Phunny Business: A Black Comedy Page #4

OWNED A BUSINESS, HAD NO

ENTERTAINMENT EXPERIENCE, NO

COMEDY EXPERIENCE, AND NO CLUB

EXPERIENCE WAS APPARENTLY NO

PROBLEM.

NOW ALL HE NEEDED WAS A

PARTNER, AND HIS BUDDY JAMES

ALEXANDER WAS PERFECT.

I HAD BEEN A WAITER IN COLLEGE

IN THE RESTAURANT SO I FEL CONFIDENT...

HE DIDN'T KNOW WHAT THE HELL

HE WAS DOING EITHER.

BUT LIKE RAY, HE HAD AN MBA,

AND FROM THE KELLOGG SCHOOL NO

LESS.

THE WAY THAT I BECOME FAMILIAR

WITH ALL JOKES ASIDE IS, I AM

THE DIRECTOR OF THE LEVY

ENTREPRENEURIAL INSTITUTE A THE KELLOGG GRADUATE SCHOOL OF

MANAGEMENT - NORTHWESTERN

UNIVERSITY.

THAT WAS THE THING THAT I

LOVED ABOUT WHAT THEY DID, AND

THAT IS, THEY TOOK THEIR

BUSINESS ACUMEN AND BUSINESS

SKILLS AND APPLIED IT TO AN

UNDERSERVED MARKET THA HAPPENED TO BE COMEDY.

EVEN THOUGH, WE HAD NEVER DONE

ANYTHING LIKE THIS BEFORE, WE

THOUGHT WE COULD PULL OFF A

COMEDY CLUB, BUT FIRST THINGS

FIRST WE NEEDED A NAME.

RAYMOND WILL DISAGREE WITH

THIS BECAUSE IT WAS A

CONVERSATION WE WERE HAVING.

I HEARD JAMES USE THE

EXPRESSION, ALL JOKES ASIDE.

WHEN I SAID ALL JOKES ASIDE HE

SAID, THAT'S THE NAME.

YEAH HE'S RIGHT; I DID SAY

THAT'S THE NAME.

TO THIS DAY I SAY THAT I NAMED

IT, AND HE SAID THAT HE NAMED

IT.

SO IN MY MIND, I NAMED THE

CLUB...

OKAY, ONE OF THEM NAMED THE

CLUB.

BUT RAYMOND AND JAMES WEREN' READY TO COMMIT TO A PERMANEN LOCATION, SO THEY RENTED AN

ART GALLERY, TURNING IT INTO A

COMEDY CLUB AT NIGHT.

OUR STAGE WAS, BLACK CURTAIN

ON SOME KIND OF A ROLLER.

IT WASN'T QUITE A HAND WRITTEN

SIGN, BUT YOU KNOW IT WAS

INEXPENSIVE PRINTING.

COMEDIANS COMPLAINED AND JOKED

ABOUT THE STAGE.

COULD THEY SPENT SOME MONEY ON

A REAL STAGE?

SO JAMES TURNED TO HIS SISTER

LORI, AND HER BOYFRIEND JOEY.

WE SPENT ALL DAY FRIDAY

CALLING EVERY THEATRICAL

SUPPLY COMPANY WE COULD FIND.

I MEAN, JUST GOING THROUGH THE

YELLOW PAGES.

HAD A STAGE DELIVERED IN A

DAY, AND IT'S LIKE WHY DIDN' WE KNOW THIS?

WE JUST DIDN'T KNOW.

WE DIDN'T HAVE A LIGHTING

BOARD SO WHEN IT WAS TIME TO

START THE SHOW I WAS ON ONE

SIDE WITH ONE PLUG, MY

BOYFRIEND IS ON THE OTHER SIDE

WITH HIS PLUG AND WE KINDA

LOOKED, ONE, TWO, THREE, GO!

SFX:
ELECTRICITY

WOULD LIKE TO WELCOME YOU ALL

OUT TO ALL JOKES ASIDE,

CHICAGO'S ALL NEW BLACK COMEDY

SHOWCASE.

THERE WAS NO ALCOHOL.

THEY DIDN'T HAVE A LIQUOR

LICENSE, AND THEY WEREN' FRONTING THAT THEY HAD ONE.

JAMIE FOX IS HERE WITH US

TONIGHT...

THE FIRST DAY, THE FIRS COMEDIAN TO STEP ON THA STAGE, I KNEW IT WAS A VERY

SPECIAL THING HAPPENING.

ACTUALLY WHAT I'M LOOKING FOR,

UHHH...

ACTUALLY WHAT I'M LOOKING FOR

IS A NICE YOUNG LADY WITH

HO-LIKE QUALITIES.

WE OBVIOUSLY FELT LIKE I COULD BE SUCCESSFUL, BUT SIX

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