Full-time comedy club gives up-and-comers a chance to test their skills
Living in Hong Kong gives comedians plenty of material
When Jim Brewsky arrived in Hong Kong from the US a little more than two years ago, he never thought he'd find himself doing stand-up comedy, let alone winning the region's leading comedy competition. Not only that, but next year he'll do a US tour, which was part of the competition prize, as was HK$40,000 in cash.
"I never imagined in a thousand years I would be doing stand-up comedy back in the States on the stages where I've watched shows myself," says Brewsky, who teaches English at a local university.
Brewsky has his wife to thank for setting him off on the stand-up comedy road. She bought tickets for a night at the TakeOut Comedy Club in SoHo as a birthday treat. There he met club owner Jami Gong, who, besides staging regular shows, bringing in overseas comedians and nurturing local talent, teaches occasional comedy classes. Brewsky signed up for the next class - a four-hour evening session - and was hooked.
"Jami teaches you how to find the funny in your own life. I don't think I would have had the guts to do this without the encouragement that he gives," says Brewsky, 37, who came runner-up in last year's competition.
I don't know what the big deal is [over Occupy Central]; the Filipinas do this every single Sunday
Like most successful comedians, Brewsky's routines draws heavily on his own life - his family, his take on life as a black American in the city, and how people interact with him and the things that strike him as odd. His routine - infused with local insights and gags - definitely hit a funny bone with the audience of 600 who turned out for the final of the eighth annual Hong Kong International Comedy Festival at Kitec earlier this month. But he'll know whether the humour translates to a US audience late next spring, when he begins a tour that will take in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Minneapolis and Las Vegas.