{"id":14552,"date":"2018-02-14T15:54:50","date_gmt":"2018-02-14T20:54:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/?p=14552"},"modified":"2018-02-15T16:18:18","modified_gmt":"2018-02-15T21:18:18","slug":"just-for-laughs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/just-for-laughs\/","title":{"rendered":"Just for Laughs"},"content":{"rendered":"

Feb\/March 2018 | view this story as a .pdf<\/a><\/p>\n

Talented locals and eager audiences have transformed\u00a0<\/span>Portland\u2019s comedy scene<\/strong> into a headline act. <\/span><\/h3>\n

By Madison Andrews<\/span><\/p>\n

\"FM18-After-Dark\"\u201cIt\u2019s impossible to be in the alternative scene in the Portland area and not hook up with dudes who are into woodworking,\u201d deadpans Micaela Tepler with a shrug. No, we\u2019re not sharing a private drink in a quiet bar. Tepler is on stage in front of a crowd of laughing strangers. At a time when a little comic relief is welcome, Portland\u2019s comedy scene packs a punch from Monday through Sunday.<\/span><\/p>\n

Step inside Blue<\/strong> and you\u2019ll find its interior warm and intimate, with deep red walls and muted lighting. On Monday nights, Blue treats its patrons to a stand-up comedy show, \u201cWorst Day of the Week<\/strong>.\u201d Presented by Portland Comedy Co-op<\/strong>, the event features both local and out-of-state comedians, including sets from members Tepler,<\/span> Connor McGrath, Ali Simpson, and Anders Nielsen.<\/span><\/p>\n

Shortly before 8 p.m. on a recent Monday, I slip into a seat at the bar. Blue\u2019s events are donation-based, and the menu politely requests guests order at least one item. They don\u2019t need to tell me twice. A draft of Goodfire Brewing Co. Waves ($7) can only help subside the drag of another Monday.<\/span><\/p>\n

Showtime. The first comedian is slow to ignite the audience with a quiet yet impassioned monologue about tuna fish, but this crowd isn\u2019t baring its teeth\u2013yet. Nielsen describes the crowd at Blue as \u201cour refined, NPR audience.\u201d Another round of drinks and several sets later, seasoned comedian Tepler takes the stage, reducing the now-loosened audience to hysterics with her sharp wit. Her secret? \u201cI use what\u2019s around me,\u201d she says. \u201cA lot of my material comes out of Portland, but I also like to subvert what people think being a woman is about.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Gin and Jokes<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

To give you a head-start on the weekend, Portland Comedy Co-op also produces Laugh Shack Comedy<\/strong> every Thursday at Lincoln\u2019s<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe best thing about Blue and Lincoln\u2019s is they\u2019re really well-established,\u201d Tepler says. \u201cThe people in the audience know what they\u2019re getting, and they\u2019re coming back.\u201d Lincoln\u2019s reputation as a hotbed for up-and-coming comedy has been building steadily. \u201cWe\u2019ve been near or at capacity for every show in the last two months, which isn\u2019t bad for a secret bar,\u201d says Nielsen. \u201cWe\u2019ve hosted many comics who\u2019ve done shows like Conan, Kimmel<\/em>, and Comedy Central Presents<\/em>.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

While performers need comedic chops to kill a set on stage, Tepler claims comedy is not a solo act. \u201cThe audience can make a show.\u201d And armed with the five-dollar drinks menu, the crowd at Lincoln\u2019s is \u201calways great.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

At 8 p.m. on a recent Thursday, Lincoln\u2019s is teeming with guests. By the time the show starts, it\u2019s standing room only. Tepler is the host, introducing us to a varied mix of comedians. First up, a young Boston-based woman who finishes her uproarious set with a ukulele song about politics and Tinder dates. Next is a soft-spoken man who quips about Maine weather, followed by the tuna fish joker from Monday night with a revised set, which now delights this audience.<\/span><\/p>\n

