Standout Standups

RV Baller

Why:

I had always known I wanted to do standup as a kid, but I never knew when to start. When I moved to Orlando from Wisconsin — for school — I didn’t know anyone and had no friends, so I thought, what “better time than now?” It was the perfect situation, and I don’t know where I’d be without comedy.

His future:

I think the main goal is to start a cult that obeys my every wish and does my bidding, but other than that, my goal is to get as good as I can at standup. I want to reach a point where I am undeniable and, along the way, build the skills that will help me be the best standup I can be. I want to keep getting better every day and putting in the work.

RV Baller

Lee Cohen

Why:

I started doing standup comedy as a sort of self-inflicted therapy. I come from a family where talking about your life and personal business is a big “no.” I felt closed off and disconnected from people, so I started writing jokes and turning the experiences I felt embarrassed or angry about into jokes and sharing them. Ultimately, I just wanted to give people something to relate to while also helping myself deal with my own issues.

The future:

I’d like to tour and start doing more queer festivals in the next four years and I’m also working on finding new ways to incorporate comedy into other art forms. I’m working with an all-butch lesbian burlesque troupe called Tomboii to choreograph some funny strip teases and I want to finish and perfect my hour-long headliner set. I’m about halfway there, so fingers crossed.

Lee Cohen

Caleb Davis

Why:

I started because my grandfather and friends said I should be a comedian. During Covid, all I did was watch and listen to comedy podcasts, and everything about comedy sounded amazing. Once I got on stage, I couldn’t stop.

His future:

I hope to be a full-time comedian making most of my income by telling jokes. I want to headline in four years and perform at the Comedy Store and other big venues across the country.

Caleb Davis

Lisa Rod Davis

Why:

I started doing standup comedy to overcome my fear of public speaking. As I was ending my marriage, I found that making jokes and laughing about it made it a bit easier. Here in the Orlando scene, I found a supportive community. When I was feeling down, all I had to do was go out to a show and perform. It was like entering a different world, and I could be a different version of myself.

Her future:

I aim to build a solid 45-minute to one-hour set, come up with more clean jokes, be on tour, or booked three out of four weekends a month.

Lisa Rod Davis

Tatiana Davis

Why:

I started doing standup comedy because I wanted to prove to the world that my culture is very close to black culture. As a foreigner, I get judged and discriminated against, too, sometimes.

Her future:

My comedy career goals are being able to build my story within 45 minutes and writing a comedy book about my story.

Tatiana Davis

Vinny DiLorenzo

Why:

I got on stage for the first time, and it was an impulsive thing to do, like getting a tattoo. I didn’t have anything to say, but maybe one or two fart jokes. It was an awful time, and I couldn’t wait to do it again. I think my parents would rather have me gotten a tattoo.

His future:

I’d like to be a traveling comedian with a face tattoo in four years.

Vinny Delorenzo

Mark McKay

Why:

Watching Bill Cosby, Eddie Murphy, Sam Kinison, and Andrew Dice Clay mesmerized me growing up. As with anything that I like to watch, I will eventually do it, and standup was at the top of my observer-turned-participant list (right below “be a race car driver”). I did not know how or where to start, so standup took a distant back seat while my day job crept in and took over for many years. In January 2018, I saw a Facebook post about a standup comedy class at the Orlando Improv, so I immediately signed up for it. If only I had started on this journey back in my early 20s.

His future:

I plan to develop a couple of solid 45-minute headliner sets at any given time or location. I’m maybe halfway there right now. The icing on the cake would perform at my favorite place on the planet, the Comedy Cellar in NYC.

Mark McKay

King Quelz

Why:

I felt like it was a calling I had been trying to avoid. But after considering what I would want to do for a living if money weren’t an issue, making people laugh was a no-brainer.

His future:

My goals over the next four years in terms of business are to be a full-time, traveling comedian/headliner. My goal as an artist is to have developed and polished three hours’ worth of timeless material.

King Quelz

Ike Rafferty

Why:

I grew up on standup and alternative comedic programming, and as far back as I can remember, laughter has been paramount in my life. Over the last ten years, I have tried and failed multiple times to write jokes and tap into my comedic voice in a way that has any resonance with a live audience, and only this spring did something finally sort of click in me. It’s been a weird and wild little ride these past five or six months, and I am ready for more.

His future:

As far as standup and live comedy goes, I want to continue growing by writing and performing as much as possible. Being able to exclusively make my living from comedy and creative projects I’m passionate about is my ultimate goal. I would love to write for some weird sketch comedy show or sitcom—but I don’t have the faintest idea what a realistic timeline for something like that would be.

Ike Rafferty

DJ Santana

Why:

I started because I was bad at fishing. After fishing five nights a week for three weeks and catching zero fish, I thought there was something I could be good at. I went to an open mic the following week.

His future:

In four years, I hope to be headlining a little. I should be getting steady work on the road. But for sure, I’ll be a helluva feature act.

Dj Santana

Tae Tatted Up

Why:

About two years ago, my nail shop burned down, and I lost everything the month of my birthday. I was depressed for the rest of the year. I met Desmond Adkins, an Orlando comedian, and he put me on my first comedy show and I have been doing it ever since.

Her future:

My goals are to remain myself and build a better life for my kids. Bigger shows, endorsements, movies: a complete career for which I can be proud.

Tae Tatted Up

Kam Patterson

Why:

I was always cracking jokes at the footlocker I worked at, and everyone there told me I was funny and that I should try standup.

His future:

I plan to be the greatest, point blank. I’ll become a household name.

Kam Paterson

Tony Wellons

Why:

I started doing standup comedy because my whole life; I was always a goofy and silly kid. Growing up, I was the class clown, always doing whatever it took to get laughs, whether it was flashing my man boobs to the whole bus before I got off my stop in middle school or just goofing with the homies. I became enthralled with standup when I was 20 years old, working in a warehouse. I never watched standup growing up. My friend Matthew Donavan showed me Joe Rogan (I had no idea who he was then), and I fell in love with standup. I would watch standup all day while working in the warehouse. Then one day was like; you know what? I’m going to try this, and it was terrible.

His future:

My goal for comedy over the next four years is to become so funny that no one has no choice but to want to put me on their shows. Fame and fans are cool, but I want to be undeniably funny. I hope I have 45 minutes to an hour of material for which I am very proud.

Tony Wellons

Dewayne Williams

Why:

I was the class clown and all that stuff growing up. My first time doing standup was in November 2012 at Austin’s Coffee in Winter Park.

His future:

One of my moves. I’m working on becoming a headliner. That’s my next move in comedy. There’s no blueprint or formula for how to do it.

Dewayne Williams

Captain Wright

Why:

I started doing comedy because I wanted to get out of the house and thought it would be fun. I did not think much would come out of going to a couple of open mics, but once I got a feel for writing jokes and meeting fellow comedians, I just started to become obsessed with it.

His future:

Just keep uploading clips and doing as many shows as possible. My goals are to build up my following as much as possible, get some fans, and network with people to do shows in more places. I’d love to think I’ll be traveling consistently for comedy in four years.

Captain Wright