You don’t need to drop the F-bomb to get a laugh. Just ask the folks on the upStanding Comedy Circuit.
The clean comedy show returns to Chatham May 28. It’s the last performance for the tour until the fall.
James MacNeil, a member of “The Circuit” and local funeral director, said the event will take place at Emmanuel Baptist Church. He said the stand-up night became too big in terms of spectators to remain at its old location in The Hub of the Pines Chapel.
“We outgrew our previous location. That’s a fantastic problem,” he said.
MacNeil said it’s really quite easy to create a comedy club atmosphere – a microphone, a light and a stage, basically. Well, it is nice to add a screen so some comics can incorporate multimedia to their show.
MacNeil’s been involved with the tour from the beginning “as a fan, a supporter and a guy who gets as much practice on stage as possible.”
The Circuit’s been going since 2012, and has been through Chatham regularly since 2013.
MacNeil prefers swear-free comedy. He doesn’t think someone has to cuss to get a laugh. He pointed to the Just for Laughs television spots where comedians at the popular annual Montreal comedy festival are asked to perform their routine minus the swearing. He thinks the jokes are just as funny minus the expletives.
“It’s classic comedy, without the rude and the crude,” he said.
The headliner for May 28 is Dan Taylor, a man who once opened for Russell Peters. Taylor’s a pastor and family man, but MacNeil described him as “kind of an edgy clean for some people.”
MacNeil promises giggles and guffaws.
“You could almost do a money-back guarantee – if you don’t laugh, we’ll give you your money back,” he joked.
Aside from Taylor, MacNeil will also perform, as well as two aspiring young local comics.
“There are always a couple of spots for a local brave person,” he said, as people come up after performances and ask if they could take a shot behind the mic in the future. Tour organizers will see if they are serious and ask them to put together about five minutes of material, which they’ll review to see if it measures up. Any material used on a performance night is also checked to ensure it’s clean enough.
“Every venue, we’ve had enough brave people to try it,” MacNeil said, adding some have bombed and others have received huge laughs. “Part of the mission is to try to find other people.”
MacNeil said there’s a dedicated core fan base of about 125 people who attend the shows, but others come and go. He said people come from as far away as Leamington, Windsor and Sarnia to catch the performances.
“It’s growing. People say, ‘It’s our thing,’” he said. “You get a relaxed crowd coming.”
Some people may think because it’s clean comedy and the event is taking place in a church, the event will have religious undertones. MacNeil said that’s not the case.
“The church, we’re using it as a facility. This is not Christian comedy,” he said. “It tends to be a Christian-friendly crowd. But we’ve got some super-friendly atheists and relaxed Buddhists too.”
For tickets, visit the Gospel Text Bookstore on Grand Avenue East or look online at upstandingcomedy.ca. They’re $12 in advance and $15 at the door.
