I know I give off the School Librarian vibe!
Photo Credit: Logan Dunn
“Sometimes in life you meet someone and you just know that you two people will be lifelong friends.”
-- David Reuben
“Kelly is an innovator of online comedy shows starting during Covid -19 in
2020.“
-- Dan Rosen
“Kelly Zemnickis is a clean, relatable and uplifting comedy voice who wears many hats.”
-- Janelle Niles
Miss Kelly Zemnickis is a show business dynamo, a stand-up comic, comedy producer, movie producer, theatre producer, movie director, storyteller, playwright, and foodie. When time permits Kelly still helps out as a behind the scenes tech on other people shows.
The author, David Reuben, first met Miss Kelly Zemnickis in late 2001, when Kelly was working at CBC as a television Production Coordinator while Coordinating and Producing the Inside the Out of Work Actors Studio Staring Kerry Griffin. “A Parody of the TV series, Inside The Actors Studio, w/ Kelly Zemnickis, Kerry Griffin & others.” (Google Search) Little did I know that Miss Zemnickis was already a show business veteran by the time we met in 2021.
Kelly states, “I remember calling my friend Paul and saying, “What if there was an Actors Studio show, but for actors who were out of work?” and he laughed so hard on the phone. We did that show for 4 years and tried to develop it into a TV series, but it wasn’t meant to be. But I LOVED doing that show, Kerry was a marvelous host as James Tetley. (Those who know the actual series, was hosted of course by the late James Lipton.)”
Miss Kelly Zemnickis was born in Montreal and grew up in Toronto, the family moved when Kelly was 6 years old. “When we moved here, I thought we were here for the summer and would then go back to Montreal.” There was always music. Television, Laughter, and Storytelling in the Zemnickis household.
Kelly remembers, “I grew up around a lot of people who could tell a tale. What was especially influential was watching British sitcoms with my Papa (my mom’s dad), he introduced me to Keeping Up Appearances and Faulty Towers and Python. And when I got older, because watching TV was so common at home (with my parents in advertising), I would sneak in late night TV time watching Letterman and SNL- because my folks were okay with my brother, and I having a TV in our rooms."
Two of Kelly’s childhood dreams were being a Toronto Blue Jays commentator, and a Much Music director. By grade 6 at John G. Althouse Middle School in Etobicoke ON (John G. Althouse Middle School (tdsb.on.ca) Miss Zemnickis was part of the school's AV Club run by Mr. Ron Marshall. Every Tuesday and Thursday, instead of morning announcements, they would broadcast a 20-minute news program to the school. At the end of middle school Kelly was well versed in reporting on Sports and Entertainment. In high school,
Kelly was already involved in the Toronto television and comedy scenes. “I was already working in TV, at my local cable company and working in the comedy scene in Toronto running lights & sound at comedy clubs in my teens so I was already establishing myself in “the biz” long before I graduated high school. I went right into college, studying Radio & TV Broadcasting at Centennial College out on the Danforth in Toronto. I started to dabble in storytelling,”
A fun fact is that Kelly finished high school at the Etobicoke School Of The Arts which did not have a stand-up comedy component to the curriculum. Kelly states, “for a school that did not have a stand-up comedy course- a LOT of comics came from my school: K. Trevor Wilson, Renee Percy, Anjelica Scannura – we’re all ESA grads. And I think a majority of the band Broken Social Scene went to ESA… or that might just be a rumor someone started. But I think they did.”
While Kelly was producing Inside the Out of Work Actors Studio, I went to many of these shows which were well written and directed, had great acting, and was a fun night out. Around the same time, 2002 to 2006, I was the associate producer of The Hogtown Comedy Festival™ in Toronto ON. Miss Zemnickis was at all these shows supporting the comedy festival from the audience.
From the time we met in 2001, Kelly and I always kept in touch, met for coffee, and just generally kept up on each others’ careers. In February of 2016, I got an e-mail from a Kelly Zemnickis asking for a spot on my weekly comedy open- mic at Ein-Stein’s Bier Hall in Toronto. My response was, “is this my friend Kelly who never showed any interest in being on a stand-up stage?” The next week she was on the open-mic. I wish I had saved that e-mail!
Kelly tells the story of starting stand-up comedy, “The long and the short is that my dearest friend & my first love, James found out too late that he had cancer. And what would end up being our last phone call really changed the trajectory of my life. He found out he was sick in 2015, and interestingly, before I knew he was sick- anytime I’d be running the lights at an improv or stand-up show at SoCap (Toronto), I heard this voice in my head saying “Why aren’t you on stage? You should be on stage. You can do that- you should go do that.” I had that for a solid year, and I had NO idea where that voice was coming from. And then James gets sick. And it was January 2016 when we had a Put Everything On the Table call and when we were done, I was on my bathroom floor in absolute tears… I got up, looked at myself in the mirror and said, “Go do every fucking thing you want to try because you can do whatever the fuck you want to do, he can’t – go try stand up”. A week later? I did my first set. I pushed myself off the diving board, I guess. And around the same time, an opportunity (of my own creation, really) came around to do a documentary. So, while I was in a place of grief, I was learning how to do stand-up and be a filmmaker all at the same time.”
