Special Guest Host
Dave Merheje
Winner of Just For Laugh's 2011 Irwin Barker Homegrown Comic Award and NOW Magazine's 2011 Best of Toronto Award for Best Male Stand-up, Dave Merheje is making waves as one of the edgiest comics in the country today. Drawing from his Lebanese-Canadian perspective and personal experiences straight from the streets, Merheje is unfettered by political correctness. His "no fear" approach to comedy has gained a loyal following. Pure raging energy, he is electric, aggressive and in-your-face. Nothing is sacred as he fires off on urban life, Middle Eastern politics, Islamic extremists, working in strip clubs, club culture, drugs and masturbation.
2012 has been a memorable year for Merheje. He returns to Just For Laughs this summer where he will be taping a segment for JFL's and The Comedy Network's new joint venture, a 13-hour series airing on The Comedy Network this fall. He made his mark at Moncton's Hubcap Comedy Festival and the Ha!ifax ComedyFest this past spring and in June, completed a six-city Canadian tour with Arthur Simeon's Legends in the Making. In July, he joined the Gemini Award-winning pop culture series MTV Live as an on-air contributor. He was nominated for a 2012 Canadian Comedy Award for Best Stand-up, the winner to be announced in August. He became a finalist in NBC's Stand-up for Diversity search and was invited to join the 2012 Stand-up for Diversity College Touring Company performing at select colleges and universities in the US this fall.
Born and raised in Windsor, Ontario, Merheje crossed the border to hone his stage prowess in the spotlight of Detroit's competitive comedy clubs and open mic rooms. Currently based in Toronto, he has created and produced his own successful series of shows including Dear Dave, his live advice column/one-man comedy show, and We Ain't Terrorists, a barrier smashing comedy revue he performs with Ali Rizvi that shatters racial stereotypes and pokes fun at today's climate of heightened fear and paranoia. We Ain't Terrorists was shot and produced as a one-hour special by Tricon Films & Television and aired on ABC2 Australia. He also recorded the comedy album Make 'Em Cry available for download on Apple iTunes.
He has performed to sold-out crowds all over Canada and the US, including festivals such as Just For Laughs in Montreal, the New York Arab American Comedy Festival, the Boston Comedy Festival and top clubs such as The Knitting Factory in New York and The Improv in LA.
Merheje was recently profiled as one of Canada's next breakout stars on CBC Radio One's Laugh Out Loud. He has been featured on CBC Radio One's The Debaters, XM Radio's Laugh Attack, Bite TV's Stand Up with Bite and Stand up & Bite Me Competition, MuchMusic's Video on Trial and Stars Gone Wild, MTV's Cocktails and The Comedy Network short Worst Gig Ever