still gets behind a good drink, but as operations manager of the Rumpus Room and the Narrow. Ive been bartending for years, he says, drawing out the last, raspy word for emphasis.
When he sat down with WE on the patio at Original Joes, quickly shedding his toque and crew neck in the unseasonably warm weather, he had just left a drink tasting at The Emerald.
Havent heard of it? Thats because it opens in about a month.
Conceived by David Duprey and Rachel Zottenberg (of The Narrow, Rumpus Room, Rickshaw and the upcoming Fox Cabaret fame), Macleod describes the new joint, rising from a long-abandoned dim sum restaurant at 555 Gore, as a 60s, Rat Pack-style supperclub, complete with 25-seat lounge and 65-seat dining room that he will manage as well. At 4,800 sq.ft, its going to be the largest in the fashionable family.
Macleod couldnt help but boast that he had feasted on a sample of The Emeralds Turducken clubhouse sandwich (yes that stands for turkey, duck and chicken) just a few days prior.
Hard times these may be for the arts, but starving this artist is not. He can tick off the triggers for the growth of Vancouvers scene on the tips of his fingers.
First, if you think local comedy is just Yuk Yuks or Comedy Mix stand up, its changed.
When I first started doing sketch comedy with Manhussy and Bronx Cheer seven years ago, there was, like, three sketch shows and two improv shows. There wasnt a lot going on other than . Over the past five years its grown at least 25 times what it was.
Then he gives a nod to the power of the internet, which has had a similar effect on the music industry.
If you want to do it, youre going to do it, and youre
going to make it happen yourself. So you have to make sure youre promoting yourself, youre working hard and youre making your own shows. Youre creating a scene. While we were doing it, other people were doing it as well. And now theres this bigger community, where you can probably go to an independent improv show seven days a week, that will be well attended and good quality comedy.
Another contributing factors has been the recognition of local acts in Eastern Canada.
I feel like theres always been good comedy happening here, but its never had a spotlight on it. And just last year, the [a Vancouver-based improv group that performs every Sunday] won Best Improv Comedy Group at the Canadian Comedy awards. And , hosted by Clark and Shumka both pretty big local stand ups won Best Podcast. I think thats kind of going to show that 麻豆传媒映画is making its presence felt a bit more in the Canadian comedy scene.
And those people from Toronto who were winning everything? Many live and perform here now. And 麻豆传媒映画acts are moving east, creating a talent crossover.
Lastly, there are the up-and-comers (more than ever), energizing the stage and bringing new ideas, like Macleod and his peers all those years ago.
Were not doing it for money, were just doing it because its very fun. All comedians have performance adrenalin addiction, where you just love being on stage and performing and getting laughs.
1) Instant Theatre: Which describes themselves as a 麻豆传媒映画experimental improv group who uses each season to riff off different themes to create unique shows, such as the Antiques Improv Roadshow.
"It's a really great creative hub," says Macleod. "An improving touring group and an that does these conservatory programs that are three months long. Anyone can sign up, you rehearse once a week, you have a show every month and at the end you have one big final performance show."
2) Comedy Waste: "This is my fifth year [curating]. Its part of a bigger festival called, an independent music festival in 麻豆传媒映画that started in the 90s and its all very East Van based.
It started as a f--k you?...to this festival that used to be around called New Music West, which was corporate and heavily funded and didnt show case a lot of local acts. Especially at a time when a lot of punk rock were thriving in Vancouver. All these punk bands said we dont need you, were just going to do our own festival. New Music West isnt around anymore, and Music Waste has happened for forever.
If youre on Main Street or Commerical or the Downtown Eastside during Music Waste, theres literally huge groups of people walking down the street, from one show to another. Its great to see.
3) A group of likeminded indie comedy producers have banded together to create a destination for comedy in East Van, with shows Sundays and Mondays at Havana.
4) Steel Viper Force: Do you like actions movies? We do! We want this movie to change YOUR life. All we need is a little funding. With funding, we have a 12-minute gang fight. Without funding? Were going to have two guys in cut-off jean jackets just having some coffee together. This movie is going to be based in Vancouver, shot in 麻豆传媒映画and starring many comedians from Vancouvers illustrious comedy scene, plus musicians, artists and film crew. The campaign is closed, but paypal is .
The 22-minute short will be released this summer.
5) Graham Clarke, Dave Shumka and Ivan Decker: "If theyre on the bill, people will be coming. Clarke and Shumka kick off June 6.
6) Miami Connection: "I saw a movie on the weekend at that f--king blew me out of the water. Its called Miami Connection and its an 80s action movie that was made by this guy named Y.K. Kim. Its so bad. I havent laughed this hard in a movie in probably like five years. I was with six other people. They were clapping. Everything about it is just so wrong, but its so perfect. Apparently it was made in Miami on a small budget. It was never picked up, and this guy found it on eBay, this film reel for $50 bucks. He had never seen it, he just knew from the title and bought it blindly. Watched it. Was like, 'This is the most incredible thing Ive ever seen!' Re-released it a few years ago and its just gaining this crazy cult status. Seeing Miami Connection was like seeing exactly what I want Steel Viper Force to be, but self-aware.
6) Any show of his: Okay, he didn't say this, but we recommend it.
7) 10 Speed: According to Macleod, its six improv groups doing 10 minute sets, but if they go over 10 minutes then the host of the show come out and disrupt the scene in any way they want. Theyve released live crabs on stage, I made people do huge shots of Buckleys. These two girls in a group called , theyre great improv group, were guest disrupters and they took photos of the hosts, their parents and siblings, cut them out to scale and glued them on to the faces of Hustler Magazine and gave it to them on stage. Half the fun is no one knows whats going to happen and every improv group usually goes over just to see whats going to happen.
8) Dugout: "If you like baseball and comedy, you'll like this."
9) The Hero Show: Its like a quarterly-ish solo . So nine to 12 people all do five minutes, and they can do whatever they want as long as its not standup. Any idea they couldnt get away with on another stage, a weird idea, the Hero show is the place to do it, McLeod explains.
10) Cards Against Humanity Improv: "If you like playing the card game, you should definitely check out this show run by at Caf茅 du Soleil"
And then there's this... (Warning: lewd content)
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