Like everything else in her life. Miss Kelly Zemnickis attacked stand-up comedy with a determination to learn, grow and succeed. However, the last 8 years have not been without its own stand-up trials and tribulations…
When the lockdown shut down everything in March 2020 Kelly was one of the first comics to jump onto online comedy shows. Like everyone jumping online Kelly Zemnickis did not know what she was getting herself into. Good friend and fellow comic Desiree Walsh says, “Kelly was able to overcome the adversity of digital technology, was able to stay positive, and open a whole new world to her stand-up comedy. These online shows allowed her to meet comics from all over the world and advance her career.”
Dan Rosen another comic and friend of Kelly’s says, “online shows gave her more recognition outside of Toronto and gave her the confidence to go after bigger shows both online and live, including her album taping and comedy festivals.”
Miss Zemnickis remembers, “I did my first virtual set at the end of March 2020, not knowing AT ALL what I was getting into. I saw a post by a NYC Comedy Club about a “virtual mic” and I signed up because I needed to scratch that comedy itch. And I took to it quickly. I don’t move around a lot on stage, I don’t rely on act outs or crowd work, so talking to a camera felt fine. And honestly, with the glitches and audio lags of Zoom or whatever- 3+ years of online life got me to slow down my speech and pause and it was THE BEST lesson I gleaned from online life. It was a great space to work on my writing and make connections globally. And now, I incorporate both virtual shows and brick & mortar shows in my life because with online, it’s accessible to ANY BODY. Toronto clubs are either up flights of stairs or down, or the toilets aren’t accessible and virtual busted down those barriers. So, I love that, and when I produce stand-up shows “in person” I have to have it in fully accessible spaces. Because really, going into a dingy basement bar to see a comedy show is a privilege if you have to walk down a flight of stairs to get there- and before I didn’t see it like that. But not everyone can get there. So, look, I don’t want to throw the lessons learned in lockdown out the window! I know all these options are available now, in person or online, and I want to do better for my friends who use wheelchairs or scooters. Their voices matter and their life experiences matter – and it’s someone like me that has to do the work to make sure the arts are more accessible. I just want to be a good ally.”
Boyfriend and fellow comic, Adam Gabel says they met on a zoom comedy open mic. “She was confident and optimistic about starting from scratch on online shows. Her heart and interest in other people allowed Kelly to connect with other comics on a personal level.
Kelly says, “online shows were vital in building her material to put out her debut album “Sugar n’ Spice & Smirnoff Ice (Howl & Hoar)"
Kelly is one busy lady; She produced the documentary No Responders Left Behind (Paradox Pictures/Blue Ant Media/Discovery+) Co- Directed Janelle Niles: Inconvenient (Hot Docs-Citizen Minutes 2) Writes her blog Marriage & The Single Girl (WordPress)
There is her cooking show …It’ll Be Fine: A Food Show
Two podcasts, Order Up! with Cari, Kelly, Mary & Matt (Showbiz Monkeys) and Holler & Whine (Tape Deck Media)
Online Comedy:
Comedy Coffee, 1st Sunday of the month at 2pm est
Uncrustables: the booked open mic with Desiree Walsh, the 2nd Wednesday of the month at 8pm est
In Person Comedy:
Comedy Cabernet at Bloom Bar Studio, Toronto
Desiree & Kelly’s Happy Hour at The Imperial Pub, Toronto
Ladies Nite at Comedy Bar Danforth, Toronto
Kelly Zemnickis has appeared on CBC’s LOL and will be part of Funny Forum Fridays on August 9, 2024, at the Stratford Festival in Stratford ON. Is a regular performer at The Comedy Nest in Montreal and has done comedy festivals since 2019.
So how does Kelly keep track of all the stuff in her busy life? “I love calendars and pens and highlighters- that’s how I divide everything up! I have to write things down on actual paper and in my phone, because if I don’t, lord help us all. I have always loved being busy. “Just do the thing” is my mantra. BUT! BUT… I appreciate and know the value in being still and taking a break.”
To relax Kelly Zemnickis like to spend time building her family tree, follow the Toronto Blue Jays and meeting friends for coffee, lunch or dinner. To unwind at home, she likes to bake, cook and take long walks. “Oh, leave me with Ancestry.ca and I’m good for HOURS. I honestly just want to be famous enough that I get to be on Finding Your Roots on PBS – though I have discovered that an Uncle has a connection to the Royal Family so that’s been the neatest deep dive. There have been some amazing revelations putting together the family tree, I just eat that stuff up. I love it. ALSO- long walks. Best way to clear the head. I have to carve out quiet and calm in my life or I’d go nuts, because I can’t just go go go…”
Miss Kelly Zemnickis has a lot to look forward to in her showbusiness career, of course stand-up will continue to be a big of it. A storyteller at heart, she will continue to write and one day be part of late-night shows writers room. I see her continuing as a documentary film maker on subjects she is passionate about...
When Kelly and I recently met for coffee, we discussed a syndicated cooking show that combines her love of cooking, stand-up and storytelling. I hope this happens so I can be the taste tester.
Photo Credit: Unknown
For more information on Miss Kelly Zemnickis visit https://linktr.ee/KellyZemnickis
Mention you found out about Kelly Zemnickis on www.thecomedygreenroom.com
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