Jo-Anna Downey

Jo-Anna was a stand-up comic, host, producer and the self-proclaimed “Mama” of Toronto’s comedy scene. As well as headlining at clubs across Canada, Jo-Anna won the Phil Hartman Award for outstanding lifetime contribution in 2012 at the Canadian Comedy Awards.

Jo-Anna had always been a natural storyteller, but her start in stand-up was – like so much of her life – gloriously unscripted. She’d been a regular audience member at open mic night at Spirit’s on Church Street, back when the stage welcomed any kind of performer looking for an audience. The host of the show failed to show up one night, and Jo being Jo, she just grabbed the mic and hosted it herself.

Not long after that she became the permanent host and producer, and turned the show into a stand-up-only open mic night. She cultivated and ran that room at Spirit’s for over 20 years. Audience members never quite knew who would show up; Robin Williams, Scott Thompson, Sean Cullen, Debra DiGiovanni and Lewis Black are just a few of the comics who asked for stage time to test out new material.

Despite the fact that she could have stacked the line up with pros every week, Jo-Anna made sure each show featured a mix of new and seasoned comics. It was important that her audience saw a different show every week. But more importantly, it gave her a chance to make sure that young comics got a chance to learn, to fail, and ultimately, to grow.

She was bold and fearless in her support of new comics – especially women comics. If you weren’t funny, she’d tell you. Then she’d help you get better.

This scholarship for students who identify as a marginalized gender in the Comedy: Writing and Performance program exists so that, in some small way, Mama can continue to support her comedy babies.