CULTURE COMEDY
George, 27, exudes the same energy that he has onstage when he talks about his place within Columbia’s kaleidoscope of comics, a collective he has been a part of for about a year. The group of jokesters has grown in recent years. They vary in comedic styles, but all of them have their own place in the scene, and they all share the goal of making the audience laugh. George admits his style of comedy is fairly raunchy, mixing self-deprecating jokes and humorous public service announcements with the skills and mannerisms he has developed from watching other comedians. A lot of his act relies on stories he pulls from his daily life or poking fun at audience members he thinks he could joke with. Rob Harris shares the slightly explicit tone of George’s stand-up. “I’m not G-rated,” says Harris, 40. “I curse, and I say dumb stuff, but I’m tamer. I want to do more stuff my daughter (13) can see.” Doing family-friendly material is important for Harris, who has been a comedian for seven years and currently runs the monthly Pints and Punchlines comedy show at Rose Music Hall. Fatherhood has shaped much of his comedic style over the years, but other family members have been inspirations as well. His interest in comedy began as a kid, and he attributes his ability to make jokes to his grandmother’s sense of humor. The rest of his comedic repertoire comes from his own life, such as when he was a teacher at his daughter’s elementary school. “I just tell stories about the stuff that happens to me,” Harris says. “And I mean, I embellish or whatever. I’m extra by nature, so it’s pretty easy for me. But most of them are just stories.” Other comedians combine current events with the happenings of everyday life and their own personal stories to come up with material for their acts. One such comic is Kaitlin Rounds, 25, who finds ideas for her stand-up in a number of places including her own experiences. “I would say about 60 percent are me, and then about 40 percent are just things I’ve ingested from the media that I have a point of view on,” she says. Rounds lives in Kansas City, but she performs throughout Missouri. When she’s
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VOX MAGAZINE • APRIL 2019
LATE-NIGHT LAUGHS Jonesing for some gut-busting comedy? Check out these mid-MO stand-up shows to satisfy that need.
Rob Harris (top) routinely brings his parenting-inspired comedy to the monthly Pints & Punchlines show, while Kansas City-based Kaitlin Rounds (lower left) performs at shows all around Missouri.
talking about her own life, her jokes fluctuate between self-deprecating — such as the jokes she makes about her bad driving — and self-aggrandizing — like an exaggerated story about how she once managed to get revenge on a roommate. She enjoys having her routine play off those extremes. After two and a half years in the stand-up scene, Rounds has met plenty of comics with other methods, such as one comedian whose act heavily features one-liners. For her, the styles of jokes people make aren’t as important as the idea of comedy itself. “It feels really, really good to make people laugh, and people need to laugh,” she says. “It’s one of the most important things, and it helps people come together.”
The As Yet Unnamed Comedy Show This “entirely renegade” show makes for wild comedy every week at the Eastside Tavern. 1016 E. Broadway; 10 p.m. Tuesdays; free Pints and Punchlines Rose Music Hall’s monthly lineup of comedians features CoMo comics with a wide range of experience. 1013 Park Ave.; 9 p.m. April 24; $2 Sideline Jokes Dubbed “the wildest comedy show in Columbia,” Sideline Jokes opens its doors the second Thursday of the month. Sideline Sports Bar, 701 Big Bear Blvd.; 8 p.m. April 18; $5 The Laughayette Showcase Need to expand your horizons? Head south to the capital to see some of the state’s funniest folks. 619 E. Capitol Ave., Jefferson City; 8 p.m. May 4; $5
Photography by Madison Parry and courtesy of Rob Harris and Kaitlin Rounds