By Shetu Modi

For Toronto-born standup comedian Sabrina Jalees, there’s no such thing as too much information. The 27-year-old, who has appeared on MuchMusic’s Video on Trial and was a columnist for the Toronto Star, says her routines benefit from her willingness to share. Jalees talks to Rhubarb about why she’s so open, life in the U.S., and gay marriage.

How did you parents react when you said you wanted to be a comedian?

I just did it before telling them. I always knew I wanted attention from people, but I didn’t really know specifically I wanted to be a standup comic until I tried it and got addicted. Doing standup comedy is kind of like doing heroin. No one does it for the first time thinking they’ll get hooked—but the next thing you know, you’re up at all hours of the night trying to get your fix. What I’m trying to say is, I’d sell my TV to buy a mic and a crowd any day.

Once my parents realized I was doing comedy, their rule was as long as you get your school work done, we’re cool with you going downtown and being crazy.

You’re a Canadian living in Brooklyn. What do you like most (and least) about living in the U.S.?

I like most how amazingly driven everyone is. The U.S. and Canada are quite comparable. Politically they’re very different, but coming from Toronto and moving to New York is an awesome experience. It’s a city like Toronto but it’s completely new to me and giant and I’m constantly discovering new people and new places and new things. Coming here was really intimidating but it had a huge payoff. The comedy scene here is really inspiring. I guess the difference between Toronto and New York is the amount of people and the amount of competition. You’ve gotta work hard (in New York) or you’ll just fall behind.

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By Shetu Modi

The gaming industry might be dominated by male designers, but Cecily Carver hopes to change that through Dames Making Games, a community for women interested in developing video games. The 29-year-old, who is also a social and interactive media co-ordinator at the Canadian Opera Company, co-founded the Toronto-based group in 2011. It offers skills training, online support and networking opportunities.

Cecily herself is a designer committed to creating games that look outside the game world for their inspiration. (One game she created involves a Victorian girl trying to elope with someone her family disapproves of. She must navigate through her maze of a house without being seen.) She tells us about Dames Making Games and shares her thoughts on the gaming industry in general.

 What is the purpose of Dames Making Games? Is one of your goals getting more women interested in video games?

Women are interested in video games, but there’s sort of a split in gaming culture where there’s casual games and hardcore games. A lot of women play games that a lot of people would say don’t count as games. But of course they’re games. The proportion of women playing games has actually increased and in some genres women make up the majority of players.

 What genres?

Games like Bejeweled or Farmville. A lot of women play those. They don’t call themselves gamers and they don’t necessarily get interested in the whole idea of video games, but the idea that games are mostly a male pursuit is wrong.

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By Shetu Modi

Rhea Yee (left) and Gemma Foley

At Girls Rock Camp Toronto, girls aged 8-16 learn to play instruments, take workshops in media literacy and form bands with other campers. Founders Magali Meagher and Alysha Haugen are musicians themselves—they both play in the Weezer cover band Sheezer. Rhea Yee, 12, and Gemma Foley, 13, attended the inaugural session of the week-long camp last year, where they were members of a band called the Jets. Rhea and Gemma both play guitar, and Rhea has also dabbled in keyboard. They explain the importance of an all-girls music camp.

Why did you decide to start Girls Rock Camp Toronto, Magali and Alysha?

Magali: The idea was floating around for a bit. We’re both involved in making music in the city, either by playing music or booking shows. We’re also interested in making community happen. It just seemed like
a natural combination.

Alysha: As female musicians, we both know how hard it can be to be a young girl starting out, trying to get her footing in the music world, where there’s a lot of negative energy. It was really exciting for us to create a space where girls can totally bypass that energy and meet other cool girls who want to do the same thing.

What kind of negative energy? 

Alysha: I guess the best example I can give is going into a guitar shop as a teenage girl. You can feel the stares.

Gemma: It’s really, really intimidating going in. It’s really uncomfortable. Everyone’s sort of staring at you and thinking, “Why is she here? She’s a girl. She doesn’t really want to play guitar.”

Do people make comments or is it just a vibe?

Rhea: It’s a vibe.

Gemma: Everyone sort of looks at you. Everyone, in turn, takes a glance. You can sort of tell they don’t think you’re here to play guitar. They sort of stare at you like you’re taking up space.
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