From Newfoundland to the CBC: Cathy Jones
Liam Dynes
Issue date: 10/22/02 Section: Arts & Entertainment
Cathy Jones has had audiences clutching their sides for more than 20 years now, and she can't imagine doing anything else. The acclaimed Canadian comic, star of shows such as This Hour Has 22 Minutes and CODCO, has gone back to the boards with a new solo show in between her other projects, and is bringing her one-woman show to audiences across Canada.
"I got these bookings through Speaker's Spotlight," says Jones. "But it was sort of unexpected. I do these little 30 to 45 minute shows occasionally, and these are going to be an expanded version of one of those. It gives me a chance to play some of the characters I love and get that kind of instant feedback from the audience that live theatre is so good for. It's really just more of me than an audience would usually get."
Jones' energy is infectious, and her lightning-fast speech over the course of the interview makes it hard for me to keep a straight face, and none of this is helped when Jones herself can't help but break into the giggles at random intervals. Contributing to the giggles in no small part is the fact that while on the phone, Jones is having her hair cut between segments of filming 22 Minutes, and her co-star Greg Thomey keeps coming into the room with a hair dryer, understandably causing her concentration to waiver.
But after the giggles subsided, we managed to get back on track and talked more about Jones' experience with comedy, and the impact she feels it has on others.
"I've just been so lucky," says Jones. "You ask about a career highlight, but I can't really pin down one specific time. I've been doing this since I was 18, and it has all just sort of fallen into place. That's unusual in show business, I know, but this has allowed me to do what I love, and have two great children, and stay on the East coast, and I couldn't really ask for anything more."
And as for coming from the east coast, an area famous for its more eclectic and unique contributions to Canadian culture, Jones doesn't feel that there are any stigmas attached to coming from the Maritimes.
"I got these bookings through Speaker's Spotlight," says Jones. "But it was sort of unexpected. I do these little 30 to 45 minute shows occasionally, and these are going to be an expanded version of one of those. It gives me a chance to play some of the characters I love and get that kind of instant feedback from the audience that live theatre is so good for. It's really just more of me than an audience would usually get."
Jones' energy is infectious, and her lightning-fast speech over the course of the interview makes it hard for me to keep a straight face, and none of this is helped when Jones herself can't help but break into the giggles at random intervals. Contributing to the giggles in no small part is the fact that while on the phone, Jones is having her hair cut between segments of filming 22 Minutes, and her co-star Greg Thomey keeps coming into the room with a hair dryer, understandably causing her concentration to waiver.
But after the giggles subsided, we managed to get back on track and talked more about Jones' experience with comedy, and the impact she feels it has on others.
"I've just been so lucky," says Jones. "You ask about a career highlight, but I can't really pin down one specific time. I've been doing this since I was 18, and it has all just sort of fallen into place. That's unusual in show business, I know, but this has allowed me to do what I love, and have two great children, and stay on the East coast, and I couldn't really ask for anything more."
And as for coming from the east coast, an area famous for its more eclectic and unique contributions to Canadian culture, Jones doesn't feel that there are any stigmas attached to coming from the Maritimes.
