New comedy night by locals, for locals premiers at The Ottawa Tavern
For fans of stand-up comedy, Northwest Ohio affords few opportunities to take in performances aside from weekend shows at Levis Commons’ Funny Bone and a smattering of open mics in downtown Toledo. But for hopeful performers and fans alike, a new open mic for comics is coming to a familiar location.
The Ottawa Tavern’s new Comedy Night, run by Ohio native Ryan Chernick, had its opening show on March 25th with ongoing shows planned for every Monday at 8pm .
The local spot
This isn’t the Tavern’s first foray into comedy. As Ryan explained, “The OT has been a great spot for local and touring bands for a long time and, also, previously hosted a comedy night.” Ryan learned the bar was interested in hosting a standing comedy show and discussed the opportunity with Cody Sizemore, who promotes shows with the Ottawa Tavern and Innovation Concerts.
Excited to show off what he knows about local Toledo comedy, by day, Ryan works at the University of Toledo while at night he learns about the area comedy scene. “Toledo has a good battery of comics,” he said, “and having more shows in town means growing our community and helping more people practice the craft of standing up.”
The comedy virtuoso
If experience is a great teacher, then Ryan has learned plenty about how to run a comedy show. His comedy career began in Bowling Green, where he went to school and participated with a short form improvisation team. From there he took to open mic stages around the Midwest to try out stand up, and grew to love it. Most recently, he put out his first comedy album, Secret Friend, which was recorded in March.
“Getting started in stand up is this weird exciting panic-inducing process that can feel very unforgiving,” Ryan explained. But he has some encouraging words for new and old stand-ups alike: “Comedy night at the OT is where you can go to hang out with your friends, support a local business, and laugh your head off with some talented comics. Always wanted to try stand-up? This is your opportunity to get up and see what it takes!”
Comedy Night at The Ottawa Tavern
1817 Adams St 8pm every Monday.
Doors at 7pm.
See Comedy Night at the OT on Facebook.
