The Nevada Sagebrush

For local comedy fans and comedians, the Reno comedy scene has been steadily developing into one that offers a myriad of performers, from students to professionals, and a wide range of venues all over town.

Hilarity ensues.

“Starting out, our audience was quite small,” Ian Sorensen, a 21-year-old journalism major and local comedian, said. “But as more shows were done on a weekly basis and word got out, our viewership increased dramatically until many nights it was standing room only. If I have a crowd and I have entertaining things to say that may garner some chuckles, I’ll feel good.”

Along with The Studio On Fourth, where Sorenson performs regularly, other local venues such as the Grand Sierra Resort and Casino and the Studio on Fourth Street also occasionally host comedy shows.

“It seems to me that the comedy scene in Reno is really starting to develop,” Sorensen, a Utility Players member, said. “Because of the apparent rise in comedic participation, I think this is an excellent town to be starting out as a comedian.”

Every Thursday until the end of the month, the Empire Improv comedy group performs downtown at West Street Market. Every Tuesday until the end of the month, The Waterfall bar on Second Street will host a comedy showcase.

The Silver Legacy Resort Casino is the site of the comedy club Catch a Rising Star. The club regularly showcases budding stand-up comedians rather than headliners and offers special deals like the Dinner & a Laugh package, which includes dinner at a Silver Legacy restaurant, tickets to a Catch a Rising Star performance and drink specials at the show.

“Catch a Rising Star has more regional and local comedians,” Silver Legacy publicist Krystal Tingle said. “It has comedians with a smaller tour schedule, not headliners.”

One local comedy troupe that takes advantage of the up-and-coming comedy scene is The Utility Players, a group that includes a range of styles, from improvisation to sketch and musical comedy.

Audience members enjoy a Saturday night performance from The Utility Players, a local comedy troupe that practices improvisation and sketch comedy with other styles at the Studio on Fourth Street. Photo by Brian Bolton.

While Sorensen was witnessing the growth in his audiences, another local comedy troupe was deciding to try to make a similar mark on Reno. As a certified club at the University of Nevada, Reno, the Wolf Pack Comedy Troupe is able to use the theater in the Joe Crowley Student Union to put on their once-a-semester performances.

“We want to work on getting more well-known in Reno,” Ryan Nelson, a 19-year-old mechanical engineering major and a member of the Wolf Pack Comedy Troupe, said. “We’d like to get booked into a casino, and I don’t see why we can’t. Reno’s not a bad place to start out. It’s got a good nightlife and an arts culture.”

The Wolf Pack Comedy Troupe uses techniques like uploading live performances and short films onto YouTube and performing at open mic nights at places such as the Great Basin Brewing Co. to garner more interest in the group.

“There’s only one open mic night that is geared towards comedy, and it’s geared more towards stand-up comedy,” Steven Dente, a 19-year-old journalism major and Wolf Pack Comedy Troupe member, said. “Most of them are almost entirely music and poetry, so we have some funny songs that we perform. That’s usually how we start our shows. We’d like to get more exposure to get us into the mainstream. Being famous in Reno isn’t like being popular in LA, but it’s the perfect place to keep developing our act.”

For many of the comedians in Reno, performing in one of the many venues available for comedy acts can serve as a stepping stone to the next level.

“We’ve got to find somebody who has a distant cousin who’s Angelina Jolie or something,” Collin Mock, a 20-year-old communications major and member of the Wolf Pack Comedy Troupe, said. “There’s got to be at least two agents in Reno. We want more people to come see us. Students can relate to our style of humor, and students are who we want to relate to right now.”

While local comics are beginning to thrive in Reno, many well-known professional comedians are also making regular stops to perform in nearby casinos.

From veterans of famous comedy groups like “Saturday Night Live” to local comedians like the Wolf Pack Comedy Troupe, Reno’s nightlife has begun to offer more venues for audiences to see live comedy acts.

In coming months, the Silver Legacy will host some of the most legendary comedians who are currently on tour. On Oct. 10, Stephen Lynch, who has hosted several highly rated specials on Comedy Central and sold nearly half a million copies of his studio albums, will perform his music-based comedy in the casino’s Grande Exposition Hall. On Nov. 27, comedy duo Cheech and Chong, who were popularized in the 1970s for their hippie-centric humor and cult classic films such as “Up in Smoke,” will perform for an audience aged 18 and older. Past months have seen political comedian Bill Maher and “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” star Wayne Brady pass through Reno.

Tingle attributes the appeal of Reno for comedians mainly to its location between major cities like Sacramento and Las Vegas.

“We are so geographically close that a comedian can put us on their tour easily,” Tingle  said. “We have a great venue and a great town. We can usually guarantee a full house. A comedian knows that if they come here, there will be a good house to fill because there are so many venues and so much to do downtown.”

Casey O’Lear can be reached at colear@nevadasagebrush.com.

Upcoming Events

Stephen Lynch
Where: Silver
LegacyResort Casino, Grande
Exposition Hall
When: Oct. 10,
8 p.m.
Description: Lynch will perform his unique style of musical comedy, featuring humorous songs about friends and family as well as stand-up routines.

Carlos Mencia
Where: Silver
Legacy Resort Casino, Grande
Exposition Hall
When: Nov. 7,
8 p.m.
Description: The well-known television comedian will perform his insightful jokes revolving largely around racial, ethnic and personal issues.

Cheech & Chong
Where: Silver
Legacy Resort Casino, Grande
Exposition Hall
When: Nov. 27,
8 p.m.s
Description: The iconic comedians will perform their counter-culture focused satire.

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