On the list of places for American comedians to tour in Canada, Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh doesn't rank very highly.
That is, unless a community in the Township shares your exact same name.
New York-based comedian Ben Miller will be coming to do a show there on April 25 for that very reason.
"Some days the self-absorption gives in, you bend to the egomania, you put your own name into Google and you don't put a space. Then a suggestion pops up for the weather, and you're like, what? How is my name the weather?" he said. "Then I found out there's a little unincorporated town called Benmiller, Ont... There's not much information about it on the internet, but I found a little community hall, called them on the phone, rented it out, now I'm going up to Ontario."
Miller is no stranger to travelling to unique places in his career. He's performed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, he did a month as an artist in residence at Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park, he's done European dates and even visited Canada's west coast.
But this trip will be something special for Miller. While it's only a few hours from Toronto where he's performing on Thursday, he insists he would have ventured as far as it took to make it happen.
"I would have gone to the ends of the earth, wherever Benmiller is, I am. Our hearts are one... My comedy career and this town have a lot in common, we are very overlooked," he joked.
Miller nearly wasn't in comedy altogether, as he got his degree in Materials Science and Engineering from Columbia University. But during college he began to explore his love of stand up that ultimately pulled him out of the lab.
"It's just the most natural progression. Everyone goes from setting up beakers, mixing chemicals to immediately on the stand-up stage. It's a strong pipeline," he said.
Miller's shows are usually very science-themed, including his latest special Volcano, that he's currently touring. However, he says his namesake stop will veer off that path, instead telling more personal stories.
"A lot of my jokes are a little self-deprecating so if you like a weird awkward guy making jokes about himself, oh boy that's me," he said. "It's not like you have to have a science background to understand any of it."
The show will take place at the Benmiller Community Hall on April 25. The 7 p.m. show only has a few tickets left, so Miller added a 9 p.m. show as well.
Tickets can be purchased here.