Sitting in the lounge of the Aqsarniit Hotel an hour before showtime, comics Steve "Lumpy" Sullivan and Peter Autut chat as old friends and colleagues of the comedy circuit.
Both live in Iqaluit, but Autut is originally from Chesterfield Inlet while Sullivan is from London, Ont.
"I do presentations for a living," explains Autut, a cultural trainer who runs an employee orientation course for the Government of Nunavut. The course covers Nunavut history and culture for those moving to the territory. He began a career in professional comedy five years ago after winning a stand-up contest that bestowed the title 'Nunavut's Funniest Comedian.'
"I loved it. I loved the stage," he says. "I think preparation is more fun than getting on the stage."
Autut also writes for Up Here Magazine and has won several writing awards. His jokes are born of anecdotes from living a Northern lifestyle.
"My comedy is a lot about coming up to Nunavut... I think we always have headliners from the south, but we could be headliners."
Both Autut and Sullivan talk about how difficult the industry is in general, but how that's amplified with Nunavut's very small audience pool.
"Doing comedy up here in the North, we sometimes open shows for 30-50 people. [The same] people keep coming because they love it. Iqaluit is a small town," says Autut.
"My friends are all important," Sullivan adds with a nod at Autut. "There's not a lot of opportunity for stage time... there aren't as many opportunities and there are so few of us — maybe eight [Northern comedians]."
Both men have performed for large audiences in southern venues before, but are Nunavut-based. Sullivan, who by day works for the Qikiqtaaluk Corporation, grew up with comedy in southern Ontario.
"My father was big into stand-up. I got busted watching George Carlin, and he would then sit down and watch it with us," explains Sullivan, who points to a tattoo he has of the legendary comedian on his arm, "It was comedy that made you think. So from a young age... making you think and being clever was important to me."
With a long career in professional stand-up since the '90s, Sullivan says he reinvented himself in 2017-18 to have a "cleaner" act.
Autut describes his professional development as a comedian involving "lots of homework" — open mic nights where he tries new jokes, and then refining the material over and over privately. However, the show that night at the Aqsarniit presents a rare opportunity. "I like venues like tonight with bigger rooms... In a city like Iqaluit, these venues are very precious... When I go on stage I want to be funny. You find out very quickly what works and what doesn't. The other thing about up here is there's a lot of stories to tell. We only get eight minutes [for a set] so you have to hone."
"You've got to find ways to trim the fat," adds Sullivan.
Aside from performing, Sullivan organizes the shows and enjoys emceeing them.
"That's the bigger passion I have. I'll keep putting on the shows. It's tough to do period," he said. "I think we tried to do [one] every month [trying to draw] 50-60 people... but for the local shows, [they] don't draw enough people... I don't want people to think, he's only on the show because he booked it, because I'm sure that's come up."
When headliners come to town, like Ian Sirota, a well-travelled comedian with over 20 years of experience, they give seasoned advice to the other performers that is appreciated.
Senses of humour vary in different parts of the country, according to Autut.
"Jokes that will work at home don't necessarily work down south," he said. "It's finding a way to make things work in other areas too."
Autut had the privilege of opening the Alianait Festival.
"It's been awhile since I opened, so I'm looking forward to this," he said beforehand.