Three Minutes of Bliss
Posted on April 19, 2012 by Lui Tortuya
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Buhay Pinoy
No, it's not the three minutes that you have on your mind.
In stand-up comedy, an open mic-er is first given three minutes. What you do with those minutes can make or break you. The earliest that I remember becoming a fan of stand-up comedy was the summer of 5th grade when I would stay up late at night waiting for the latest comedy special. Today, for the life of me I can’t really remember the channel, but I can remember, distinctly, every Carrot Top stage prop and every detail of Jeff Dunham’s puppets, as well as every punchline from those early shows.
(Check out the best Comedy Clubs in the metro here)
For my brother and I, when we found a show, it was like finding a diamond in a barren field. We would spend the rest of the night laughing so hard my stomach muscles would be sore the next day. For the next decades of my life I remained a dedicated audience member to the global comedy scene, buying any new videos that was released from Richard Pryor, George Carlin and later, Chris Rock and Dave Chappelle. It wasn’t until starting work as a radio DJ that I started to fully understand the art of stand-up comedy. On the Disenchanted Kingdom with King DJ Logan, I met guys from the Comedy Cartel, the first group of observational stand-up comics here in the Philippines. It was a welcome alternative to the popular “insult” stand-up comedy that we love so much. The guys dropped jokes about everyday stuff and gave a funny perspective on anything from food to sex, and sometimes even both in the same joke.
GB Labrador, Comedy Cartel Philippines
I invited the guys to use my bar Tomatokick for an open mic night as a place to hone their skills and practice. It's been a year and they have turned Tuesday nights into a landmark for comedy in Katipunan. Stand-up comedy is an art. It’s something that you work on and get better at overtime by putting in the effort and practice, like any other performance art. It's an art that fits us so well as Filipinos because of our innate ability to look lightly at all subjects and naturally find the punchline that's funny and, at times, extremely corny but that resonates and hits home. You know it's great comedy when you find yourself yelling out “that’s so true” in between bursts of laughter.
(For the best deals in Fun & Entertainment, visit EYP Deal Finder)
Open Mic nights at Tomatokick with the Comedy Cartel Philippines
We’re in a bit of a golden era in Pinoy comedy right now. Just this past year, Rex Navarette sold out two big shows in Resorts World, and people actually paid good money to support him. The openers were local, up-and-coming guys like Noel Gascon and Mike Unson. The Comedy Cartel is finding an audience that is willing to follow them around the metro as they perform in places like Spicy Fingers in Greenbelt, Chihuahua along Makati Ave, and are even traveling to Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong and crushing crowds abroad. The most significant and poignant sign that it’s a great time for stand-up is the fact that people like GB Labrador, Alex Calleja, and Victor Anastacio are being hired as comedic writers for TV productions. The comedic process has a clear endgame now that respects the art and the efforts that these guys put forth, and it's beginning to pay off in spades.
As a fan, I think that stand-up comedy here is moving in a good direction with guys like the Comedy Cartel working their butts off and gaining recognition. As someone who benefits directly from their performances in my place of business, I’m extremely grateful. As an open mic-er, I’m always excited and nervous for the next three minutes.
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In stand-up comedy, an open mic-er is first given three minutes. What you do with those minutes can make or break you. The earliest that I remember becoming a fan of stand-up comedy was the summer of 5th grade when I would stay up late at night waiting for the latest comedy special. Today, for the life of me I can’t really remember the channel, but I can remember, distinctly, every Carrot Top stage prop and every detail of Jeff Dunham’s puppets, as well as every punchline from those early shows.
(Check out the best Comedy Clubs in the metro here)
For my brother and I, when we found a show, it was like finding a diamond in a barren field. We would spend the rest of the night laughing so hard my stomach muscles would be sore the next day. For the next decades of my life I remained a dedicated audience member to the global comedy scene, buying any new videos that was released from Richard Pryor, George Carlin and later, Chris Rock and Dave Chappelle. It wasn’t until starting work as a radio DJ that I started to fully understand the art of stand-up comedy. On the Disenchanted Kingdom with King DJ Logan, I met guys from the Comedy Cartel, the first group of observational stand-up comics here in the Philippines. It was a welcome alternative to the popular “insult” stand-up comedy that we love so much. The guys dropped jokes about everyday stuff and gave a funny perspective on anything from food to sex, and sometimes even both in the same joke.
GB Labrador, Comedy Cartel Philippines
I invited the guys to use my bar Tomatokick for an open mic night as a place to hone their skills and practice. It's been a year and they have turned Tuesday nights into a landmark for comedy in Katipunan. Stand-up comedy is an art. It’s something that you work on and get better at overtime by putting in the effort and practice, like any other performance art. It's an art that fits us so well as Filipinos because of our innate ability to look lightly at all subjects and naturally find the punchline that's funny and, at times, extremely corny but that resonates and hits home. You know it's great comedy when you find yourself yelling out “that’s so true” in between bursts of laughter.
(For the best deals in Fun & Entertainment, visit EYP Deal Finder)
Open Mic nights at Tomatokick with the Comedy Cartel Philippines
We’re in a bit of a golden era in Pinoy comedy right now. Just this past year, Rex Navarette sold out two big shows in Resorts World, and people actually paid good money to support him. The openers were local, up-and-coming guys like Noel Gascon and Mike Unson. The Comedy Cartel is finding an audience that is willing to follow them around the metro as they perform in places like Spicy Fingers in Greenbelt, Chihuahua along Makati Ave, and are even traveling to Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong and crushing crowds abroad. The most significant and poignant sign that it’s a great time for stand-up is the fact that people like GB Labrador, Alex Calleja, and Victor Anastacio are being hired as comedic writers for TV productions. The comedic process has a clear endgame now that respects the art and the efforts that these guys put forth, and it's beginning to pay off in spades.
As a fan, I think that stand-up comedy here is moving in a good direction with guys like the Comedy Cartel working their butts off and gaining recognition. As someone who benefits directly from their performances in my place of business, I’m extremely grateful. As an open mic-er, I’m always excited and nervous for the next three minutes.
(Join EYP Search-O-lympics for a chance to win amazing prizes)
Juice Recommends:
Juice Night Out
Juice Events
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Go stand-up! I believe stand-up, not the local gay karaoke kind,is one of the most entertaining performance art forms, and one of the toughest to be good, not even brilliant, at. Somehow, the best ones are Americans, and Rex Navarrete and Joe Koi, while Pinoy by blood, are US-raised. Every chance I get, even on in-flight movies, I'd choose stand up over a Hollywood film. I laugh myself to tears, and royally annoy my seat mate. Can this take off in manila?
(April 24, 2012 12:00:00 AM)