Into the Bullpen<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

On Wednesdays at 8 p.m., head upstairs at Bull Feeney\u2019s <\/strong>for Portland Comedy Showcase<\/strong> to get your farcical fix midweek. The fast-and-loose stand-up show, founded in 2013 and run by comedian Mike Levinsky, \u201cis the longest running comedy series in Portland,\u201d says Mark Turcotte, who often performs there. \u201cThere are few opportunities elsewhere in the state, especially for newer comics who need to get on stage and work out material. The thing I appreciate most about the Portland scene is the passion. You can see it in the quality and production of the shows,\u201d he says. \u201cStand-up is the only art form that needs to be developed in front of an audience. With opportunities to perform or take in a show just about every night of the week, I think it\u2019s working.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Lewiston\u2019s Dawn Hartill hosts an all-male lineup on a recent Wednesday night. One regular, Jamie Roux, regales guests with details of his last date, quipping that the next time we see him, he\u2019ll \u201cprobably be single.\u201d Despite the small crowd, the room soon fills with energy. <\/span><\/p>\n

Laughing Matters<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

What better way to wind down your weekend than in the company of some of Portland\u2019s most comical residents? The doors open at 8 p.m. for Sunday Night Stand Up!<\/strong> at Empire<\/strong>. Though more frequently recognized as a music venue, Empire\u2019s comedy events draw increasingly large crowds.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOriginally we started comedy at Empire as an open-mic night in 2015,\u201d says Lucas Salisbury, Empire\u2019s general manager. \u201cLast year, we switched to showcases and named it Sunday Night Stand Up!\u201d Empire also hosts First Friday Comedy, a nod to Portland\u2019s First Friday Art Walk.<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019m halfway through my drink when host Ian Stuart jumps onto the stage. A self-described \u201cgiant white dude with a booming voice,\u201d Stuart\u2019s stage presence is at once commanding and lighthearted. Stuart, who credits Portland\u2019s now-defunct Comedy Connection<\/strong> club with starting his career in comedy, has organized and hosted Sunday Night Stand Up! since its inception in 2016. Of the closing of Comedy Connection in 2012, Stuart says, \u201cI think it spurred an entrepreneurial spirit. There\u2019s no barometer of \u2018success,\u2019 as far as becoming the headliner at the local comedy club. It can be tough for some comedians, but it\u2019s also a place for people to thrive. A DIY landscape.\u201d Mark Turcotte agrees: \u201cThe onus is on the comedians to keep the scene alive.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

With a red velvet curtain as backdrop, Stuart hones in on the audience by asking about the best part of living in Maine. Like Micaela Tepler, Stuart concedes that location informs some of his material. \u201cFor a while I would\u2019ve considered it hack,\u201d he says. \u201cBut Mainers are proud of where they\u2019re from. If you don\u2019t touch on that, you\u2019re sort of losing a bit of connection.\u201d His answer to the best part of living in Maine? The return policy at L.L.Bean.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sunday Night Stand Up! feels decidedly uncensored. The evening\u2019s first comedian, Dennis Fogg, approaches the microphone and announces he\u2019s only got a few minutes\u2013his wife and kids think he\u2019s at Shaw\u2019s. \u201cI\u2019m grateful that you\u2019re all here, but I\u2019m even more grateful that they\u2019re not.\u201d From scathing self-deprecation to lighthearted mockery, this evening\u2019s lineup at Empire delivers, charming the audience. In one set, a married mother-of-two titillates the crowd as she describes her \u201ccelebrity cheat list,\u201d and a jersey-clad 30-something bemoans his family\u2019s fervent interest in his relationship status.<\/span><\/p>\n

A typical lineup at Empire may include \u201cnational acts and people who started doing comedy a week ago,\u201d Stuart says. \u201cOne of the beautiful things about comedy is so many different types of people are attracted to it. That\u2019s the fun of it. The Portland comedy scene has never been stronger.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

February\/March 2018
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