San Francisco is undergoing a comedy boom. I’m hesitant to call it a renaissance; that diminishes the people who have been doing standup for much longer than the new wave of practitioners, but it’s hard to deny there’s a new level of talent emerging from the nooks and crannies of our fair city’s dive bars.
I am not an impartial observer to this scene: I have skin in the game as a producer and performer. I do open mics and showcases at places like Milk Bar on Haight and the Layover in Oakland. I’ve done shows up the coast in Arcata and down to Santa Cruz and Los Angeles. I started a show with Anna Seregina called Talkies, which mixes standup with multimedia elements like slideshows, PowerPoint, and short films. I also inaugurated a standup series in Lost Weekend’s Cinecave that has turned into a weekly Saturday show.
The following comics work in truly different styles and represent different demographics. The only thing they have in common is that they’ve managed to kill in rooms with hostile and demanding audiences. That is no small feat. These are the up-and-coming Bay Area comedians you should go see now before they blow up.
David Gborie
Cohost of podcast “Blackstronauts”; member of Sylvan Productions; performed at Bridgetown Comedy Festival, Portland
Started performing: July 2010
Lives in: Ingleside, San Francisco
What’s your day job? I don’t actually have a day job.
Sum up your act in five words or less.
Handsome funny ill warm appreciative.
Are there any jokes you still use from when you first started?
No, thank god. My first joke was totally about cumming. I said, "I'm so nervous, I'm like lose-your-virginity nervous – hopefully I won't prematurely blow all my good jokes all over your stomach in the first 30 seconds. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone about this tomorrow." It was really fuckin' gross.
What’s the strangest thing that happened during your set?
One time I was doing a set and a guy was harassing the host. During my set the host pulled a knife on the guy – it was really intense.
Leslie Small
“Cannabis Cuts: The Next Generation” on Mutiny Radio; co-produces a monthly Cobb’s show with Justin Harrison
Started performing: September 2011
Lives in: Redwood City
What’s your day job? Facilities manager at Gazillion Entertainment.
Sum up your act in five words or less.
Classy and elegant dick jokes.
Has anyone in your family seen your act?
My brother has come out several times and he's very supportive. For the most part no one else in my family has. I wouldn't want to look out into the audience and lock eyes with my parents or anything during a set; that would be awful. It's what we call a showstopper.
What’s it like to be a Bay Area comic?
One of the advantages is just growing up in the Bay Area, period. I thought everywhere was like this in the world. I didn't know most of the country was just like Modesto.
Ivan Hernandez
Host of Games of Thrones podcast “Boars, Gore, and Swords”
Started performing: 2005
Lives in: Lower Haight, San Francisco
What’s your day job? LIVING. Office dude.
Sum up your act in five words or less.
Nerd gent comic jerk weirdo.
Has anyone in your family seen your act?
My whole family’s seen my act. My dad was the guy that showed me Richard Pryor specials and Eddie Murphy and Carlin. He was always very supportive, he saw me first. My mom’s only come to see me twice. She would say, “What if I don’t think you’re funny and I don’t laugh?” I’d be like, “Mom you have to do this.” Finally my whole family came to a show. I think both grandparents – even though they didn’t speak English and had no idea what I was saying – were there. There were relatives translating for them in the crowd but otherwise they were like, “Look at my grandson, he’s doing something on stage! He hasn’t kissed a woman, but good for him.”
Do you ever get stage fright?
Eventually stage fright all kind of just melts away. I don’t really care about what the audience thinks anymore ‘cause I don’t think of them as individual people. I have a really intense fear of personal rejection – it’s what leads me to have a stunted weird social life and sexual life to this day. But a bunch of people in a crowd? Bunch of people that can’t make themselves laugh, so they have to come to me? What do I care if they reject me?
Karinda Dobbins
Performed on the Nickelodeon show “NickMom Night Out”
Lives in: Dimond District, Oakland
Started performing: March 2010
What’s your day job? I work for a biotech/pharma company.
Sum up your act in five words or less.
Relaxed style delivering pungent commentary.
Has your family seen your act?
Yes, my family has seen my act. It went pretty well. I thought my grandmother was going to say something about the lesbian parts of my jokes. She didn't react to any of that at all, but she didn't like me talking about the family. It's good to know my grandmother isn't homophobic.
What’s the strangest thing that happened during your set?
At El Rio I had done this joke about a politician making a racist joke, and I made a reference to the book Tar-Baby. This older woman yells out that she used to masturbate to Tar-Baby when she was four. That was the weirdest thing to ever happen, nothing has come close. First of all, how can you read that book when you’re four? Number two, why are you masturbating at four? I was kind of speechless after that. What do you say to that? I was just like, "Alrighty then."
Duat Mai
Regular at open mics in SF
Lives in: Lakeshore, Oakland
Started performing: 2005
What’s your day job? I’m a substitute teacher.
Sum up your act in five words or less.
Mischievous with a twist.
What’s it like to be a Bay Area comic?
I don't know any other scene really. I'm from San Francisco and have done all my comedy here. I've heard that San Francisco is more nurturing, it's a little weird, the writing here is better, people are more intelligent. If that's true then I'm soaking in all those benefits.
Do you ever get stage fright?
I don't think it's ever gonna go away. To me it's almost like a fight. I used to wrestle, and right before the match I’d be nervous. But as soon as the whistle blew, everything went away and I’d just be in it. Everything would calm down and slow down. And that's how it felt last night when I was doing the show at the Purple Onion. As soon as I step on stage my heartbeat goes from 140 beats per minute to 88 beats per minute.
Anna Seregina
Cohost of Talkies; Porchlight storytelling regular
Lives in: Lower Haight, San Francisco
Started performing: 2011
What’s your day job? Barista at Bean There; bartender at the Beauty Bar.
Sum up your act in five words or less.
(Unreasonable) husky-voiced fireside complaints.
Has your family seen your act?
Not really. My dad heard me tell a story at Porchlight about doing coke with a Chippendale’s dancer off a BART ticket in the Tenderloin. The dancer kept warning me and my friend that he was gonna show us his dick. That was the only time my dad has ever seen me perform. He was very proud. I was like, “Sorry about the cock dad,” and he was like, “No, it was very tasteful the way you chose to address the cock.”
What’s it like to be a Bay Area comic?
I think you have a little more leniency. The audiences are very smart and they can be challenging, but they get it. I think of SF as a breeding ground for comedy; it's a place where you can get good.
Do you ever get stage fright?
I get really nervous every time, which in acting has always been a good thing. Because the more nervous you are, the more energetic you are. Being scared isn't anything negative. You just have to know how to reposition it towards a good thing.
