Marc de Montbrun, a Trinidadian comedian that works under the stage name "Marc Trinidad" was featured in an article in today's Trinidad Guardian, October 23, 2007. Marc, incidentally, is one of my two younger brothers in Canada. The text of that article can be found below:

Trini Comedian has Canada in Stiches

With material ranging from the subtle to the most shocking, stand-up comedian Marc Trinidad lives by his mantra: honesty in comedy. The Canada-based comic believes that there must always be an ounce of truth in the joke. “There must be an element of truth in comedy. The audience can’t be fooled. Have that truth in your eyes and they will know,” he said. Marc’s repertoire consists mainly of topics which, according to him, many comedians shun. “Scandals, mass murders, religion, race relations, school shootings – they are all part of my repertoire,” he said. “As well, of course, my musings of a Caribbean man trying to understand North American customs.”

Making of a dream

Marc left Trinidad 11 years ago, with suitcase in his hand and a dream in his head. “I had a plan that simply said, ‘I can do it.’” It quickly became obvious that he didn’t fit the stereotype of the Caribbean male that the North Americans had. “I have sometimes been referred to as an audible minority. I look like I should fit into any conversation with my Canadian peers, but upon speaking, it becomes glaringly apparent that I don’t,” he explained. When asked if one just stumbles upon comedy as a hobby, his reply was simply “No.” Asked to elaborate, he said, “I can’t think of anyone insane enough to want to put themselves routinely in front of hundreds of people with the stress of having to talk to them and try to make them see the humour in your words.” He said. “It couldn’t have been a simple decision that just appeared out of the blue, like sort of epiphany from a deity above. No, mine was a simple story of persecution, compounded by time and agitated by an attitude that some have called ignorant.”

Creating a routine

His ‘ignorance’ paid off. In addition to starring in shows such as Life in a Brown Paper Bag, Cracking Up on D Rocks, Comedy Lane and Two Cobeaux and a Sponge Cake, the comedian who jokes that he’s known for his “huge, protruding ears” has opened for globally famous comics Tommy Davidson (In Living Colour), Dave Chapelle, Doug E. Fresh and Chris Rock. Marc landed his first gig after attending a comedy writing session hosted by one of Canada’s great comedic talents, Kenny Robinson. “One of the first things in the class was to take a newspaper article and create a routine from it. We then had to perform it on camera,” Marc recalled. He was lucky: he pulled an article about Lorena Bobbit. “Kenny pulled me aside and told me that I didn’t need any more training but should appear on one of his shows.” Marc took his advice and tried his hand at the Nubian Disciples of Pryor, and to his surprise won a standing ovation. He became a regular on the show and began writing his own material.

Television was inevitable, and in August 2001 Marc landed a spot as a featured comedian on After Hours with Kenny Robinson on Canada’s Comedy Network. Soon after, he made history by becoming the first Canadian comedian to appear on BET’s Comic View. “I haven’t stopped it for over ten years now. It has rewarded me many times over. And I will always be grateful to Kenny for making that happen and blessing me with my career.” He added.

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Avalene Harris

Trinidad Guardian, G-Life Supplement, October 23, 2007

From Marc's website, www.marctrinidad.com, his biography is as follows:

Born and raised on the twin island republic of Trinidad and Tobago, it soon became evident that 4,800 square kilometers of Caribbean island paradise could not contain the talent and aspirations of Marc Trinidad for long. As explosive as Marc can be on stage, so too are his artistic exploits offstage. He began as a T-Shirt artist during his school days on the island, but within two years this hobby blossomed into a full time job. Having seen his designs become increasingly more popular, he expanded into fabric painting and textile art, with his work being displayed throughout the islands and exported to as far away as Sweden.

A chance meeting, and a reputation for detail, professionalism and razor sharp wit, led to his introduction into the world of performance art as the contracted promotional characters for Kentucky Fried Chicken and PEPSI. Seeking to validate this newfound calling, the fiery Leo attacked the local theatre community, performing in productions such as “Black Comedy” “Whose wife is it anyway?” and “To hell wit dat” which went on to perform at the 9th Annual World AIDS Conference held in Berlin. It was this International exposure that fueled his comedic appetite.

In ’95 he teamed with fellow thespian Clifford Learmond to create a sketch comedy duo called “Two drinks minimum,” which proceeded to take over their country in a comedy coup d’etat. Writing, producing and starring in such shows as “Life in a brown paper bag” “Cracking up on D Rocks” “Comedy Lane” and “Two cobeaux and a sponge cake,” their meteoric rise culminated in MC duties at the International Exposition held in Trinidad in 1996.

Having exhausted his growth potential in the islands and armed with a desire to further his education, Marc packed his bags and migrated to Toronto, Canada. Within months of his arrival he was invited to perform on the routinely sold out “Nubian Disciples All Black Comedy Review”, held at Yuk Yuks Super club in downtown Toronto (the world’s largest chain of comedy clubs). A standing ovation the first time on stage, proved to him that uprooting his family had not been in vain. He became a regular feature thereafter, which gave him the opportunity to open for such international acts as Doug E. Fresh, Tommy Davidson, and Dave Chappelle. His popularity on this show was a catalyst for invitations from across Canada, the U.S.A and the UK.

Television was inevitable, and in Aug ’01 he landed a spot as a featured comedian on Canada’s Comedy Network on “After Hours with Kenny Robinson”. Soon after, he made history by becoming the first Canadian comedian to appear on BET’s Comic View (03 season), and was voted Best Comic ’04 at the Soul’d Out Comedy Festival held in Toronto, Canada.

He is a consummate professional whose versatility has made him a favorite in a variety of venues across the globe. With material ranging from the subtle to the most shocking, he lives by his mantra, “Honesty in comedy.”

Its good to know that he continues to do well with his comedy in Canada. Another Trinidad 'de Montbrun' was quite successful in comedy in Trinidad and Barbados, Landy de Montbrun, for many, many years. It gives me a good feeling knowing that another 'de Montbrun' has continued the comedic journey that Landy started. Particularly after meeting a few of the Canadian de Montbruns (Wayne, Allan, Patrick and others) on my last visit to Canada, I think we are a hilarious breed and we have a lot to offer in comedy and entertainment.

Alan de Montbrun

ademontbrun@gmail.com