By Matt Schickling
Wire Staff Writer
Until recently, Hatboro’s comedy scene has been nothing to lafugh about because it scarcely existed.
Matt Beck, a Hatboro resident and comedian, has been trying to change that. Over the last month, he’s been organizing a weekly open mic for stand-up acts. They meet every Wednesday night from 8 to 11 p.m. in the back room at Cafe La Fontana on South York Road.
“I wanted to find a place to tell my stories close to home,” Beck said.
He also wanted to give other locals the space to tell theirs.
He named it Slangwhanger’s Comedy for a word that apparently describes someone who “screams epithets at crowds,” though a quick Internet search yields definitions that vary from “a ranting partisan” to “someone who swears profusely.”
Any of these descriptions, according to Beck, could aptly describe the role of a comedian.
“Now, you type that in on Google and my name comes up,” he laughed.
Though he probably didn’t consider that implication, he would be glad to see anybody searching for the open mic or Slangwhanger’s monthly comedy showcase. Any exposure is good exposure for aspiring comics.
The first showcase is on Jan. 31 and will feature comedians Tony Viejo III, Tim Raymus, Patrick Graves and Alex Grubbard. It’s something Beck plans to continue every month, both to draw more people into the open mic and to develop an overall better scene.
“No one has a leash on. They say what they want to say,” Beck said.
And the open mic is true to this notion. During this week’s session, local comedians waxed on topics usually left to the deep subconscious, like which is the correct eye to look at when talking to a cross-eyed person or what really goes through one’s head when hearing the phrase “simple assault.”
Each comedian gets five uninterrupted minutes to try new jokes or perfect the delivery of old ones. It gives them the chance, and the space, to work on their acts, something that’s uncommon in the suburbs and uncertain in the Philadelphia scene.
“Some places in the city will bump you all the way down the list,” Beck said. “That’s not what I wanted to do here.”
Whoever shows up, gets their time. Beck mirrored this approach from Doylestown’s Puck, a venue that holds a similar open mic every Tuesday night. He got his start there, and now he wants to give others the chance to do the same.
“I thought about doing comedy for so many years,” Matt Lips, a regular at the open mic, said. “It’s good to have open mics. I probably wouldn’t have gotten into this otherwise.”
But the comedians aren’t just there to practice their material. They hang out, talk about upcoming gigs, share ideas for jokes and talk about what’s going on in the industry.
Beck is hoping that when the weather breaks, more people will want to come out, both to perform and to spectate. He even offered some advice for people looking to get involved with comedy.
“There has to be something wrong with you. There has to be something wrong in your head,” he said.
But when enough of these comics get together, those wrongs start to feel right.
For more information, visit www.facebook.com/pages/Slangwhangers-Comedy/875904345775252.
