''We're Funny That Way'' began as an annual charity comedy festival in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, in 1996. Launched in 1996 by

Maggie Cassella Maggie Cassella is an American-Canadian actress, comedian and writer, best known for hosting the Canadian television talk show '' Because I Said So'' and founding the ''We're Funny That Way!'' comedy festival. Biography Cassella's double degree ...

, the festival featured stand-up and sketch comedy shows by

lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is ...

comedians. It ran until 2012 when it took a five-year hiatus, returning in 2017 (produced by Ford Cassella Productions). The festival has grown to a broader performance festival and now includes musicians, story-tellers, burlesque artists, plays, drag performances, generally following the genres associated with live cabaret. The inaugural festival was held in April 1997 at Toronto's

Buddies in Bad Times Buddies in Bad Times Theatre is a Canadian professional theatre company. Based in Toronto, Ontario and founded in 1978 by Matt Walsh, Jerry Ciccoritti, and Sky Gilbert, ''Buddies in Bad Times'' is dedicated to "the promotion of queer theatrical e ...

theatre. Proceeds from the festival support the We're Funny That Way Foundation, aimed at making transformational donations to LGBTQ charities across Canada. The festival was the subject of the 1998 documentary ''We're Funny That Way!'', a film by David Adkin,"Laughing out loud: Gay and lesbian comics go the extra comedic mile on TV special". ''

The Gazette The Gazette (stylized as the GazettE), formerly known as , is a Japanese visual kei Rock music, rock band, formed in Kanagawa Prefecture, Kanagawa in early 2002.''Shoxx'' Vol 106 June 2007 pg 40-45 The band is currently signed to Sony Music Recor ...

'', February 9, 1999. which interviewed and featured performance clips of various performers who appeared at the inaugural festival. A short-run television series produced by Maggie Cassella for

OutTV OutTV (stylized OUTtv) is a Canadian English language specialty channel that was launched in September 2001. It broadcasts general entertainment and lifestyle programming aimed at the LGBT community. The network is owned by OUTtv Media Global I ...

also aired in 2007 in conjunction with the festival's 10th anniversary, using the same format to profile comedians appearing at the 2005 and 2006 editions of the event.Jesse Kohl
"OUTtv launches fall sked with pride"
''Media in Canada'', August 10, 2007.

Film

Comedians profiled in the 1998 documentary film included Steve Moore, Christopher Peterson, Scott Capurro,

Kate Clinton Kate Clinton (born November 9, 1947) is an American comedian specializing in political commentary from a gay/ lesbian point of view. Early life and education Clinton was born in Buffalo, New York. She was raised in a large Catholic family in th ...

, Jaffe Cohen,

Lea DeLaria Lea DeLaria (born May 23, 1958) is an American comedian, actress, and jazz singer. DeLaria is credited with being the first openly gay comic to appear on American television with her 1993 appearance on ''The Arsenio Hall Show''. She is best kno ...

Elvira Kurt Elvira Kurt (born December 9, 1961) is a Canadian comedian, and was the host of the game show '' Spin Off''. She hosted the entertainment satire/talk show '' PopCultured with Elvira Kurt'', which began on The Comedy Network in Canada in 2005. Tha ...

, Bob Smith,

John McGivern John McGivern (born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin) is an American actor and writer, known for playing Bruce McIntosh in the Disney film ''The Princess Diaries'' and many commercials for companies such as Kohl's department store, Sears, and Philadelphia ...

and The Nellie Olesons. The film was screened at various LGBT film festivals, but was distributed primarily as a television special on Bravo Canada,

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

and

Citytv Citytv is a Canadian television network owned by the Rogers Sports & Media subsidiary of Rogers Communications. The licence of the original Citytv station, granted the callsign of CITY-TV by the CRTC on November 25, 1971 to Cable Television Ass ...

Television series

A spinoff television series, also titled ''We're Funny That Way!'', aired on Canada's

in 2007. The six-episode series featured highlights from the 2005 and 2006 We're Funny That Way festivals, including performances by Kate Rigg, Dina Martina, Maggie Cassella and

Trevor Boris Trevor Boris (born September 10, 1980) is a Canadian comedian, writer and television producer. Television work Boris is one of the stars of MuchMusic's '' Video on Trial'', and is also a star of '' Stars Gone Wild''. He has also appeared on ma ...

. In 2020, during the

COVID-19 pandemic in Canada The COVID-19 pandemic in Canada is part of the ongoing worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (). It is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). Most cases over the course of the pandemic have been in Ontario, Que ...

, a virtual edition of We're Funny That Way! was produced for streaming by

CBC Gem CBC Television (also known as CBC TV) is a Canadian English-language broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster. The network began operations on September 6, 1952. Its French-l ...

.Pahull Bains
"11 Virtual Pride 2020 Events Taking Place Across Canada"
''

Fashion Fashion is a form of self-expression and autonomy at a particular period and place and in a specific context, of clothing, footwear, lifestyle, accessories, makeup, hairstyle, and body posture. The term implies a look defined by the fashion in ...

'', June 25, 2020. Performers included Maggie Cassella, Katie Rigg, Carolyn Taylor,

Gavin Crawford Gavin Crawford (born 2 April 1971) is a Canadian comedian and actor, best known for '' The Gavin Crawford Show'' and ''This Hour Has 22 Minutes''. He currently hosts the panel show, '' Because News'', on CBC Radio One. Early life Crawford wa ...

, Lea DeLaria, Colin Mochrie, Kinley Mochrie and

Deb McGrath Debra McGrath (born July 5, 1954) is a Canadian actress and comedian. Education Debra McGrath was born in Toronto in 1954. She studied theatre at Ryerson Polytechnical Institute (now Toronto Metropolitan University). Career McGrath first sta ...

, who were all collectively nominated for Best Performance in a Variety or Sketch Comedy Program or Series at the

9th Canadian Screen Awards The 9th annual Canadian Screen Awards were held in the week of May 17 to 20, 2021, to honour achievements in Canadian film, television, and digital media production in 2020.Barry Hertz, "How one Canadian arts institution is rebuilding amid the p ...

. The special won the award for Best Performing Arts Program.Rachel West
"‘Canada’s Drag Race’, ‘Property Brothers’, Jann Arden Among Canadian Screen Awards Lifestyle And Reality Winners"
''

ET Canada ''ET Canada'' (previously referred to as ''Entertainment Tonight Canada'') is a Canadian entertainment news television series, using the same format as the American entertainment newsmagazine ''Entertainment Tonight''. ''ET Canada'' is a broadcas ...

'', May 17, 2021.

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, 0157179 1998 films 1998 documentary films Canadian LGBT-related films 1990s English-language films Canadian independent films Documentary films about LGBT topics LGBT-related comedy films 1998 LGBT-related films Canadian television specials 2000s Canadian comedy television series 2000s Canadian documentary television series 2000s Canadian LGBT-related comedy television series 2007 Canadian television series debuts LGBT organizations in Canada LGBT culture in Toronto 1997 establishments in Ontario 2012 disestablishments in Ontario Comedy festivals in Canada Canadian documentary television films OutTV (Canadian TV channel) original programming Canadian stand-up comedy television series LGBT-related television specials 1990s Canadian films