Just For Laughs 42 is descending on Toronto from September 21 to 30, and we’ve decided to quiz the funniest comedians from this year’s event. Don’t miss out on seeing them perform live – get tickets here.

Twenty-two-year-old D.J. Mausner took home the Just For Laughs Award for Best Comedy at the Montreal Fringe Festival for ATM: The Musical, which she co-wrote and musically directed. She’s the associate artistic director at the Montreal Improv Theatre, the creator and producer of Theatre Sainte-Catherine’s flagship show, Joketown, co-producer and co-host of the podcast Experts, and thinks that actually, it is cool to care.

SDTC: What should we be paying more attention to?

DJM: Our responsibility to use the privilege we have to fight white supremacy on a local and, where possible, national and global level.

What was the last Netflix series you binged on?

Bojack Horseman.

One new thing you learned this year?

Establishing boundaries is so, so important (and it is not selfish to maintain them).

Describe 2017 so far in one word.

Overwhelming (both good and bad).

What book/song/lyric/etc is resonating with you right now?

“You don’t step to me!” Rory Scovel, Dilation.

Describe the funniest thing you’ve experienced in recent memory.

This video of a seal just slappin’ away. I don’t know how funny it is, but it fills me with joy. I especially love when it turns over and goes at it with one fin. 

Best advice you’ve been given?

Be undeniable.

What is the best part of being your current age?

People are impressed that I can pay attention.

What word or phrase should we use more often?

“Let’s go for ice cream!”

What’s on your night stand?

Honestly? The UCB Manual, a book on the Meisner acting technique, and a dirty ice cream bowl.

What one item would you be lost without (besides your phone)?

My agenda.

What do you love/loathe most about humanity?

I love when people are able to come together and create something that wouldn’t have been able to exist outside of that group of people, that time, and that circumstance. I loathe dishonesty and aversion to self-reflection.

What trends are you loving right now?

Baseball caps, earth tones, reading too far into horoscopes, self-care, inclusive body positivity, dogs, Instagram accounts of hand-drawn comics, telling your friends you love them, really nice eyebrows, sleep, combating exclusive practices, raising women + women-identifying + non-binary people up, being unapologetically queer, making your own shit, listing to Ctrl by SZA on repeat.

Who was your celebrity crush when you were a kid?

Philoctetes from Hercules (voiced by Danny Devito). Later it was Dimitri the computer simulation in Spy Kids 3.

Describe your ideal Saturday.

Big ol brekkie, a nice walk with a dog, going for sushi, taking a nap with the dog, finishing a bunch of clerical work, watching a musical on broadway, having a killer set, eating mint chocolate chip ice cream, Rihanna looks at me.