Paul Myrehaug

Small Town Boy Grabs The Gold
Six years ago Mr. Paul Myrehaug (pronounced my-re-hog) was armed with a marketing diploma and a dream to do stand-up comedy. Flash forward to April 1, 2007, Paul was crowned winner of The Yuk Yuk's Great Canadian Laugh Off 2007 at the flagship Yuk Yuk's Comedy Club in Toronto and received a cheque for $25,000.
This stand-up journey has taken Paul from his home town of Camrose, Alberta to as far north as the Yukon Territories, to as far south as the Dominican Republic. While in the Dominican Mr. Myrehaug found himself in a Third World Country's hospital with the most serious case of food poisoning they have ever seen! Now living in Toronto Paul continues to rack up the miles and the awards.
Among his other achievements Paul placed second in the Seattle International Comedy Competition 2006, an honour previously held by both Robin Williams and Dane Cook. In July 2007 this funny young man was performing at Just For Laughs in Montreal, and in November 2007 he was making people laugh at the Halifax Comedy Fest.
According to Paul, "I always knew I wanted to be a stand-up. It wasn't even really a conscious decision, I loved making my friends laugh, so when I was old enough to go into a bar........ I wanted to make crowds laugh." Paul wants to be on stage all the time and is like a comedy club rink rat.
With the support of his highly educated and hard working family Paul started to create a style of stand-up comedy that is unique to him. "I just try to have as much fun as possible on stage. Crowds can pick up on energy very quickly, so if I'm having fun, their having fun!" Others describe Paul's act as Sex, drugs, and rock and roll, and a like-ability on stage that allows Paul to talk about anything, and not offend the crowd.
Starting in Western Canada allowed Paul to learn and grow-up fast in the competitive world of stand-up comedy. Within his first year of stand-up young Mr. Myrehaug was on the road doing half hour sets. "You have to learn how to be funny pretty quick when you're staring at 100 roughnecks in a bar in Fort McMurray, Alberta."
The Yuk Yuk's Great Canadian Laugh Off 2007 was a real boost to Paul's career. It has opened many doors for him in The Canadian Comedy Industry. As Paul says, "It's nice to have something like the laugh off on your resume when pitching yourself to CBC festivals, TV shows, and writing gigs. After 2008 I will have done all the Canadian Comedy Festivals, and my own stand-up special airing on the comedy network. These things would have been ten times harder to land without the laugh off."
Mr. Myrehaug's Comedy Now Special will be aired in spring of 2008, and The Yuk Yuk's Great Canadian Laugh Off 2007 opened the door to Corporate Comedy Bookings. As well, Paul met some high end casting agents during the competition and is now auditioning for TV commercials.
To relax on the road Mr. Myrehaug plays guitar every day and when he gets a chance plays golf. Be careful if you play golf with him, Paul was competitive golfer in the junior circuits growing up.
The future is bright for this very talented young man. He hopes to get a United States working permit, so that he can concur the US comedy clubs. Paul remains a crowd favorite on the Canadian Comedy Circuit. And outside of Stand-up he is continuing to write scripts, and sketches. Paul says that "Acting scares me, so the best thing to do for a guy like me is write for the actors. - David Ruben

Paul Myrehaug
After all his hard work and dedication, Paul Myrehaug, 24, has reached an important milestone in life.
"I just had my second-year anniversary of not having a real job," he says.
No, Myrehaug (pronounced my-re-hog) is not scamming EI. Rather, for the last five years the Camrose, Alta. native and now-Toronto resident has performed stand-up comedy from as far north as the Yukon Territories, to as far south as the Dominican Republic.
So what drives a guy like Myrehaug to abandon conventional work in favour of comedy?
"OxyContin," he says laughing. "No, I just love the lifestyle. I'm on the road for three months at a time doing what I love. I love the idea of not really having a job and just telling jokes in nightclubs."
Among his achievements so far are a marketing diploma and placing second in the Seattle International Comedy Competition - an honour previously held by both Robin Williams and Dane Cook.
"The winner got $5,000 and I took second place," he says. "I did get a bit of cash, but by the time you've been staying in a hotel in Seattle for a month, you pretty much break even.
"But just to be in that competition with those great names was well worth it; I had a great time."
Described as being a 'party comic,' Myrehaug is very laid back and relaxed on stage as he jokes about everything from cougars (the human variety) to possible terrorist attacks on Toronto.
He's not worried about that last one though. Apparently Al-Qaeda terrorists are morning people and he goes to bed around 7 a.m.
According to Myrehaug, it was this observation that cemented his spot in the finals of Yuk Yuk's Great Canadian Laugh Off and a shot at $25,000.
THE LAUGH OFF
Yuk Yuk's Great Canadian Laugh Off runs from March 26 to April 1 at Yuk Yuk's comedy club in Toronto. Starting with 64 comedians, shows are held nightly until eight comedians are chosen for the April Fools Day showdown and a chance at $25,000. Myrehaug won the right to represent Toronto in the preliminary rounds and advanced to the finals with his performance March 27.
"I'm feeling great; I'm on top of the world and I'm excited for the chance at the $25,000," he says. "That does buy a lot of beer, too much beer even. I might try putting some into rent or something; do people pay rent these days? I might try that out."
Having done nothing but compete and perform for the last five months, Myrehaug feels on top of his stand-up game and likes his chances in the final round. Whether he wins or loses, he will continue to work hard at not having a real job.
"The natural progression for me is to get into acting, but right now I'd love to just tour and do stand-up for as long as I can," he says. "But one good thing about getting into acting is once you're a part of the union you get full medical and dental. At the moment, if I get a tooth ache, I just have to take more OxyContin." - Toronto Sun, Neil Springer

9/23/2009 - JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq -- Three comedians with the Lone Wolf Comedy Tour performed Sept. 15 at Morale, Welfare and Recreation Center West at Joint Base Balad, Iraq, as part of a 10-day tour in country.

Comedians Olivia Arrington, Thea Vidale and Paul Myrehaug said they performed the four-show tour to help raise the morale of the troops stationed in Iraq, each comedian citing different personal reasons for choosing to perform.

This is Arrington's fourth tour in Iraq. She said she has been entertaining the military for more than 15 years and has performed in 21 countries.

"I feel a passion and a drive to do this for the military, and to go into these little remote places and see them smile, even if it's just for 90 minutes," said Arrington.

Arrington said she has never felt unsafe while with the military; she feels confident in their abilities and trusts in her personal faith.

"My faith in God is way bigger than my fear of man," said Arrington.

Vidale, a Los Angeles native, said she has a family tie to the military.

"My father was in the military for 28 years," said Vidale. "It's a tribute to him."

Paul Myrehaug, a native of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, said as a stand-up comic, one of his heroes is comedian and actor Bob Hope and he was inspired to follow in his footsteps and perform for the troops.

Sgt. 1st Class Karen R. Stokes, the non-commissioned officer in charge of
personnel for the 49th Transportation battalion, 13th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary), said the show was a great opportunity for Soldiers to come together and take some time off.

"Comedy is something you need here to release all of your stress," said Stokes, a Virginia Beach, Va., native.

Master Sgt. Michael A. Stansbury, an automated logistics specialist with Port
of Entry Transition Team 4130, said he attended the Sept. 15 show to relax and enjoy a break from his everyday routine.

"All the comics brought something different to the table, and each one of them kept me laughing pretty much the whole show," said Stansbury.
- Stars and Stripes, Spc. Lisa A. Cope, 13th Sustainment Command.