Amateur comedians step into the spotlight
A group of novice stand-up comedians will explore the art of being funny in a show that hopes to create a new comedy scene in Manawatu.
Started by comedian Ben Caldwell, Parbaked LOL’S is a show made up of first time stand-up performances.
Caldwell recently moved to Feilding from Wellington and wanted to help get a comedy up and running in his new home.
‘‘So I put an ad on Facebook to see if anyone would be interested in doing stand-up and coming to some workshops.’’
Caldwell said after a slow start, numbers increased and the line-up for the show has 11 first-time comedians. Rebecca Culver is one of them. Culver said she hadn’t really considered doing stand-up until she saw Caldwell’s advert.
‘‘I like speaking in front of people so I thought ‘well that’s a start’. And I am not scared to try new things. We did a rehearsal performance and people laughed, so that was a huge relief. It’s pretty nerve-racking.’’
Anu Sefton is another giving it a go and said the workshops had been ‘‘supportive and encouraging’’.
‘‘I’ve been told on a few occasions after giving creative process talks that I should do stand up comedy. I find life funny so thought I’d give it a go, but I had no idea that I could actually do it. Coming to comedy club has been a baptism of fire.’’
Caldwell said he can relate to those at the beginning stages of finding out if they can do it. ‘‘I was in that place too. At high school I always wanted to make people laugh and my teacher said to do a funny speech, which I did. When I got to Wellington, I did a stand-up at San Fran and it was awful. So I know what that can be like.’’
Caldwell said he was keen to build on the first night and hopefully turn it into a regular show.
Parbaked LOL’S will be performed at The Dark Room on March 24 at 8pm. The show contains adult themes and coarse language.