Archive

DJ Brooks and friends bringing their comedy to Orangeville

January 31, 2020   ·   0 Comments

By Constance Scrafield

DJ Brooks and some of his funniest friends are bringing A Stand-up Comedy Show, to the Opera House, on Saturday, February 1.

“I was called DJ since the day I was born, which was in Mississauga. I came to Orangeville when I was in grade six. I grew up in Orangeville; went St. Peter’s and ODSS. Did university-level business studies in high school; and right after, went to Halifax, to university there but I didn’t graduate; I met a girl and came back to Orangeville in 2004/5, when Amber and I got married,” Mr. Brooks said, encapsulating his personal early history in a telephone interview with the Citizen. 

“I got a job in the Niagara region, managing a curling club. I learned to curl at the Orangeville Curling Club. So, we moved to Beamsville. We have a couple of kids. Amber works as an environmental scientist for a environmental engineering company.”

It wasn’t long before Mr. Brooks “went back to school to get a Bachelor of Recreation and Leisure Science degree, followed immediately by an MA in Applied Health. Now I work for the City of Niagara Falls full-time and I teach at Brock University.” 

How did this sudden inclination for a higher education happen? “I forced myself to go back because I couldn’t go any further in the curling club – it was as high as I was going to get.”

About stand-up: “I’ve always been told that I’m funny and I love stand-up and I was always terrified to do stand-up, terrified about making a mess of it in front of a lot of people. What convinced me to try was, I was covering Ontario Hockley League, the junior league that sends players to the NHL, and I had a show on a local TV station and on radio and I’m writing for YourTV Niagara, and 610 CKTV radio. Combined with lecturing over 100 kids in university, this all gave me the confidence to know that I could do it.”

He went for it: “So, I went online and there was a list of the first-timers comedy bars, and there was one in Hamilton. These are safe, heckle free environments, for people to try comedy for the first time and it was amazing. It was just me and a microphone on stage and that’s it.”

He admitted in retrospect, “I was awful – I was real, real bad the first time I tried it -but I loved it – it was still fun. I still have the audio, I could tell how I was doing just by the laughter. There were no belly laughs, now I reflect on it. I would say I wasn’t very good.”

It is, still, irresistible: “Then, I just fell in love with it. I started getting into it and you just start trying to get on, whenever you can.”

There are a number of comedy clubs that run opportunities for aspiring stand-up. Mr. Brooks explained, “Amateur nights can be once a week and they put you on a list to be on; open mics can be once a month or more. Anyone who shows up can get on the mic. 

“Most of the clubs or pubs have an amateur night, Wednesday to Thursday. Some pros are doing new material to try at these before they take them to paid gigs on the weekends in bigger places.”

For the Orangeville show, A Stand up Comedy Night, hosted by Chris Jarvie, DJ Brooks will be entertaining us as part of the line-up that includes David Green, the headliner, a long-time comedian; Fiona O’Brien – “she’s Irish,” he pointed out. “And Tom Holman is also coming; we got talking to him one day and found out, he’s from Caledon Village. So, we asked him to come as a guest comic to include a local talent.

“I love making people laugh,” is what it’s all about, “and having a really good time. They might want to not think about their life and comedy can give that. It can be whatever you need it to be, whatever the audience needs it to be – that’s what it is for that night.”

DJ Brooks’ humour themes run mainly on his day-to-day, “I’m a professor, living with three girls, two daughters and my wife. So, I don’t usually know what’s going on. Fiona is comedy, about being a divorced mom in an other country.”

All these nights out with the local TV and radio and the comedy. “I can be out five nights a week. My wife – she’s been amazingly supportive. 

“We do things we can do as a family. My dad lives with us in his own apartment in this house. and the kids spend lots of time with him. About seven years ago, in Orangeville, a bunch of kids passed away in a car accident – my brother was one of them; plus several other family members died one after the other and my father came to live with us. I grew up on Carlton (Drive) and I still have family in Orangeville.”

“I like having comedy in my life. My uncle, who lives in Orangeville, I talk to him a lot about life – confide in him – one of the things I’ve always needed is a work/life balance.” 

He said, “Maybe you can work to make a living to support your kids and your spouse but this provides a creative and funny outlet. That’s important too.” 

The Orangeville show is Saturday, February 1. 

“Doors open at 7:00 p.m. and the show starts at 8:00. There is alcohol before show. We have a license in the Atrium because alcohol goes along with comedy. The proceeds from the bar go to the Orangeville cadets. Our way to give back to the community.

“We’re about 50% sold out,” he was very glad to tell us. “We used posters, Facebook, word of mouth and the Opera House has posters and information.” 

“Will I will ever be a pro? Probably not,” in all honesty. “I’m risk -averse and I have a good paying job. So, I’m not going to leave what I have to do comedy. On February 1, I’m hopefully going to do stand up in front over 200 people, Not many pros get that audience – comedy clubs don’t have that kind of capacity.”

Of the clubs who invite in new stand up, “The first thing they tell you is, it’s gotta be your jokes; you don’t steal other people’s jokes or buy them or use a meme from Facebook. If you do, you’re blackballed.”

“Meanwhile – it can be a dream of mine. Maybe when I retire..”

Tickets the Box Office, by telephone at 519-942-3423 and online at www.orangevilletix.ca

Readers Comments (0)