Mathematics Teaches Us Logic. Stand-Up Comedy Breaks Logic!
“Luke Lynndale is the hardest working comic I know. He inspires me everyday. His killer bits and energy are ground-breaking. When you catch Luke Lynndale live, you will never regret it. It’s a fun, silly, goofy night, a great night of funny. Comedy at its best, your face will hurt from laughing so hard. Luke Lynndale is a really funny guy.”
-- Angela Maiorano-Thurston Comedian
“What I admire most about Luke is that he is the energizer bunny of comedy. He is always doing something comedy related and is working constantly.”
-- Moira LePage Comedian
“Each of Luke Lynndale’s bits stand on their own. He is really funny, observational, and honest both on stage and off.”
-- Leny Corrado Comedian
“All Luke’s work behind the scenes shows on stage, he is a natural headliner who is finding his comedy voice.”
-- Syed Raza Comedian
Luke Lynndale is hilarious. He is also a nice man, a family man, a great husband, father, and son. The author, David Reuben, was lucky enough to find a couple of hours free for Luke Lynndale and we had an extended chat. It is like Luke to hit the ground running back in 2017 doing stand-up comedy in Toronto, yet there is so much more to the story.
I first met Luke Lynndale at a small Saturday Night Comedy Show at a coffee shop in the west end of Toronto in 2018. Luke went up to a very small crowd and he destroyed. I immediately booked him for a spot at Happy Hour Comedy at Ein-Stein’s Pub in Toronto. Again, he destroyed at one of the hardest room’s in Canadian comedy history.
Luke was much more polished than most new comics and had really funny jokes. He was very comfortable on stage and had the confidence of a seasoned comic. He already had a style on stage and was finding his voice. I kept my eye on him and was impressed by the amount of work he did on comedy during the Covid-19 lockdown. He did a lot of online shows from around the world and wrote loads of new material. These online shows led to bookings online and in person in Canada and the USA.
When the lockdown eased up in Toronto and we could do live shows again, Luke Lynndale was consistently killing on multiple shows and venues. This hardworking young man was taking his comedy to another level.
What I didn’t know at that time was that Luke Lynndale started stand-up back in 1993 so when he started again in 2017, he seemed like he was advanced because he was. According to Luke, “Starting back doing standup in 2017, after nineteen years away was the toughest thing, I’ve ever done. Any credibility I had gained previously was all gone. So, I started back at the beginning. I swallowed my pride and for at least the first three years lived in this weird duality where I was considered a beginner by most but I knew that I wasn’t. I only felt comfortable telling my story three years later.”
In October 2019, Luke took on the challenge of doing 40 shows in 30 days. He succeeded and continues to do many shows each month as he continues to improve as a comedian.
For Luke Lynndale's Show information:
Luke was born in Lachine, Quebec and raised in Longueuil, Quebec. His mom was French Canadian, and his dad is Australian. Since his father was an immigrant Luke went to English school, and also speaks French fluently.
Luke’s grandfather Felix (mom’s father) was a prankster along with his French-Canadian aunts and uncles. At 13 years old, Luke Lynndale’s life was turned upside down when his mother was diagnosed with colon cancer. Unfortunately, his mother succumbed to the disease three years later, when Luke was 16 years old. “My mothers death was devastating.”
The Lyndale family is well educated with his mom having a B.A, his father has a B.A. two masters, and a PhD. Luke has a B.Sc. in Applied Mathematics. Luke got hooked on stand-up after winning $50 in a competition at McGill University in Montreal. It was Luke’s first time on stage.
Luke remembers, “I started stand-up in 1993 with Martha Chaves, Scott Falconbridge, Joey Elias, etc. In Montreal, I was a Comedyworks comic, performing multiple times a week. But 1998-2017, I did zero stand-up, 1998-2010, no comedy at all. I started back in improv in 2010, back to stand-up in 2017.” Luke continues, “I knew long ago if I dedicated my life to comedy, I may never have a family or a house. So, I made a choice. I saw so many others that were doing so well and I couldn’t figure out how to be seen. I was invisible. So, I gave up. I focused on other things and fooled myself into believing comedy wasn’t something I wanted.”
