Shyam Tenali walks up to the middle of the restaurant and stares straight ahead, deer-in-headlights style. There is silence all around. And then, within seconds, he picks up the mike and starts talking in his South Indian accent with an ease that belies the fact that this was his second show with Vizag Komedians, the city’s first comedy club. The audience at the restaurant was sent into splits on Tuesday where the city’s first open mic night was held.
Meet the city’s new team of stand-up comics, who get on stage to talk about urban quotidian issues not only to get people laughing, but quite often, thinking. The quiet chuckle is slowly growing into full-throated laughter in city restaurants who are warming up to the concept of stand-up comedy acts as the latest form of entertainment. And the swelling team of youngsters who are looking to explore this space say that “It’s the new cool thing.”
Says Shyam, a B.Tech graduate of GITAM University: “Vizag is gradually taking to the concept of open mics. In fact, many youngsters are showing interest and want to join us.” He along with, two others – Ram Subhash and Siddhartha Chokkakula – performed before a packed house at the Euphoria restaurant. “The medium is new to me and we are still exploring to get a strong footing and connect with the crowd. The Vizag crowd has been encouraging,” says Ram Subhash.
Shyam, who is the main coordinator of the Vizag Komedian group, says that the city needs to have more places where open mics can be hosted. Open-mic nights are an ideal platform where budding comics can test their material. “The idea is to create your own routine where you have at least an hour’s material which will work with any audience in any place,” says Shyam, who also writes satire pieces and sketch comedy (a series of short comedy scenes or vignettes) for his college magazine.
In order to encourage local talent, Euphoria plans to host open mic shows every month. Vizag Komedians is also planning to host a show next month with five stand-up comedians from Hyderabad and two from Bangalore.
