VENTURE STORY: LAUGHTER IN THE FACE OF DISASTER

No matter where you go in the world, you’re bound to find someone who will make you laugh, whether it’s a random passerby taking a pratfall down a flight of stairs or your best friend. However, it takes a particular breed of individual and a certain level of insanity to make a career out of humor.

To most of us, the prospect of telling jokes in front of an ever-fickle audience nearly seven days a week and coming up with new material, all while balancing a regular nine-to-five, sounds like a veritable prison sentence. But for those who thrive on the thrill of the audience reaction, the slavish hours, and the thankless dedication it takes, pursuing a career in comedy is all but inevitable.

Unfortunately for local Portland comedians Jake Silberman and Shain Brenden, and San Francisco comic Alex Elkin, maintaining such a career under current circumstances is proving rather difficult, as there isn’t a lot of money to be made working clubs or touring when the whole world is cooped up in their homes. While one could argue that comedy is necessary for maintaining good mental health, comedians aren’t exactly “essential workers.”

With the coronavirus effectively putting the careers of all but the most well-known comedians on hold, comics everywhere have been struggling to find the humor in this situation.

In order to better understand their predicament, Venture Magazine sat down with Silberman, Brenden, and Elkin to talk about the Portland comedy scene, life as a comedian, and COVID-19.

Jake Silberman:

Q: How did you get into stand-up comedy?

A: The idea of trying stand-up happened while traveling abroad in Central and South America in 2012… I started to listen to podcasts for the first time, and stumbled across comedians’ podcasts. I had a college friend who had been doing comedy for a bit in Minneapolis, so I sent her a message asking her for some advice. And when I returned to Minnesota in early 2013, she took me to my first open mic. I had only seen one open mic in my life, so walking into a comedy club with 100+ (people) was not what I expected. I went up third, bombed extremely hard, and was hooked.

Q: As a Minnesota native, what is it about the Portland comedy scene that attracted you?

A: I had only been doing open mics in Minneapolis for a few months, but I had a good friend out here and he told me if I came out I could stay on his couch until I got on my feet. I wasn’t working, so I started going to all the open mics and it just became my life. Portland has a great scene to get started in, as there is a ton of stage time every night. One of the housemates let me borrow his bike and I would pedal from mic to mic every night.

Q: How has living in/working clubs in Portland shaped the kind of jokes you tell?

A: I feel my “brand” of comedy can run into a bit of the Portland sensitivity from time to time, both from the audiences and sometimes even a few of the comics. I think it’s made me a bit more combative, but it’s also pushed me in ways to sharpen the logic and make sure I’m bringing something that I can stand behind when I’m onstage.

Q: In what ways does the comedy scene in Portland differ from the scene in other parts of the state, and with other states you may have performed in?

A: I think overall it might be a little more PC, but in general Portland crowds are pretty great. It just seems like sometimes they can get in their own way, but I’d rather be here than a lot of places. We really do have a lot of amazing opportunities that I don’t think a lot of other scenes have.

Q: How has the coronavirus affected your stand-up routines and the jokes you are working on?

A: At this point with the lockdown, I’m not doing any stand-up writing. It seems the world is both paused and also moving at an incredible speed, which makes it very difficult to pin down what exactly is happening. I think a lot of comics are finding it difficult to write. I’ve been doing a livestream on Facebook every night for the last three weeks, which has been my creative outlet. But stand-up probably won’t be coming back anytime soon. I think you’ve got to make the best of it and keep working your comedy muscles in whatever way you can, but for me, stand-up is an art form that requires a live audience to perform for.

Shain Brenden:

Q: How did you get into stand-up comedy?

A: I went to open mics back in San Diego a few times to just watch comics go up and do well, but mostly bomb! It took me a few weeks to write what I thought were jokes and built up the nerve to actually sign up on the list to perform. I did pretty well my first time up. There were two people in the crowd and it was close to 2 a.m. One of the two people was wearing what appeared to be a house arrest anklet. I’m not sure how he was there, now that I think back on it.

Q: After starting your stand-up career in California, what is it about the Portland comedy scene that attracted you?

A: I moved up here because LA sucked and my wife is from Portland. I knew a handful of Portland comics before moving up here. I was only a few years into stand-up so I had nothing to offer LA, couldn’t really get any stage time, and my rent was $3k a month for a tiny apartment. Portland has been just a better place to grow (for me) as a comic.

Q: How has your military experience affected your comedic sensibilities?

