The Michigan Daily - michiganda
COMEDY SHOWCASE
From Page 1B
A community of comics
Yet despite the almost didactic
atmosphere the comedy club cre-
ates for its open mic nights, there
don't seem to be a lot of University
students present on Wednesdays.
"I have no idea," Feeny said.
"Last year we had quite a few com-
ing in. This year there's not that
many. Next year maybe there will
be some."
LSA senior Jake Fromm, one
of the few University students to
make regular Wednesday appear-
ances, pointed out that the meet-
ings for student organization LOL
ROFL Comedy Club also happen
to fall on Wednesday, so student
comedians have to choose which
venue is best for them. Fromm
(who is a former Daily photogra-
pher) is active in both, but noted
the value of the Comedy Show-
case.
"There's something really valu-
able about a real room with a mic
and a light and a crowd that's paid
ily.com
Thursday, February 28, 2013 - 3B
to see you," he said. "I prefer to go
up and do the real thing instead of
workshopping."
Fromm only started doing
standup last May, but it's a passion
that he plans to pursue far into
the future. He hopes to get a job
teaching English in Asia when he
graduates and would like to pur-
sue comedy in New York at some
point.
"I don't know what the comedy
scene is like in Nepal, but there's
probably not going to be any open
mics there," he said.
Fromm's name was near the
bottom of the standby list the first
week that I went to see him, but he
was hopeful and prepared none-
theless. Before the show, he sat at a
table by himself, writing in a small
notebook and working out jokes in
his head.
"It's just bullet points and con-
cepts. Sometimes I'll have the
rhythm in my head and so I'll
write down exactly howthe joke is
going to go," he said. "But (usually
I'm) just writing down points that
I want to hit. Onstage you figure
out what works and what doesn't
work and even if you haven't writ-
ten down the exact words, you
probably could."
The show was running too long
that week, so Fromm never gothis
chance to perform. But he stuck
around anyway, laughing and
talking in the back with the rest of
the comedians. "There's a comrad-
ery," he told me. "A community of
comics ... the guys that go up alot
- theyall know each other."
Convenience and accessibility
Like many of the comics in this
small community, Fromm is just
trying to climb the ladder. Success-
ful open mics lead to emceeing,
emceeing leads to featuring, fea-
turing could get the attention of a
booking agent and a booking agent
just might lead to headlining - a
shot atstardom.
Comedians at every phase of
the process grace Feeny's stage
throughout the year, with the end
of the week devoted to the more-
established performers: the head-
liners.
In the last few years, the Show-
case has seen comedians with
national appeal, like Aziz Ansari,
Mas Jabroni and Doug Benson.
Joe Rogan, in Detroit announcing a
Saturday Ultimate Fighting Cham-
pionship fight, asked Feeny if he
could drop by the Friday before to
do a show.
Shows featuring this caliber of
comedian are rare on the calendar,
but when they do show up, it's usu-
ally in a situation like Joe Rogan's.
It gives them a chance to work out
some rougher material and to have
some fun in alow-key setting.
"We see them on the wayup and
we see them on the way down,"
Feeny said. "We're not going to see
them on the top because we don't
seat enough people, to be frank."
Most of the week's headliners
have a regional or budding popu-
larity, and come to spread their
name, develop an identity onstage
or just work a room with a solid
reputation.
Comedian David Dyer, who will
be performing Feb. 28 to March 2,
comes to the Showcase for many of
these reasons and shares an enthu-
siasm for the club with similar
headliners.
"That's an excellent room to
Comedians like Aziz Ansari have performed at the Ann Arbor Comedy Showcase, which is located beeasth Sevas.
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rne of my favorite rooms in you want to do standup ... you can
ntry," Dyer said. "I know a do stuff that's funny on YouTube,
omics who will tell you they but man, you still have to step up in
e working that room. It's a front of 200 people and do it. And
timate setting; the crowds that's the only way you're going to
ellent - they're smart." get better, is to get onstage."
he last 20 years, Dyer has Fromm had his chance to get
humor to work in just about better the following week that
medium: He's written for I went to see him, when he was
night with Jimmy Fallon" among the top-12 comicsoset to per-
C's "Politically Incorrect," form for Wednesday's open mic.
haracter voices on radio I showed up to the club early
corded a comedy special that night, hoping to pick Fromm's
d" But with a wife and two brain for anxieties and expecta-
rs in Grand Rapids, Dyer tions. Though he would later deny
Lnd himself utilizing You- it, you could see the nervousness
nd other Internet resources on his face. As I sat down, he gave
his name so he doesn't me a quick smile, a quiet hello and
travel too far from home. returned to his notebook.
ve a family and I'm not in a But onstage, Fromm was cool
to nor do I have any plans and relaxed, which was one of the
e, so you know what? I'm reasons that his setstood out from
do abunch of stuff myself," many others.Alot ofhisjokeswere
new or going throughtheir second
is way, the value of the trial run, but you wouldn't have
se for Dyer becomes one guessed it from watching him.
of convenience and acces- He had a strong stage presence,
At the same time, it rep- smooth delivery and an intuition
something greater about for timing. His jokes were largely
one's craft. observational, and accurately so.
It was clear that he had figured
It'sjust comedy out, on a fundamental level, how
to make a room laugh.
reason that I'm doing that Even when he stumbled over
one of his jokes, and when an audi-
ence member chose to engage
him after a spur-of-the-moment
remark about the Pope, Fromm
maintained composure, impro-
vised and came out of both situa-
tions unscathed.
"It wasn't as smooth as I would
have liked," he told me after the
show. "It was an organic ener-
gy, and the interaction with the
crowd was good. I'm tryingto get
better at performing - just being
onstage and beingnaturally funny
not with stuff that I've written."
Fromm was specific and articu-
late about his improvement, his
goals and what kind of performer
he wanted to be in the next open
mic. But even with his improve-
ment, wouldn't Fromm and other
young comedians be better off in
a town like, say, New York? Chi-
cago? L.A.? Is Ann Arbor and its
Comedy Showcase the right place
for a young comic? Fromm wasn't
entirely sure.
"It's the only comedy town I've
really experienced,"he said. "It's a
good town to make comedy but I
don't know if it's a great town for
buildinga career around."
Feeny's answer seemed to sum
it up best.
"That's pretty deep," he said
laughing. "It's just comedy."
"The
Every Wednesday. crowds gather to enioy comedy at the Ann Arbor Showcase.
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