>> JUST ANNOUNCED: Josh Groban coming to town for summer concert
The show started in Indiana last year and was started by Jon Hancuff. He was kicking around ideas for a tour when he realized most of the comics in Bloomington were also parents. Within a week, nine shows were booked.
Hancuff started telling jokes in the early 1990s, but life changes including marriage, divorce, second marriage and kids forced him to take a 13-year hiatus. He got back on stage during a comedy competition at the Comedy Attic in Bloomington, and he realized his act was going to be different.
“Before I was just making up jokes. I had gained so much life experience that my act had completely changed,” he said.
After winning some comedy contests and recording a couple albums, he decided to get some friends on board for a show about all the things that most people relate to: love, loss, relationships and kids.
“So much of what I talk about is personal. You hit on something that everyone experiences. So many people identify with the jokes,” he said.
Joining Hancuff on the shows are Shanda Sung, Patrick Passafiume and Melissa Doran. The comics have all worked together before and have a lot in common. Sung is a newer mom with little ones who has performed at many festivals and is a regular at the Comedy Attic. In contrast, Doran has older kids, one is 21 and the other is 17.
Doran began her comedy career on the East Coast in New York. She now resides in Louisville. Doran has also won many comedy contests including the Kent Carney Best Female Comedian of Louisville award. She was a mom when she started comedy.
>> John Legend coming home for local concert
“I was going on stage with jokes like, ‘Diapers. Am I right?’ I had to have a day gig. Having kids always means having material,” Doran said.
Doran thinks the Midwest is a good place for this type of comedy. She said people relate to her style of parenting. And being a mom makes the jokes easy to write since moms are around the kids so much more.
“Don’t get me wrong, I love all the dads, but being a mom means wearing more hats. We can multitask better than men. We bring more facets. There’s more that we know,” Doran said.
>> Food & Wine magazine shows some love to our very own Golden Lamb
Also from Louisville is Passafiume, who says he has been doing comedy for “too long.” Too long is 14 years. He has performed at The Second City in Chicago and is featured on Laugh Out Loud Radio on Sirius XM. He has a 3-year-old daughter whom he likes to talk about.
“I like talking about the weird and funny things she does. I also talk about how it feels to be a father. My act has transitioned now to where I talk about fatherhood and I love it,” Passafiume said.
The show isn’t just for parents. It can also be for people who have had parents. Passafiume thinks everyone’s kind of a parent and wants people to get away for a night of laughs. Hancuff agrees and that there is a lot more that is related to having kids.
“It [being a parent] gives you a mirror to show you how old you are getting. Most jokes are about something that happened and my reflection on the event. You are trying to wrap your head around these things. We are all just trying to get by,” Hancuff said.
The shows are Friday, Feb. 7 at 8 p.m. and Saturday, Feb. 8 at 7:15 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Tickets are $10 online and $15 at the door. Seats can also be reserved by calling the club at 937-224-5653.