A: I don’t talk about my military background onstage. It’s not a conscious decision I ever made, it just isn’t anything I think about when I’m writing jokes. Military folks are a tough-skin breed; there were lots of times someone or myself would make off-color jokes to make each other laugh. If you’re pinned down with me in a several-hour gun fight on the side of a mountain in Afghanistan, I’m probably gonna say some wildly inappropriate shit when the smoke clears because we just survived a fucked-up situation. If I can get a laugh back then, in that circumstance, getting a laugh in a comedy club as a more mature man with relatable content is a fucking cakewalk.

Q: In what ways does the Portland comedy scene differ from the scene in other parts of the state, and with other states you have performed in?

A: Portland crowds are smart and dumb and sensitive, just like anywhere and every one of us, myself included. You can’t get away with low-hanging fruit type of shit here – which is a good thing, in my opinion. It forces comics to think about what they say and how they say it.

Q: How has the coronavirus affected your stand-up routines and the jokes you are working on?

A: Everything I was working on before corona is dead. Now that I can’t get onstage and I’m just stuck in my house, I’m not living a life worth commenting on. Also I’ve been still doing a lot of “shows” on Zoom or IG Live and that shit is just not the same. I’ve probably done 12-15 of these shows where my “set” is 10-20 minutes at a time and I’ve done ZERO bits!

Q: Do you have a coronavirus-themed joke you would be willing to share?

A: I have ZERO corona jokes. This shit sucks. I miss stand-up with a PASSION. I miss hanging out with comics, I miss being onstage and feeling people’s energy. Fuck this virus in its ass all day! When I get back onstage I will have zero jokes about it all, because I know that’s what everyone will be talking about.

Alex Elkin:

Q: How did you get into stand-up comedy?

A: The first time I did stand-up comedy was in March of 1994 for my high school talent show in San Dimas, California. Walking out onto the gym stage I slipped and fell right on my face and got a huge laugh. Since then I’ve been trying to get that same huge laugh without bodily injury. It wasn’t until 2016, after winning the San Francisco Comedy Competition, that I really solidified myself into the annals of stand-up comedy.

Q: After starting your stand-up career in California, how does the Portland/Oregon comedy scene differ?

A: Southern California is a much more diverse population of differing cultures and races than anywhere in Oregon. While racism is prevalent everywhere, I have never been more aware of it than when I moved to Oregon. There is such a homogeneous, white culture in Portland that goes so far out of its own way to virtue signal a hatred for racism that they won’t allow for any kind of humor that doesn’t affirm this pandering, common belief system. There’s a line between funny and abusive but, in my opinion, the Portland comedy scene has blurred that line so badly that they’ve hamstrung the comedic foibles found in humanity itself.

Q: As a touring comedian with an active and growing presence, how has the coronavirus affected your work?

A: It has, in all reality, devastated my work. At first I was really dismayed over the sudden and abrupt loss of calendar dates. That work is what provides for my family of five and I was in a slight panic, wondering what I was going to do to bring money in. Get a delivery job? Jump back into sales? Knock over a Plaid Pantry? Over the weeks, I’ve realized that while stand-up comedy in its base form is changing (maybe forever) I gotta either jump in the cart or get left in its dust.

Q: How has the coronavirus affected the material and types of jokes you are working on?

A: There’s a fine line between being relevant and topical, versus being cliché or “hack.” This pandemic and quarantine has changed the world and EVERYONE is well aware of it, so as a comedian, making jokes is fairly expected. However, being that this crisis is really not funny – (at least) yet – I am trying to write jokes that don’t address it as much.

Q: How has Portland’s reputation for having a strong “SJW” culture affected the shows you have performed in the city?

A: The hindering SJW reputation of the Portland comedy scene is quietly discussed in the comedy community the same way Voldemort is handled throughout the stories in the profitable world of “Harry Potter”: It’s a real thing, whispered in the shadows of private DMs or back-alley conversations. Most fear it, and don’t dare bring it up in open conversation for fear of negative reprisal.

Q: Do you have a coronavirus-themed joke you would be willing to share?

A: COVID-19 should be treated like a high IQ. Most people assume they have it; however, if tested, (they) would be happy with neither of the results.

With stay-at-home orders still in effect across much of the country, stand-up comedians and the clubs they perform in continue to suffer. Despite these challenges, comics are doing their best to adapt to the situation, turning to social media to help provide your daily dose of laughter.
While watching your favorite local comics perform stand-up to a webcam in their bedroom might seem like the comedy equivalent of watching “Seinfeld” without the laugh track, at least you won’t have to travel through downtown traffic to listen to their latest material.
Until they are able to return to the stage, Brenden, Silberman, and Elkin can be found at their social media profiles, listed below.

Alex Elkin – Alexelkin.com

Jake Silberman – Twitter: @thecomedianjake

Shain Brenden – Instagram: @shainbrenden