Who’s who in stand up comedy?
Mar 05, 2009
ONCE upon a time, a group of University Drama students, led by their lecturer, set out to practice what they preached. Phillip Luswata, with his overzealous group, sought at a bar and instituted a show called Comedy Nite. <br>
By Emmanuel Ssejjengo
ONCE upon a time, a group of University Drama students, led by their lecturer, set out to practice what they preached. Phillip Luswata, with his overzealous group, sought at a bar and instituted a show called Comedy Nite.
That was the simple birth of Theatre Factory in 2003. It almost turned out to be a still birth at TCL Club. The audience had only five people.
The group decided to leave TLC and was inexistent for two months. They contacted Joseph Walugembe, the director of National Theatre, who gave them performance space in the Green Room. But soon the audience grew bigger and the Green Room did not have room enough.
The show migrated to the Dance Floor at National Theatre in 2005. A year later, the audience proposed the idea of a grand comedy show; a show that was supposed to bring back the best comedy skits of the group.
It was after that first Grand Comedy Nite that things started disintegrating. The audience’s comments went unnoticed. “With a big crowd, we could not listen to the different opinions,†Tuwangye regrets. Soon, the Dance Floor became too small. Theatre Factory opted for the Upper Gardens.
“We are happy that we have inspired other people,†says Tuwangye. The group receives between 10 to 15 applications of actors. “We are going to hold auditions for actors next year,†says Tuwangye.
Currently, Comedy Nite turn up averages at about 700 people every Thursday, with each paying sh5,000.
Amarula Family; bringing Dikula to the theatre stage. This group, primarily made of Paddy Bitama, Amooti and Messe, started out about 12 years ago.
In a bar, as they individually made people laugh, they suggested to work together. This group is credited with “taking theatre to the peopleâ€.
It brought a Dikula character off the streets to the stage. “We cater for the C/D class,†says Messe, the group’s publicity secretary. The skits revolve around slums and the group sometimes uses populist music as a back drop.
About three years back, they joined other comedians and formed the group, The Donkeys. But it soon collapsed. The members recouped, made better with the invention of the Side Mirror show on WBS TV.
Amarula Family’s situational comedy has become the definition of comedy.
Other regular comedy shows take place at Makerere University Guest House (my MDD students) and at Little Flowers (by Orionz) on Friday.
Pablo: The real stand up comedian
There is only one consistent stand up comedian in Theatre Factory, Kenneth Kimuli aka Pablo. Pablo has moved stand up to places and sometimes performs at high profile events.
He is the only reason some people turn up at the National Theatre every Thursday for Codey Night. On stage, he takes himself as a joke.
Pablo loves Bill Cosby for his simplicity, although he says comedy is a funny way of being serious. Pablo is the most profiled stand up comedian, which should give him a better starting point in stand up comedy.
Dolibondo going it alone
Dolibondo (Felix Jesero, 22) won the Pilsner Lager Stage to Fame competition in 2007.
For winning that competition, he walked away with sh5m and the rest that was promised for marketing his DVDs has not been paid yet.
But Dolibondo was not looking at the money when he sent out as a comedian in 2003. He was only a juvenile delinquent. He joined Dungeon Crew, becoming a back-up performer.
“My first appearance was as a lame man,†he says. The applause was cemented by about sh15,000 from patrons.
While performing at Kingston Bar, Ras B Ssali, a musician, discovered him. Ssali called the group to perform at Nile Breweries promotions in Mbale and Jinja in 2004.
After only two shows, Ssali disbanded the rest of the group and retained Dolibondo. Currently, he performs at utl promotions and at Wallet Pub in Kabuusu.
He acts on a back drop of music and clowns a lot, making strange shapes with his lips and disgustingly imitating farting postures. He says he is “economically comfortable†because of comedy.
ONCE upon a time, a group of University Drama students, led by their lecturer, set out to practice what they preached. Phillip Luswata, with his overzealous group, sought at a bar and instituted a show called Comedy Nite.
That was the simple birth of Theatre Factory in 2003. It almost turned out to be a still birth at TCL Club. The audience had only five people.
The group decided to leave TLC and was inexistent for two months. They contacted Joseph Walugembe, the director of National Theatre, who gave them performance space in the Green Room. But soon the audience grew bigger and the Green Room did not have room enough.
The show migrated to the Dance Floor at National Theatre in 2005. A year later, the audience proposed the idea of a grand comedy show; a show that was supposed to bring back the best comedy skits of the group.
It was after that first Grand Comedy Nite that things started disintegrating. The audience’s comments went unnoticed. “With a big crowd, we could not listen to the different opinions,†Tuwangye regrets. Soon, the Dance Floor became too small. Theatre Factory opted for the Upper Gardens.
“We are happy that we have inspired other people,†says Tuwangye. The group receives between 10 to 15 applications of actors. “We are going to hold auditions for actors next year,†says Tuwangye.
Currently, Comedy Nite turn up averages at about 700 people every Thursday, with each paying sh5,000.
Amarula Family; bringing Dikula to the theatre stage. This group, primarily made of Paddy Bitama, Amooti and Messe, started out about 12 years ago.
In a bar, as they individually made people laugh, they suggested to work together. This group is credited with “taking theatre to the peopleâ€.
It brought a Dikula character off the streets to the stage. “We cater for the C/D class,†says Messe, the group’s publicity secretary. The skits revolve around slums and the group sometimes uses populist music as a back drop.
About three years back, they joined other comedians and formed the group, The Donkeys. But it soon collapsed. The members recouped, made better with the invention of the Side Mirror show on WBS TV.
Amarula Family’s situational comedy has become the definition of comedy.
Other regular comedy shows take place at Makerere University Guest House (my MDD students) and at Little Flowers (by Orionz) on Friday.
Pablo: The real stand up comedian
There is only one consistent stand up comedian in Theatre Factory, Kenneth Kimuli aka Pablo. Pablo has moved stand up to places and sometimes performs at high profile events.
He is the only reason some people turn up at the National Theatre every Thursday for Codey Night. On stage, he takes himself as a joke.
Pablo loves Bill Cosby for his simplicity, although he says comedy is a funny way of being serious. Pablo is the most profiled stand up comedian, which should give him a better starting point in stand up comedy.
Dolibondo going it alone
Dolibondo (Felix Jesero, 22) won the Pilsner Lager Stage to Fame competition in 2007.
For winning that competition, he walked away with sh5m and the rest that was promised for marketing his DVDs has not been paid yet.
But Dolibondo was not looking at the money when he sent out as a comedian in 2003. He was only a juvenile delinquent. He joined Dungeon Crew, becoming a back-up performer.
“My first appearance was as a lame man,†he says. The applause was cemented by about sh15,000 from patrons.
While performing at Kingston Bar, Ras B Ssali, a musician, discovered him. Ssali called the group to perform at Nile Breweries promotions in Mbale and Jinja in 2004.
After only two shows, Ssali disbanded the rest of the group and retained Dolibondo. Currently, he performs at utl promotions and at Wallet Pub in Kabuusu.
He acts on a back drop of music and clowns a lot, making strange shapes with his lips and disgustingly imitating farting postures. He says he is “economically comfortable†because of comedy.