Nikki Payne broke into comedy by dancing at a hockey game in a bird costume.
After seeing her mascot skills at work, a friend suggested she prepare five minutes of stand up and open for a comedian performing at her Truro, N.S., college.
It's a beginning that's almost as strange as one of Payne's comedy routines.
The Sackville, N.S., native is now a familiar face for anyone with a television set. She's appeared on NBC's reality TV show "Last Comic Standing" and is a regular on MuchMusic's "Video On Trial".
This Saturday, Payne brings her act to Summerside for the Bluenosers Comedy Tour, which she co-produced with fellow jokester Peter Anthony.
"Don't bring any kids. I'm not horrible or anything, but it may be a bit cheeky," Payne said. "It's not the Chippendales or anything like that - mind you, that would be funny."
Along with her frenetic routines on stage, Payne is probably best known for her trademark lisp - a trait she admits gives her comedy an extra degree of funny.
"It's real. I couldn't do prank phone calls when I was a kid," she quips. "At the beginning I was a bit worried that it might hold me back, but a big part of comedy is standing out. The thing I thought was going to be an obstacle ended up being the thing that helped push me forward."
Payne is no stranger to P.E.I., having performed on the Island once before. She's also vacationed here with her family several times.
She vividly remembers a trip to the Cavendish wax museum as a nine-year-old when her teenage brother forced her to walk through a mock torture chamber display.
"So that's one of my earliest memories from (the Island): fear and utter terror," she recalls. "It's probably not going to make it to a tourism commercial."
Payne recently landed another TV role in a new Showcase series, "Single White Spenny," starring Spencer Rice of the hit reality/competition show "Kenny vs. Spenny".
Now living in Toronto, Payne said she's always looking for her next opportunity in show business.
"I'll keep doing it until somebody clues in that I don't know what I'm doing."
Showtime is 8 p.m., Nov. 13 at the Harbourfront Theatre.
sbrun@journalpioneer.com
