Published in the Hanford Sentinel Newspaper, Friday May 28, 2021
What is standup comedy? According to the dictionary, it is a type of comedy in which an entertainer, typically standing alone on stage, tells jokes or amusing stories directly to an audience. HMTC and the only bookstore in Kings County, My Corazon, will host an evening of standup comedians on July 16 at 7pm. Why? Because we need to laugh.
I have ventured into standup twice as a performer. My first time performing standup comedy was in Columbus, Ohio. I performed at various standup comedy locations and made friends with fellow comedians. Together we would pounce on comedy spots to test our comedy. The standup comedy spots were usually a bar. At that time, smoking was permitted. This smoke often was a large cloud above the audience that drifted into my eyes blinding me while I did my standup. Often, the smoke became part of my routine because my eyes would burn with the smoke on stage. Unfortunately, my eyes were extremely sensitive to the smoke and I often took home the smoke smell in my hair. Both issues caused me to give up standup comedy performing.
The second time was in Hanford two years ago. A group of us Hanford actors took a class with Trent Babb from Visalia. He ran a standup comedy class in Hanford. A comedy show was assembled and comedians from as far as Bakersfield came to do a show. The comedy class followed up with our own standup comedy. This was quite enjoyable. The Hanford actors got an experience to remember.
Trent Babb is back and will bring his crew of comedian friends for the July 16 event. He will MC the event and warm up the audience. To date, Pete Munoz from San Jose will be the featured act. He is hilarious. More comedians to be assembled for this first-time event at My Corazon.
The fun is on July 16, at 7pm. Tickets are limited and are $15 a seat. Tickets can be purchased in advanced at 300 N. Irwin Street in Old Downtown Hanford which is just across from the Hanford civic park. Or online tickets can be purchased online with a small convenience fee at http://www.HMTC.ticketleap.com/standup-comedy
It is time to laugh. My Corazon owner Janie Isidoro is excited to host the event with HMTC.
