Blakka to present at Carib Studies Association forum

Krista Henry, Staff Reporter

Comedian Owen 'Blakka' Ellis is one busy man. With the release of his play Tick Tock out, production starting on Ellis International's Ity and Fancy Cat Show, Ellis also has his hands full presenting a paper at the Caribbean Studies Association 2010 conference.

Scheduled for Thursday in Barbados, the comedian will be presenting his research findings on the topic, 'Why funny men so funny? Masculinity, sexuality and the Caribbean comic space.' A student at Canada's third largest university, York, in Toronto, pursuing a master's in environmental studies, Ellis told The Gleaner that as a graduate student he often receives information, invitations and calls for papers for academic conferences. The invite to the Caribbean Studies Association, Ellis said, is a "great fit" for his personal academic interests.

The choice of topic for the conference was for Ellis to choose as he explained, "I am interested in issues relating to masculinity, violence and popular culture. I have also worked for over 25 years as a stand-up comic and I've been intrigued for a long time by the issues, ideas and characters that we choose to frame in a humorous context. As someone who has had to use humour as a defence and protection mechanism, I'm also curious about how comedy is and can be used to deflect, reflect, confront or perpetuate violence."

Ellis added of his presentation, "The paper basically seeks to explore what I see as an interesting phenomenon: the fact that we live in a country where people are supposed to be violently homophobic, yet one of the surest ways to make people laugh onstage in Jamaica, seems to be the portrayal of gay male characters or performances by men in drag. What's with that?"

intimidated

Last year Ellis closed the curtains on his long-standing career in stand-up comedy with the intention of making plans to work on his writing, directing and producing career. Ellis said he was looking forward to his presentation.

The normally non-camera shy comedian admitted to being a bit intimidated about presenting his paper.

"Some big name academics (including two of my professors from York) are presenting at this conference. But I'm pretty confident in my ability to deliver on the day. Some very important conversations and activities are happening in the region around gender, violence and culture and I'm proud to be a part of it all," said Ellis.

Outside of the conference and school, Ellis has been keeping busy with his play Tick Tock which is currently being shown in Kingston, producing the successful Ity and Fancy Cat Show which premieres its third season on Sunday June 6.

He is also working on his one-man-comedy-show 'I'm Going to Need Security' which will be completed by later this year as well as completing his studies at York by next October.