In 2018, the Montreal Gazette named Wassim as one of the artists to watch. Have you been watching?
Since 2018, Wassim has achieved many comedy milestones. For one, in 2022, Wassim performed at Just for Laughs for the first time as part of the New Faces Canada show. This past May, he participated in the Winnipeg Comedy Festival. And, most recently, he released his first comedy album, You Can English.
According to Wassim, the album was a key milestone for him and he learned a lot from the process, but notes that not much has changed since its release. While he hopes to get it played on SiriusXM, he continues working on his craft.
“I’m just trying to write new material and do my best to not repeat that stuff,” Wassim said over Zoom. “But on bigger shows you kind of have to. I’m doing Club Soda. Nobody knows who I am. I’m still gonna do that album material, but what changes is I’m still really trying to, whenever I go to an open mic or a show with slightly less stakes perhaps, I’ll do my best to try as much new stuff as I can and turn over the material.”
Being born in Beirut, growing up in Montreal, and teaching English in Korea are just a few cultural experiences permeating Wassim’s material. His sensibility and sharp wit enable him to win over any audience. Using voices and act outs, he ping pongs between world views, remarking on the universality of how people adapt and morph to their environments and circumstances. A comedian who needs to figure out new material in front of an audience, Wassim mines for what people connect to, unifying audiences from all backgrounds.
“Like sometimes even if it doesn’t get the big laughs,” explains Wassim, “you can just kind of see on people’s faces in the audience if they’re like ‘I’m connecting with this’ or ‘I like this.’ You can see that– versus an idea where they’re like ‘I don’t even know what’s happening.’ That, I’ll likely abandon. But I’m working on a new bit about cute aggression. You know, like when you see something really cute and you feel like,” Wassim physically tenses to demonstrate. “And whenever I bring it up, I can see everyone nodding like you just did. It’s worked a couple of times, but it’s still not.. that’s one I know I won’t abandon because I can see, even if it’s not getting big laughs, I can see people engaged and connecting and being like ‘oh, this is something real and visceral.’”
Now, ten years in the game, he feels like he’s just getting started. And while he claims he’s only finding his footing, this time around at JFL, he’s much more relaxed.
“It’s just New Faces is a huge show,” reminisces Wassim. “So, that felt like pressure. Okay, it was my first time on a big stage at JFL, and I was very happy with the way it went. But now, I don’t feel that I have to prove anything really, you know… I think I should take a chance and do brand new stuff. Especially because once you’re in it, people have seen you a few times. So, it feels different in the sense that I don’t feel as much pressure. I’m just like: Oh, let’s just go have fun. And just kind of treat it like any other show.”
Finally, what’s fun and interesting about Wassim that he would like you to know? Well, for one, he started comedy while teaching English in South Korea. Living in Seoul, he found a couple of open mics, a tight friend group of seven comics, and a community of English speaking expats. Second, while completing his undergraduate thesis at McGill University, he worked in a lab where he dissected fruit fly larvae. He laments that it was a horrible year of his life, but the paper was published.
“I started doing comedy and one of the guys I worked with was like ‘Hey! The paper got published and you’re on it.’ I was like ‘What? I forgot I even did that.’ So, I just wanna, you know, sometimes I’m self-conscious like… you don’t know how you come off to people. I feel like – if people think I’m some dumb bro kinda guy – I wanna bring the paper of the science article out and just maybe show it, you know, just to people I meet. Even like a cashier at the grocery store and just be like ‘I just wanna let you know: McGill University… Despite the very Concordia look, I went to McGill’,” quips Wassim.
Indispensable to the Montreal comedy scene, he recently expanded into acting and takes classes at Straeon Acting Studios. Be sure to check out his skits on @wassimisokay, listen to his album, and catch him at JFL later this week.
Wassim El-Mounzer will be part of The Montreal Show on Friday, July 18 at 8:30 PM (info here), hosting JFL Live Sessions July 20 (info here) and he is opening Che Durena’s show July 26 (info). His comedy album, You Can English, is available on all major audio platforms (info here).
