Cara Lytwyn is the reigning champion of Winnipeg comedy. In October, the 25-year-old comic took top spot in the first Winnipeg's Gone Wacky Stand-up Showdown - this after winning last year's Funniest Person with a Day Job competition at Rumor's Comedy Club, the first woman to do so.

"That's the name of my new book, Me and Nine Guys," Lytwyn says, joking about her position in the male-dominated stand-up scene. "You get used to it. At open-mic nights I'm usually the only girl, too.

"Being the first woman to win both of these contests is huge for me. I feel like Halle Berry when she won an Oscar. OK, it's a little less of a big deal, but you feel like you're setting a tone, that women can get onstage."

Lytwyn, who started performing stand-up after taking a comedy class in the Creative Communications program at Red River College, adds that if women do decide to take the stage, they should avoid stereotypical topics.

"I just want more female comedians to know they can do it and to know they don't have to restrict themselves to the content of a Cathy comic - you know, periods, not being able to find a man and owning too many cats. I think in order to be successful at stand-up comedy, women need to write more about being human than being female."

That being said, Lytywn admits that sometimes it pays to be a woman in the comedy world.

"I get away with a lot of stuff because I'm female," she says. "I talk about how I hate children, of all ages, because I don't discriminate, and it's so unexpected because I'm supposed to naturally want to have babies. If a guy talked about how much he hates kids and wants to kick them, people might not be as forgiving, but as a girl it's funny and unexpected."

Also, Lytwyn's small-town background helps make her humour unique. Growing up in Flin Flon, she derives much of her comedy from her northern-Manitoba upbringing.

"The thing about small-town life is people love to hear about that shit," Lytwyn says. "A lot of people in Winnipeg are from small communities, and if they're not, they're like, 'Oh my god, the mailman was also your Little League coach?' My mom was my English teacher and people think that's so funny."

Check out Lytwyn at caralytwyn.com and catch her live at the Winnipeg Comedy Blowout on Nov. 19 at the Standard Tavern.

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