Tom Hearn Bringing The Funny With She's So Hünni

Comedian Tom Hearn is no stranger to the Toronto sketch comedy circuit having staged the Proud & Funny Festival while having his fingers in a few other creative pies. Now Hearn is offering up a new show at the Toronto Sketch Comedy Festival entitled She's So Hünni which should be anything but a, er, drag. It's also something he's eager to showcase.

"Absolutely!" Hearn says via e-mail. "Toronto Sketchfest is always a blast. She's So Hünni is a collection of sketches showcasing my drag persona 'Hünni Krüller,' some amazing drag queens from Halifax, some of Toronto's hottest comedians, and if that's not enough, we have HOT HUSBAND DANCERS. It's a typical Tom Hearn PARTY SHOW!"

Hearn says he's always enjoyed performing as Hünni (who has her own Tik Tok account with dozens of videos and over 100,000 likes). So while he's in the process of writing another new solo show he's not quite ready to reveal, he thought it would be great time for Hünni to emerge again.

"I decided to let Hünni come out to play with her friends," Hearn says. "I love doing sketches as Hünni, it feels like I'm using every skill in my tool belt at once."

The comedian always aspired to "be a musical theatre star" but because "namely I can't dance" Hearn turned his attention to comedy after relocating to Toronto. Another important moment in his career was getting the pink slip from a food industry job.

"Getting laid off from my job in catering was a HUGE push for me to put the pedal to the metal, allowing me to produce my own shows and build out my brand of comedy," Hearn says. "More recently, as my online sketches and impressions have gained traction, doors I've never seen open have slowly begun to open."

Aside from She's So Hünni, Hearn also appeared on the small screen last year having a role in an episode of the sitcom Children Ruin Everything. Hearn was also quite busy in 2022 touring in support of his show entitled Gay Garbage. The trek took him out west to Edmonton as well as New Brunswick last summer while also performing at Saint John's Fundy Fringe Festival.

"The 2022 Gay Garbage tour was one of the best and most stressful moments in my life," Hearn recalls. "It was 100 per cent self-produced with financial support from Pat and Tony Freedom of the Arts/Toronto Sketchfest. Touring is my favourite thing about being a comedian. We have an amazing scene here in Toronto, but I love performing for new audiences."

While the LGBTQ+ comedy community has grown over the years, Hearn still sees a gap between those who are receptive or open to it and those who overtly aren't.

"I feel like the people who have always supported queer comics and queer comedy still do and the people who don't are louder than ever," he says. "My show title comes from a woman calling my comedy 'Gay Garbage.'

"I'm often still asked 'why do you shove it in our faces?' Because people are dying. Because laws are being passed right now that are making it illegal for trans people to exist. Because there are places that are a four-hour flight from my house where I would be arrested for being in drag."

Although Hearn will be performing at this year's festival he'll also be mentoring as part of the Selena Vyle Curator Program Showcase. It was an opportunity he quickly jumped at.

"I love comedy and I love drag," he says. "It's the perfect pairing. I'm excited for these performers to work on a new tool and be thrust into the Toronto sketch comedy community."

He also says while he's becoming more involved in being a producer, performing is just as satisfying if not a little bit more.

"There is a special high that comes from producing a show but it will never touch the feeling of getting a laugh on stage," Hearn says. "Both give me a feeling of pride but if I had to choose one right now it would be performing. I only began producing out of necessity, to give myself and others a place to build our comedic voices."

Besides this "one time engagement" for She's So Hünni, Hearn, who said meeting Pamela Anderson was his biggest highlight thus far, plans on crafting material for his new hour show and touring. When he's in Toronto you can catch him appearing at Lipsynced or Werq The Mic.

Despite his busy schedule and mentoring at this year's festival, Hearn doesn't see himself as a role model.

"I'm not a role model in the slightest," he says. "I don't want that responsibility because I'm still learning but I'm always happy to offer my advice and what I've learned over the years."

She's So Hünni performs March 17 at the Toronto Sketch Comedy Festival.
For ticket and schedule info visit TorontoSketchFest.com.