Although Brett Druck didn’t start out wanting to be a stand-up comic when he went to William Paterson University, he has since embraced it as a career choice, and is looking to bring a lot of professional laugh makers to Jersey City for other people to get some giggles, too.
Druck said he took a class and got hooked on comedy, and critics say he is a rising star on the comedy scene.
Druck lives in Jersey City and is producing a pro comedy show every month at The Dopeness, a find California-style Mexican food restaurant, where the food is cheap and plentiful, to accompany the laughter his array of top talented comics intend to bring every second Saturday of the month.
Called “Comedy Dopeness” the event is held at The Dopeness 332 2nd St. right off of Newark Ave. about four blocks from the Grove St. Path at 8 p.m.
Comedy Dopeness brings headliners with major TV credits such as David Letterman, Comedy Central, Saturday Night Live and more into Jersey City for a pro show unlike any other.
“I was just looking for the right venue and the right comedians.” – Brett Druck
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Druck said many of the pros he is bringing to Jersey City are doing him a favor as part of an effort to establish a comic venue in Hudson County.
“These are people I worked with,” he said.
Druck has studied improvisation at the Upright Citizens Brigade and Magnet Theaters in New York. He has been featured in TBS’s Just for Laughs Chicago, and has been a finalist in the Andy Kaufman Award, Magner’s Comedy Festival, Jersey Shore Comedy Festival, Stand-Up 360 Festival, Cleveland Comedy Festival and Charleston Comedy Festival. He has appeared on Comedy Time TV, and on Sirius XM radio.
Druck said opening a comedy venue in Jersey City is something he wanted to do for some time.
“I was just looking for the right venue and the right comedians,” he said.
Many of the people he is featuring or intends to feature, are people he has worked with around the East Coast comedy circuit and on festivals.
“This is a pro show,” he said. “It has a structured format and have high quality comedy from people with a lot of credits.”
Druck said he did not want people to have to go into Manhattan to get a taste of quality comedy, and believes that this venue will provide the same level of quality but without the hefty price associated with the New York scene.
“A lot of guys doing me a favor doing this show,” he said.
Depending on the running time of the show, he may or may not do his own stand-up act, preferring to keep a good vibe running if the others are getting a good reacting form the audience.
“I’ll cut my set if I have to,” he said.
This is the second show he has put on at this venue. He said the first show was a big success, in fact, the place was so busy the restaurant almost ran out of food.
“We had a great turnout, and this played into our getting a second show,” he said.
The cost is extremely reasonable for the quality of acts that are being put on, and he said if people book a seat in advance by email, he’ll take off another $5 from the cost at the door. The cost is $10 when you make a reservation by emailing COMEDYDOPENESS@GMAIL.COM
$15 at the door.
Al Sullivan may be reached at asullivan@hudsonreporter.com.