10 MARCH 14-20, 2024 westword.com WESTWORD | MUSIC | CAFE | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | NEWS | LETTERS | CONTENTS | The Yuk Stops Here WHY IS DENVER BECOMING A COMEDY HUB? SMART AUDIENCES THAT ARE IN ON THE JOKE. BY TONI TRESCA On the last day of January, the Denver Improv transformed into a coliseum of comedy for the Roast Battle World Championship, bring- ing some of the funniest comics from around the globe to trade barbs and jests in their quest to be crowned world champion roaster. The lineup included Ryan Nesen from Los Angeles, John Ajodah from New York City, Shalaka Kurup from London and Ryan Cullen from Scotland, all chosen to represent their respective areas. Denver was selected to serve as the battleground because the city is a “neutral location” with an audience that appreciates comedy, according to organizers. While Nesen became the fi rst-ever Roast Battle World Champion, Denver won points as a comedy powerhouse. “I think it’s incredible exposure for this market,” says Chris Gottlieb, general man- ager of the Improv. “When you look at the major markets in the United States, you see New York, Los Angeles and Chicago; they’re massive, but Denver is not far behind. ... Out of this whole experience with Roast Battle, I hope the rest of these markets see that Denver is a major player in this industry.” While the Mile High City may be famous for its breathtaking mountain views and craft beer scene, it’s also become a hub for laughter. Comedy’s A-listers perform before sold-out crowds at the Oriental, Paramount and Bellco theaters, Ball Arena and even the legendary Red Rocks Amphitheatre, but the intimate, local side of Denver’s comedy scene is also winning fans. “I think Denver has always been great for comedy because it’s a smart city but it’s not an industry town,” says comedian Adam Cayton- Holland, a Denver native and former Westword staffer known for his work with the comedy trio the Grawlix and its web TV series, Those Who Can’t, as well as for his solo efforts and founding the High Plains Comedy Festival. “So no one is at shows because they might see a famous person, or some huge drop-in from a massive comic, or the next person to make SNL; they’re just there to see funny comedy. So they’re an incredibly honest barometer of whether a joke works or not. Denver crowds are some of the best in the country, because they’re ready to laugh, but they’re discerning. I think that’s why Denver churns out so many good comics and punches above its weight.” From its modest beginnings, when local talents cut their teeth in small bars and on makeshift stages, to the bustling ecosystem it is today, Denver’s comedy scene has dis- played resilience, creativity and community. “The comedy scene has evolved a ton since I started in 2004,” Cayton-Holland says. “Honestly, Comedy Works Downtown was the only show in town. There were a handful of mics and weird showcases at shitty suburban sports bars, but the scene was tiny, and not a lot was going on outside of Comedy Works. A handful of open mics a week, but slim pickings.” The iconic Comedy Works, established in 1981, laid the groundwork for what would become a thriving comedy culture. With its downtown and Greenwood Village loca- tions, which opened in 2008, Comedy Works became a beacon for both emerging and established comedians, earning a reputa- tion as one of the nation’s top comedy clubs. “There wasn’t a lot of comedy back then. There was Comedy Works, and another club in Aurora, George McKelvey’s comedy club, but when I started in 1986, that was the end of a comedy era,” recalls Comedy Works owner and booker Wende Curtis, who started out waiting tables at a now-defunct Fort Collins Comedy Works location. “It wasn’t as big of an industry back then. There have been lots of different phases in Denver’s comedy scene, and this phase is a boom. There’s been a massive explosion, and it has certainly been coming for a while with all these big touring acts, but it’s really taken off post-COVID. There are so many different acts at clubs across the city now.” During the pandemic, she notes, social media was a driving force in connecting great comics with larger audiences. “Comedy lovers during COVID got to know more about it because they had time, and people certainly needed to laugh,” Curtis says. “I think podcasts kept things going because they couldn’t do live shows, and everyone hated all the weird stuff that we all tried to do on Zoom. Again, the explo- sion was already happening, but in terms of our business, the pandemic really helped. ... We’re selling more tickets than ever before: 2019 was a banner year, and we had almost a whole quarter of 2020 that looked super fat and healthy. Since COVID, it’s better; we just keep selling more and more tickets.” Parallel to the growth of Comedy Works and the Denver Improv is the rise of alterna- tive comedy nights, local festivals and open mics. This grassroots movement paved the way for a new generation of comedians to re- defi ne the boundaries of humor. Venues like the Lion’s Lair, Bug Theatre, RISE Comedy and Wide Right have played pivotal roles in this expansion, offering stages for comedians to experiment, refi ne their craft and build their following. And this surge in open-mic opportunities has not gone unnoticed by the industry’s bigger players. “My philosophy is very different than most clubs and club owners in the country: We do comedy, so we need to be spending energy on developing comics,” Curtis says. “I have always put energy and money into paying professional comics to help run New Talent Night. We lost Deacon Gray after twenty years to cancer, who ran our new talent night, and we’ve had a couple of different people run- ning that since then, but you have to put some energy into it; you can’t just take the trees from the rainforest — you’ve got to put more back in. “Many years ago, Adam Cayton-Holland approached me and asked, ‘How would you feel if I did a show at [another venue]?’ It was going to be a regular gig, and I said go ahead,” she continues. “My team, as well as others across the country, were asking, ‘What are you doing? It’s taking away from your open-mic night!’ But I thought it was the right thing to do, and that was the start of an explosion. What a genius I am! Because of how successful it was, all of these other open mics started popping up, and slowly, every Tom, Dick and Nobody that we don’t even know has an open mic that they run. This is fantastic for them, because it gives them all this stage time, which helps them improve faster. People don’t do it by standing at their bathroom mirror; they do it by stage time. Denver is pretty supportive of one another. Comedians have moved here, like Georgia Comstock, because of this scene. She had gone as far as she could in her hometown, so she moved, and someday we’ll probably lose her to New York.” Cayton-Holland is proud of the indie comedy scene that he and his friends, in- cluding Ben Roy and CULTURE continued on page 12 KEEP UP ON DENVER ARTS AND CULTURE AT WESTWORD.COM/ARTS Adam Cayton-Holland has achieved national notoriety while staying in Denver; catch him at Chaos Bloom on March 14. SARAH ELIZABETH L ARSON
