Alex Mackenzie gave up his six-figure pulp mill job in Prince George for comedy and it turns out it's been worth every penny with his next gig scheduled for Australia.
The 31-year-old quit his job (his last day was May 16, 2019), sold his house and possessions and bought an RV.
Working at a pulp mill wasn't his dream. Being a standup comedian was. He decided he needed to find true happiness in an adventure he called 'An Experiment Called Life.'
"I was stuck at a job I did not enjoy working 40 to 60 hours a week to pay bills that never seemed to end," he says.
Since then, the Prince Georgian has made stops all over the province and country. His chance to go to Australia came during a stop in Kamloops.
"I met one of the producers of the festival circuit in Australia when I was at the Kamloops and Okanagan Comedy Festival this summer and that was how I got my in," Mackenzie tells PrinceGeorgeMatters. "It actually is a pretty cool story. Because I was feeling down on myself after seeing how good all the other comics were at the festival and by the third night of the festival, I decided I needed to step it up and just do all my best material and ditch my inspirational stuff and then that night I went out and had the best show of my career. Terry North, the booker from Australia, was there and we got to talking, and he asked if I would be interested in coming to Australia."
It'll be the first time he's crossed the ocean to perform; sadly, he can't bring his signature RV with him.
His first stop is Perth, where he’ll be one of the international entertainers at the Perth Comedy Festival. After that, he’s off to Adelaide for the Fringe Festival, then Melbourne and Tasmania.
“I think humour is the best way to deliver a message to people,” Mackenzie says. “If you are unhappy about something, and you come at it with anger, people tend to distance themselves from your message. However, if you can point out the silliness in it, people are a lot more receptive to the message. It’s like Mary Poppins said: "A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down. The medicine is the message and the sugar is the comedy.”
You can follow Alex and his journey on social media (Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram).
"f anyone quits their job to pursue their dreams after coming to my show, it’s not my fault, but please let me know so I can take the credit.”
Read more from Prince George Matters
