The "Stealth Negro"
June 22nd, 2009
Comedian's Playground: Local Comic Collin Williams Looks to Change the Face of Comedy in Utah
by Rebecca Edwards
Last Thursday night local comedian Collin Williams unleashed his unique comedy brainchild, the Comedian's Playground, on the Wiseguy's stage at Poundcakes in Trolley Square. A showcase of Utah talent, this show featured standup, short- and long-form improv, and closed with Collin's very own musical stylings.
"It's the only major multi-genre comedy show in the state," Collin said. "It's a great comedy sampler...more of an artistic feel."
Collin started off the show with a standup act featuring an Obama impersonation--being multiracial like Obama, Collin feels his "stealth negro" status gives him a kinship with the president--allowing him to go where strictly white or strictly black comedians fear to venture. He was followed by fellow standup comedian Josh Gret, and improv from Off the Wall and Toy Soup.
The Wiseguys stage is a long way from the high school classroom where Collin first tested his standup chops.
"I was in a drama class and we had 'Comedy Fridays' where we watched funny movies and the teacher let people tell jokes. I was sitting with an attractive female friend and she goaded me into it," he said. "I remembered some jokes I had seen on Comedy Central the night before, and it went really well. The next week I did 15 minutes and it really sparked my interest."
Quick to clarify that he would never do another comedian's jokes on stage, he said that being inspired by comedians he saw on Comedy Central helped him to start writing his own stuff--but he sticks to strict PG-13 guidelines in his act. "If I didn't, my mom would hit me," he said.
Not long after that first "Comedy Friday" Collin talked his dad into driving him to Seattle to attend an open mic night at the Comedy Underground.
"It was my first time on stage and there were about 200 people. About seven drunk people in the front were laughing and everyone else was silent," he recalled. But that didn't deter him from getting on stage again. "Sometimes I wonder if I'm a masochist," he joked.
Last year Collin performed about 150 shows across the west, doing both standup and improv. He regularly performs at Wiseguys in Ogden and West Jordan, and sometimes works with the Off the Wall troupe, also from Ogden. Collin has a vision to cross comedy boundaries and join standup and improv--creating (hopefully) a new genre he calls "improp."
"I call it improp partly because it's improper comedy. It doesn't fit in any genre. Doing improv, you need to learn how to refine your jokes and put them into standup style, and thanks to improv when I'm on stage if something happens--and it always does--I'm ready to roll with it," he explained.
Collin hopes The Comedian's Playground will become a monthly show. The first outing had a turnout of close to 60 in the audience, and the laughter was non-stop. The standup was, to me, surprisingly funny and intelligent, and the improv troupes were hilarious. An avid Comedy Central viewer, I actually couldn't believe that I'd never checked out any of these acts before.
"This is a really fun show for anyone who enjoys comedy or art in general. I don't think artists should limit themselves, and the Comedian's Playground brings together not only different comedy genres but incorporates music and, hopefully poetry eventually, as well," Collin said. "It's all about doing things differently."
To find out more about the Comedian's Playground or find out where you can catch Collin's show next go to www.comicollin.com.
Off the Wall, one of the largest short-from improv troupes in Utah, performs every Friday night in Ogden at The Terrace Plaza Playhouse starting at 10:30pm.
You can learn more about Toy Soup, a long-form improv duo, on their myspace page: http://www.myspace.com/toysoupcomedy
Josh Gret shares clips of his act and upcoming show information on http://www.myspace.com/joshgret
Read More from our current issue
