Devon Henderson doesn’t regret her university degree.
In 2013, the Coquitlam resident graduated from Simon Fraser University with a major in communications and minors in English and publishing.
But, soon afterward, the Dr. Charles Best secondary alumna was off to Toronto for her true love: comedy.
And she said the minute she walked into the Second City — the place where such legends as Martin Short, John Candy and Mike Myers got their roots — she knew she had taken the right career path.
“It feels like a temple,” Henderson said of the renowned comedy theatre on Mercer Street. “You see photos of Eugene Levy and Catherine O’Hara up on the walls and you see that amazing stage they performed on. It’s the best to run material on.”
A graduate in long-form improvisation at the club (she also works for The Bad Dog Theatre Company), Henderson performs a number of roles including as half of the sketch/improv duo TwoSon.
Henderson works with another comedy troupe called Girlband, and the Second City longform grad team, Grim Diesel.
Last month, the 27-year-old comic was cast in Second City’s Improv Showdown, an educational and confidence-building workshop for kids, aged seven to 13, in the summer.
It’s a competitive, theatre sports-type show where two teams battle for comedy points through games.
“It’s going really well,” Henderson said last week after eight sessions. “Most of the time, they love coming up on stage and performing. It gives them a chance to be silly. Our main goal is to make sure they are the stars and that they win every time.”
jcleugh@tricitynews.com
