How to go
Who: Aida Rodriguez
Where: Funny Bone Comedy Club, 88 Plum St., The Greene, Beavercreek.
When: 7:30 and 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 7:30 p.m. Sunday
Cost: $17-$47 Friday and Saturday, $12-$42 Sunday
More info: 937-429-LAFF (5233) or www.daytonfunnybone.com
Artist info: www.funnyaida.com
Aida Rodriguez was eliminated in episode 7 of the current season of NBC’s “Last Comic Standing,” but she’s not complaining. Her career has taken off since her top 10 finish on the televised comedy competition.
The Los Angeles based-stand-up, who is performing at the Funny Bone Comedy Club in Beavercreek through Sunday recently shared her thoughts on the profile-boosting results of the program.
Upholding values
“I didn’t want to do the show at first. I feel a certain way about certain reality shows, and I just didn’t want to contribute to that. We get so caught up in this part of the country, and we don’t realize there’s a whole ocean of people east of here that don’t live what we’re living. They go to work every day, they’re raising families and they’re upholding human values that we kind of escape from sometime because we live in La La Land. Reality shows give off the wrong impression, and I didn’t want to participate in that buffoonery and foolishness.”
Changing focus
“My manager told me to do the show because it will give me the exposure I need. I really had to be convinced they were going to do something different this year and they did. I didn’t want to live in a house with the other comics and they got rid of all that stuff. The format is different. Everybody involved in the show is different than the former regime. There are no cattle calls with people standing in line to audition. They actually hand-selected the comics.”
Creating awareness
“I think ‘Last Comic Standing’ is a great vehicle for comedians. It brought attention to my brand of humor and to people who had not seen me. They didn’t make me tone it down. They allowed me to do my jokes. As long as I kept it family-friendly they allowed me to be me, which is really rare for TV. It’s helped me a lot, because some of the clubs are calling. TV is calling, so I have no complaints about it.”
Expanding resume
“I booked a movie, I’m working on a TV pilot with Mike Epps and Charlie Murphy, and I was added to some dates on Shaq’s Comedy All-Star tour. That’s all happened in the last month, and it all came because they saw me on ‘Last Comic Standing.’ It’s been great. People know who I am because of the show, and those people actually come out to see me do stand-up. It’s been wonderful for me.”
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