Charlie Berens will bring Midwest ― and particularly Wisconsin ― humor to Southwest Florida this weekend.
The comedian known for his YouTube and Instagram bits about life in America’s Dairyland will perform standup at Off The Hook Comedy Club from Oct. 9-11.
Who is Charlie Berens
Type “Charlie Berens” in YouTube search and you’ll find his name with words after like “Midwest goodbye,” “IKEA,” “Midwest translator” and his famous “Manitowoc Minute.”
In that last bit, Berens will give a quick, humorous rundown of Wisconsin news.
How being a journalist helped with standup
Berens, 38, studied journalism in college and began his career working for the MTV News show “Choose or Lose.” He later began writing and performing comedic news wrapups, which gave him the idea to try them as a comedian.
“I just wanted to do it because of the way you could say what you wanted to say and be nice about it,” he said of going into comedy.
“There were no rules with standup, like how to approach a joke. I did a comedy news show but it really got me in the rhythm of doing setup punchines and I think, through that, I started having a lot of fun writing comedy.”
His approach to comedy videos
While some have compared Berens’ sketches to those from Bob and Doug McKenzie on SCTV in Canada back in the day, but he says there were before his time.
“I didn’t even see those guys until after I did (his own skits) but people make those comparisons,” Berens said. “I was doing news for a while then I was doing standup.”
How Berens describes his own standup
“it’s sort of life through the eyes of a guy from the Midwest. I lived in Wisconsin and spent a lot of time with my family,” Berens said.
“The Packers obviously will come up as will the (Chicago) Bears. If you’re from the Midwest or know someone from the Midwest, you’re going to like it.”
With the current state of the world, how does comedy help?
“Doing standup shows and getting people all in the same room together, that’s so important whoever you’re doing to see,” Berens said.
“It’s important to talk to people face to face. I like to really find commanlity. The more people are brought together the more they’ll understand each other.”
Know before you go
When: 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 9: 6:30 and 8:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 10; and 6 and 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 11.
Where: Off The Hook Comedy Club, 2500 Vanderbilt Beach Road, No. 1100
Cost: $36 general admission, plus a fee
Information: offthehookcomedy.com or 239-389-6901
Dave Osborn is the regional features editor of the Naples Daily News and The News-Press. Contact him at dosborn@gannett.com and follow him on Instagram @lacrossewriter.
This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Midwest, Packers, dads: Comedian Charlie Berens coming to Naples
Reporting by Dave Osborn, Naples Daily News / Naples Daily News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