During his hiatus from comedy Luke Lynndale fell in love, got married, started a family and even bought a house in Toronto. His work life was focused on sales, marketing, ecommerce, and project management. Luke has managed multiple large-scale projects to drive on-line sales. He studied classical violin from age 5 to 27 years old with the same teacher and performed at retirement homes. This busy gentleman even found time to study culinary arts part-time at George Brown College in Toronto.
In 2010. Around the same year his daughter was born, Luke Lynndale decided to take improv classes. “My only focus was to have fun taking improv classes. I didn’t make it too complicated. I thought I’d try again and see what would come of it. It wasn’t a release from work, or anything. I try to have fun no matter what I’m doing in life, it takes the edge off.”
For 8 years Luke and his father Norman toured as DUO DAD, performing silly sketch and improv. Luke says, “DUO DAD was very cool. We did shows and festivals together, and my dad was funny when he was not trying to be funny.”
In 20017, Luke Lynndale decided to give stand-up another shot. His wife and daughter were behind this idea, and Luke puts family first. Like improv, he was doing it to have fun. “For me personally, how things have changed because I’m older is that I’ve been more patient with myself and more accepting of how this ride goes. Sometimes, we get the gigs we want, sometimes we don’t. Sometimes, we get the laughs, sometimes we don’t. I’m more realistic and more focused on just doing the work and pushing hard to get better.”
“As I’ve aged, I’ve learned how to genuinely be happy for the success others get. I was never jealous but kind of envious. Now, I accept my fate. I work hard, do my best, and then go home. I know sometimes that things work out for me and sometimes they don’t, and I may never know the reasons. So, I don’t contemplate why. Instead, I work harder to be better.”
“My wife and daughter are very supportive. I’ll pass jokes by my wife. She’s tough but honest which is super helpful. My daughter is interested in the post-show debrief I share with both of them - how my set went, anything unusual happened on the night, etc.”
Luke Lyndale is having fun doing stand-up and he has learned to get out of his own way and do his best. Mr. Lynndale states, “Back in my early days I was only focused on a tight 5 minutes. Today, I have learned to do material that matters to me. I want to be interesting first. Then I find the funny. I am pushing hard to get better. I see myself as a person doing comedy, not a comedian. I hope to be a comedian someday.”
Luke’s friend Comedian Moira LePage says, “Luke has the ability to break down ordinary day-to-day events and find the funny., He finds comedy in the normalcy.”
Comedian and friend, Leny Corrado says, “Luke’s comedy is very relatable to the audience with an honesty to the material. Luke is striving to be known as a comic.”
Syed Raza met Luke Lynndale in a comedy class about 7 years ago, “Luke not only brings out the best in himself with his hard work, but he brings out the best in the other comics he works with. His end goal is exposure.”
Angela Maiorano-Thurston met Luke about five years ago, “Luke has a fire on stage I have never seen before. He explodes with bits that really come to life. The audience becomes so involved in each tale because Luke is right there reliving that moment. Many comics forget how to be relatable or forget to act out the magic. Not Luke. That’s his funny.”
In 2022, Luke Lynndale went back to acting which he started in high school. A few parts came his way and his agent wants him to audition more in 2023. As for stand-up comedy in 2023, Luke plans on doing some shows in Chicago and New York City. He is working towards doing more club shows in Canada as well.
His debut album Luke Lynndale Live came out in November 2022.
Through his production company "Comedy Nuggets" Luke is producing multiple shows at prestigious venues in Toronto. In August 2023, Comedy Nuggets will be be launching the inaugural Danforth Comedy Festival. Also in 2023, Mr. Lynndale will be launching his "Lynndale" clothing line. The apparel brand is comedy inspired streetwear. Like most things Luke Lynndale does, his clothing line is very cool.
To relax Luke spends time with his wife, daughter and father. “We like to watch sports and Netflix.” In fact, for a while he worked at TSN in the Fantasy Sports Department. Applied Mathematics!
Like the author, David Reuben, said at the beginning of the article Luke Lynndale is a nice man. So, when you see him at a comedy show stop and say hello. He may even give you some tips on fantasy sports or cooking.
“I'm doing comedy to have fun. My main focus is trying to figure out ways of being hilarious. That’s my continual challenge - it fuels me.”
-- Luke Lynndale
For more information on Luke Lyndale visit www.lukelynndale.com
Mention you found out about Luke Lynndale on www.thecomedygreenroom.com