About — Dawn Xanklin Comedy

ABOUT DAWN:

“Clever, clean and promising.”
“Funny, relatable, punchy!”
“HIGH ENERGY!”
“Black ‘Betty Rubble’ ”.

Dawn is a dynamic stand-up comedian, storyteller, and speaker from Ottawa, Canada. She's performed stand-up comedy for six years as “Dawn Xanklin” and writes about being a wife, mom, and Black Nerd or “Blerd”. Dawn loves connecting with audiences and can perform clean or PG-13 comedy as well as material for mature audiences. Her favorite way to do that is through independent shows, including the sold-out edition of “MIC DROP” at Ottawa’s Great Canadian Theatre Company in February 2022. Dawn has been in three editions of the Underground Comedy Railroad – Canada’s longest-running, all-Black Canadian Comedy Tour: in 2018, 2019, and 2020. Dawn has also performed at Yuk Yuks Ottawa, Absolute Comedy (in Ottawa), and the Comedy Nest (Montreal).

As “Dawn Xavier-Franklin,” she has won or placed in Toastmasters public speaking contests in Ottawa-Gatineau. In 2021, “Dawn Xanklin” was voted Ottawa’s Best Comedian in the 2021 edition of the FACES Magazine Awards.

When she’s not performing, Dawn enjoys volunteering. She was recently a volunteer and member of the Ottawa StoryTellers Board of Directors from 2020-2022. In that time, she hosted or co-hosted Ottawa StoryTellers’ (un)told show, and showcased true personal stories and performed in the “Rockabilly Heartbreaker” Signature Show (June 2022). Dawn has also shared storytelling online through The Iridescent Robot Storytelling Club (show and podcast) and Friday Special Blend on CKCU Radio.

Stand-up Comedy.

In Dawn’s words:

“ I performed my first stand-up set at 43 years old, in Ottawa.
It happened on March 8, 2017 (International Women’s Day). A local professional comic had been teaching stand-up comedy workshops that included joke-writing. These sessions included 5 minutes onstage at a new talent night at the local Yuk Yuks comedy club.
I’d signed up to learn about being funny on purpose. I wanted to learn more about joke writing so that I could use them in my Toastmasters speeches. I’d planned to cancel the performance part, but I was curious about what performing would be like.
When the big day came, I was still more curious than nervous. And, after doing my set, I was so ENERGIZED that I didn’t want to get off the stage. I hadn’t expected to find a passion like this by accident.
Six years later, I’ve performed stand-up comedy for different kinds of audiences: in clubs, independent stages, for suburban crowds, for university and college audiences, for corporate audiences, and on Zoom to audiences as far away as Kuala Lumpur and Shanghai! What do I think is funny? Everything. My first sets were about being a wife, Mom, and a Black Nerd (“Blerd”). Today, I write jokes about so much more.
In Spring 2022, I launched my first producing “experiment”: a stand-up comedy series called "Good, Clean, Fun(ny)”. It featured "Clean" or "PG-13" stand-up comedy twice a month: in open-mics (for practice), and "hybrid", showcase shows (pre-booked and paid performances) livestreamed to a larger audience). I had the chance to pay some comics I admired to take part. By 2023, I closed the experiment to focus exclusively on writing and performing. ”

(Portrait by: Angela Holmyard Photography, March 2023)