Look out, Dane Cook: The competition is just getting started.
Ball State University juniors Ryan Ehresman and Joey Martin will premiere their first stand-up comedy open mic night at 8:30 p.m. Tuesday at MoTini's, located in the Village. The event is open to students and members of the community younger than 21 years of age, if they purchase a drink from the mt cup, located below MoTini's.
"The location is sublime, and Myles [Ogea, owner,] has been very supportive," Ehresman said. "It is the bar to do it at."
Ehresman, a telecommunications major, and Martin, a telecommunications and theatre double major, partnered together to bring this project to fruition. Both share a passion for stand-up comedy, which fueled their decision to start an open mic night.
"It's something I love to death," Ehresman said. "Some people sing, some people act, but stand-up is really a different medium."
Martin, who has done stand-up twice, first as a high school senior and then as a college freshman in the University Program Board talent show, said he decided to take a step back and spend the last few years watching, studying and observing to improve his abilities.
"It's kind of something I want to do," Martin said. "If you're trying out for sitcoms, you gotta show you can be funny and be able to hold the audience yourself. Comedy is harder to do than drama."
While Ehresman and Martin scheduled a few friends for a lineup in case people weren't interested in the open mic night, about 16 participants have signed up thus far. Each act will be allotted five minutes to get as many laughs out of the audience as he or she can. Rules and regulations to keep the acts free of incessant swearing and other inappropriate behavior will be finished sometime this week, Martin said.
If Tuesday's event is a success, Ehresman and Martin will establish the open mic night as a weekly program. Ehresman said he hopes people try out regardless of what social category they think they belong to.
"There's not any one group of people for stand-up," he said. "It attracts lots of different types of people."
Lack of experience is not an obstacle, Martin said. He and Ehresman are willing to volunteer some of their time to assist beginners with choosing and preparing material.
Tuesday's open mic night will be recorded for Martin's use in the DEOP (Digital Entertainment Option Pilot), a year-long program sponsored by the Institute of Digital Entertainment and Education that works with digital media for both the stage and the movie screen.
The open mic night is not only a chance for Muncie community members to enjoy a few laughs, but also is an opportunity for stand-up comedy fans to expand their knowledge about acts to more than just the nationally televised ones, Ehresman said.
"Please just come and support local artists," he said. "Recently, people enjoy stand-up comedy a lot more because of one guy: Dane Cook. Can any average Dane Cook fan name another stand-up comedian? Hell no!"
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