Sam VanCura considers 100 to 150 comedians each year for his annual Third Saturday in August show at the Renaissance Theatre.
“If they don’t make me laugh in the first three or four jokes, I go on to the next one,” he told the News Journal.
Now in his 38th year of organizing TSIA, VanCura said he’s never had a show where he didn’t think people got their money’s worth.
“If they didn’t, they don’t have a sense of humor,” he said. “Every show I do, I want to make it the best show I ever had. I never know until the end of the bill.”
VanCura has a keen ear for comedy. Some of the comics he’s brought to Mansfield before they broke big include Jeff Foxworthy, Larry the Cable Guy and Ron White.
This year’s bill, which VanCura calls his most expensive yet, features Ophira Eisenberg, Jackie Flynn and Rodney Laney. Tickets are $35 for the 8 p.m. show.
Eisenberg is a comedian, writer and actress. She frequently performs in New York City.
Eisenberg has appeared on Comedy Central’s “Premium Blend” and “Fresh Faces of Comedy,” as well as VH-1’s “Best Week Ever.”
She also has been featured in “The New York Times” and “New York” magazine.
“She is Jewish and plays it up and makes it funny,” VanCura said. “She talks about her upbringing and her (unusual) name.”
Flynn is an actor and comedian with extensive film credits, including “There’s Something About Mary,” “Me, Myself and Irene” and “Shallow Hal.”
He is one of the winners of the prestigious San Francisco Comedy competition and was chosen to perform at the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival, produced by HBO.
“He’s a very dynamic performer. He goes back and forth across the stage,” VanCura said. “He’s very, very rapid fire.”
Laney has appeared on “The Late, Late Show” and “Comics Unleashed,” as well as on HBO, TBS, truTV and Comedy Central.
His professional career began in 1997. Laney has performed at Chris Tucker’s club in Atlanta and mostly performs in New York City.
“The only people that I have are headliners at a standard comedy club,” VanCura said. “They are all billed as equals and all are headliners.”
VanCura said he makes sure the comedians he brings to town are not “crude,” even though he has had requests for that sort of performer.
“I have more that won’t come back if I give them a crude show,” he said. “It’s not a church service, though. I don’t want people to come and think they’re getting comedy from the pulpit.”
For tickets to TSIA, call VanCura at 419-610-4361 or visit tpil@richnet.net.
mcaudill@gannett.com
419-521-7219
X: @MarkCau32059251
This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Third Saturday in August: Trio of national standup comics coming to Renaissance Theatre
Reporting by Mark Caudill, Mansfield News Journal / Mansfield News Journal
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