A Saskatoon-based comedian is celebrating an historic milestone this month.
Cheyenna Sapp, a member of Saskatchewan’s Little Pine First Nation, will be the first Indigenous woman featured in a televised gala show in the history of the Winnipeg Comedy Festival.
Sapp has earned accolades for her role as Rose Sinclair in the CTV original comedy series Acting Good and is a fixture in Saskatoon’s burgeoning comedy scene who’s gone from open mics to booking gigs at national and international showcases in the span of about six years.
For someone who got into the artform hoping to see better representation for Indigenous humour in the comedy scene, landing a televised showcase in one of Canada’s largest comedy festivals was a major coup.
“It’s like a huge thing for me,” said Sapp, who was inspired to try comedy after seeing a showcase of Indigenous comedians while studying at the University of Saskatchewan in 2019.
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“I wouldn’t have started comedy without it, and I think it’s important for Indigenous peoples to see themselves represented on screen and on as many platforms as possible.”
It was actually not Sapp’s standup that got her noticed by Acting Good creator Paul Rabliauskas, it was her memes — a saucy blend of rezzy jokes from “your friendly neighbourhood auntie.”
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In 2022 after successfully auditioning for the role as Rabliauskas’ on-again, off-again girlfriend in Acting Good, the show’s creator acknowledged it was an unusual way to scout talent, but funny is funny.
“I know it sounds silly to base things on Facebook posts, but she was really consistent with her commenting,” he said.
The series, which airs on CTV Comedy Channel, has been approved for a fourth season and is scheduled to begin production later this year.
Sapp says she wants her comedy to help usher in a new era of Indigenous representation that moves beyond the trauma narratives, and the image of the “Hollywood Indian” — stoic and unsmiling.
“We’re not like that. We laugh all the time. We laugh at every celebration. We laugh at funerals. We like self deprecating jokes. We like to roast each other, and tease each other as a form of affection,” she said.
“It’s time for other parts of our culture to be seen.”
Sapp rejects the idea that Indigenous humour just developed as a way to cope with trauma — although she says it can help with that, too.
“Humour is embedded into our culture, into our storytelling, and we use it to teach societal norms, to teach creation stories, and history and entertainment — to entertain each other.”
The Winnipeg Comedy Festival runs from April 29 to May 4.
Sapp performs as part of a festival “Mega Show” titled Maybe It’s Me at the Burton Cummings Theatre on May 1.
You can find out more about Sapp’s comedy and upcoming performances on her website.
