Class clown grows into second career on Second City stage

Awarded the title of Class Clown at prom, Jason DeRosse has always been a funny man.

DeRosse never planned to be a comedian for a career, but he instantly quit his job in advertising after producers of Second City recognized his talent during his time at their conservatory program.

“They asked me to audition for them and I was a bit surprised because I wasn’t planning on doing this as a career but then I auditioned and they hired me and I was really excited and quit my job instantly,” DeRosse told The Bulletin. “After that I found out you only work about once a month so I might have quit my job a little early but in the end it all worked out.”

Putting together a performance is a daunting task of late nights and long hours of pitching ideas and rehearsing two months prior to opening on the Second City stage for which DeRosse terms a, “comedic democracy.”

“It’s completely ensemble based,” said DeRosse about the writers of the show. “The six people in the show write the show and we have a director, Kerry Griffin, who shapes it along with the assistant director, Rob Baker, who is an alumni of the stage. We help each other out.”

Today this 37-year-old, single, comedian, living at Bathurst and Lakeshore, is performing in The Meme-ing of Life now playing at Second City located at 99 Blue Jays Way.

“We are having so much fun as a cast,” laughed DeRosse adding that to keep a straight face during the skits can be difficult even for the most seasoned performers. “If we are having fun then the audience is having fun.”

For more information about performances at Second City go to www.secondcity.com and you can follow DeRosse on Twitter @JasonDeRosse.