Comedians offer real-life insights with show-
A two-man team of comedians takes the stage to share funny insights into real life for the Grown Folks Comedy Show at the Texarkana Convention Center on Saturday.
Starting at 7 p.m., two Texarkana natives, Derrick Keener and D. Elli$ (also known by Dameon Ellis, his real name, and Mr. Entertainment!), will inspire laughter as part of the annual Hometown Celebrity Weekend. Both have returned home for comedy shows before and this one brings them together again.
“It’s going to be a good twoman show,” Elli$ said, noting with both comedians being Texarkana natives, this is good for the city. Keener, he said, has done very well from himself by touring with comedian Earthquake.
Dallas-based Elli$ is looking forward to seeing people at the show who might not venture out to the club. But it’s a show for adults, he said. “Where everybody will be comfortable,” he said, adding, “Dress nice and have a great evening.”
The Arkansas High School grad is a physical comedian who, he admits, will get in your face and shock you. He puts it this way: “I say stuff probably that people are thinking.” He says Keener is the same, both having developed into storytellers who can talk about family and real life on stage.
Bernie Mac, his favorite comedian, and Richard Pryor could do this, too, Elli$ says. And his gift for saying what people think? “I get that from my mom and dad, to be honest with you,” he said.
For Elli$, being a recently married man provides a source of humor, which his wife has seen plenty. After all, they were friends before they got married. “You know I’m going to put a lot of stuff on stage,” he said, noting it’s “a shock but not.”
The independent film he was in, “Lady Luck,” can now be seen on Amazon Prime, he says. It received a premiere in Texarkana. It’s also about to appear in more countries. “That’s a blessing and a half,” he said. He’s also working on new music.
Elli$’s children are another source of comedy for his stage show. As is President Donald Trump.
“Of course, everybody cracking on the current president and having a ball with that,” Elli$ said. News and hot topic subjects, expect those to be part of his humorous look on life for the show. He’ll even have funny things to say about family in attendance.
“Nobody is off limits,” said Elli$, who has a connection with the football theme of the Hometown Celebrity Weekend as he played high school football. He was teammates with Eric Warfield, who later played pro, while at Arkansas High.
Appearances by D. Elli$ include shows like “Last Comic Standing” and “Bill Bellamy’s Who’s Got Jokes?” He’s performed at Laugh-A-Palooza, The Improv and the Laugh Factory in Los Angeles. He’s even appeared with Mo’Nique and worked with Chaka Khan.
Keener has done standup in Texas and elsewhere. He’s also performed on the same stage as comedians like D.L. Hughley. Here in Texarkana, he performs often, including a Black History Month Celebration earlier this year at Texarkana College, a program titled “A Program With a Purpose.”
(Tickets: $20 pre-sale, $40 at the door. For more information and tickets, call Derrick Keener at 281-846-8203 or Kristi Kendrick at 903-244-6006.)