Emily Woods is one of the city’s most well-known and beloved comedians and has been making waves in the local scene since she arrived in Victoria four years ago.
Next week, Woods will be recording her debut comedy album at Hecklers Comedy Club to an audience of adoring fans before she prepares for the next chapter in her story.
“My goal when I came here was to headline a show at Hecklers and have my face on the poster,” Woods told Victoria Buzz.
“The fact that I get to do that and have it be my debut album and special recording is just so special.”
Woods grew up in Red Deer, Alberta, before moving to London, England to pursue a degree in acting. It was there that she first started to dip her toes in the world of comedy.
She fell in love with the craft there, and was named one of the top five female comics in London before returning to Canada during the pandemic.
Once she came back, she got back into performing again as soon as she safely could, this time in Kelowna, BC.
Before long, she would make the move to Victoria, the place she now considers to be her true home.
“The Victoria comedy scene is the best thing that ever happened to me and it’s so special,” Woods explained.
“I’ve really built my own community around it over the last four years and I got to meet my best friends here through comedy.”
In Victoria, she ran comedy workshops to inspire other women to get into the local scene, she co-hosted a weekly show at the Vicious Poodle and she would make the connections she needed to to take her career to the next level.
Her album will be called Deep in the Woods, which is a perfect representation of Woods’ raunchy and energetic performances.
“[The album] is filled with dirty jokes, that’s what I’m known for, that is my style—high energy, raunchy, empowering female forward comedy that I think can be laughed at and accepted by everyone,” said Woods.
“I like to say the things that everyone thinks but are too embarrassed to say.”
Woods’ debut record will be a snapshot of the time she spent in Victoria and it is being made possible through the strong relationships she built while living and performing here.
She met fellow comedian Dan Duvall through performing in Victoria and he was able to open doors for her because he knew she was talented and extremely funny.
Duvall helps produce shows at Hecklers and in recent months has been forming a comedy record label along with the comedy club in order to help amplify the voices of Canadian comedians.
“I became really good friends with Dan when I moved here and when I came to Victoria I was a semi-professional comedian,” Woods said.
“I wanted to be taken seriously and respected, especially as a woman in comedy because I had struggled with that in other communities. I came here and asserted myself and I did feel respected and supported and Hecklers really helped with that.”
The label is called Good Little Robot, and although it is still in its early stages, it is already allowing comedians to accessibly record their material and release something professional and tangible.
“We had a lot of comics reaching out to do albums and we want to help them,” Duvall told Victoria Buzz.
“We’ve just been trying to facilitate comics who we believe in to be really, really solid comics, and help them produce albums and specials however we can.”
Woods is one of the first comics to be aided by Good Little Robot.
“We love Emily, we are huge, huge fans of her and we have been for a really long time,” Duvall continued.
Woods will be performing two recorded sets that will become her debut album on Thursday, December 5th—one at 7 p.m. and one at 10 p.m.
Tickets are still available for these shows, but are expected to sell out shortly.
Hecklers Presents: Emily Woods (Special Taping)
- Where: Hecklers Comedy Club, 123 Gorge Road East
- When: Thursday, December 5th at 7 p.m. and 10 p.m.
- Tickets: Available online
