There are times when comedian John Sheehan will show up for a performance and have no idea what to expect when he gets there.
On those occasions, he isn’t sure how many people will show up or what parts of his act will resonate with the crowd. The latter part is something he usually figures the crowd out in the first 30 or so seconds of his set.
However, an upcoming tour of Newfoundland will eliminate most of what he can’t prepare for.
That is because Sheehan will be playing a set of four shows at different retirement homes from Central Newfoundland to the Burin Peninsula Feb. 26 – 29.
“It is a unique tour,” the comic told SaltWire. “It is a bit of security because the audience (is guaranteed) to be there.”
Sheehan will be performing at the homes belonging to Kingsway in all communities on what is being called The Retirement Home Comedy Tour.
It is something he and Kingsway have been trying to lineup since December.
The upcoming tour figures to be the first of its kind in the province and it is something Sheehan would like to see more of.
“Hopefully, it isn’t the last,” he said.
As a comic, it is important to be able to perform to a different audience every single night.
To that end, Sheehan has been going back through some of this older material in hopes of finding jokes that will play with the older audience.
Although profanity is not a big part of his act to begin with, he is eliminating that part from the set list.
“You have to be able to cater to different audiences,” said Sheehan.