Daron Letts
Northern News Services

Inuvik (June 20/05) - A former Inuvik correctional officer hitchhiked back North last week as part of a cross-country comedy tour.

By the time her thumb reached Inuvik, Silvi Olen had travelled in 52 cars and trucks and delivered punch lines in dozens of bars, living rooms and community halls across Western Canada.

Writer and comedian Silvi Olen thumbs a ride outside Harley's bar in Yellowknife where she performed last week. A former guard at the Inuvik correctional facility, Olen turned to comedy as a way to pull young people away from drugs and violence. Two months ago she slapped a "dot com" after her name, set up an online travel log, then hit the road. - Daron Letts/NNSL photo

Originally from rural Saskatchewan, Olen worked as a guard at correctional facilities in Yellowknife, Hay River and Inuvik before launching her career as a stand-up comic in Toronto.

Her one-woman Whatever It Takes tour began at 9 a.m. on May 4 on the western edge of the perimeter highway in Winnipeg. Six minutes later she was in the cab of a truck hauling pipe to the Alberta oilfields.

Her trip stalled for three days at the junction of the Alaskan Highway and the Dempster. The dirt fell from her clothes in clumps by the time someone finally picked her up.

Olen says she's met lots of fabulous people during her hitchhiking comedy tour of Canada.

She has had a couple of bad experiences, though. She had to use her conflict resolution training from her days as a prison guard during a ride with a loud religious zealot and once needed to resort to bear repellent to protect herself from a sexual assault.

Olen didn't perform in Inuvik, but she discussed plans for a future gig with Mayor Peter Clarkson. After all, her comedy career began in Inuvik.

Olen used jokes as a way to defuse tension and make connections with young people in the remand centre.

Creative expression

"Young people doing time need to express themselves creatively," she said. "I think there's a way of showing young people who are incarcerated that there are different skills for self-expression other than turning to drugs and violence."

Comedy might open a door to more effective communication and anger management skills in prison, Olen said.

She convinced the Department of Justice to let her visit Toronto for a week-long comedy course at Humber College. They agreed and she loved it.

When the course ended, she asked her employer for a leave of absence to pursue the college's year-long comedy program. The answer this time was no.

"I had to make a decision -- work for the government or do comedy," she said. "So I quit."

Olen has been on stage for two years now. She estimates that she's toured more than 9,000 miles and performed more than 200 sets.

Olen still dreams of someday bringing her comedy act into Canadian prisons.

"I feel for the youth who are incarcerated in the North and I feel for the officers who work in those conditions," she said.

"We have the most articulate kids up here, but due to circumstances beyond their control many of them are going to school hungry.

"I want to show young people in the North that, no matter what's happened, it's possible to chase your dream."

Olen is documenting her trip on video for debut at the Toronto Film Festival. She said several TV networks have expressed an interest in her material.

Olen said she will be back. Canadian North flew Olen from Inuvik to Yellowknife and has agreed to support some future tours in the North.