It’s time to go back to where it all began my friends. three years ago when I started down the road to being a comedian I never thought that I would be able to make a career of it.

If we go back even further, you can imagine how far-fetched the idea was. In was 2004 and I was bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. Turns out the bushy tail was a small yet aggressive growth, but fear not as it has been long since removed. In September of 2004 I started performing with a small sketch comedy troupe called Atomic Vaudeville that presented a monthly cabaret night called In The Living Room. I only did two short skits but I was immediately in love with that style of show.

I wanted so badly to be asked back to do another show and as luck would have it I was asked back the very next month. I stayed with those folks doing regular shows for for the next seven years. Atomic Vaudeville became a home for me.

I discovered fairly early that I wasn’t very good at writing for other peoples voices. I could write for my own, but whenever I tried to write a scene with more than one person in it, the comedy went right out the window! So out of necessity I started to write characters. Stand-alone characters that would perform monologues or host.

A creepy lounge lizard with an infectious laugh, an olive-skinned Italian wine maker, and in a joint effort with a very smart man named Jacob Richmond, a Scottish deity in a dress. In 2010 I decided that I would put on my own show in the 170-seat cabaret where Atomic Vaudeville played. All of my characters in one show separated by pre filmed skits to give me time to change.

I was terrified. I was positive nobody would show up. I was wrong. The show was announced and it sold out right away. At the advice of a friend, I added in a late show, and that one sold out as well. With the success of what I ended up calling “A One Night Stand with Mike Delamont” I did three more solo nights over the next two years. In 2012 I decided that I would make the jump to a bigger space and played the McPherson Playhouse in December of that year. Since then I have been lucky enough to play some of the largest theatres in the country.

Other than stand up, I only do one character now and haven’t gone back to do a solo show in that small cabaret space in over three years. To be honest, I think I’m afraid. My last solo show at the Victoria Event Centre was Nov. 11, 2011 and it was the last show my mom ever got to see. She was a great supporter of my career and I wish that she could have gotten to see a glimpse of the minimal success I have had since then.

I have been nervous to do a show in the same place and know that when I look out into the darkness she won’t be there. But if I learned anything from her, it’s that being afraid of things is no way to live your life. So I think it’s time to go back to where it all began.

This December I will play two intimate shows on the stage where my career began. All my favourite characters, some special guests, and since my mom always wanted me to sing in my shows and I never did, I think we will have to close it out with a few special songs.

A One Night Stand With Mike Delamont, Victoria Event Centre, December 5 & 6, All tickets $20 (+ s/c), Available online at www.mikedelamont.com