The Clubs and the Comedy of the Miami Comedy Scene

Miami’s unique and emerging comedy scene will be showcased in the upcoming release from Comedy Records, Live From South Beach. Recorded at the Jackie Gleason Theatre during the 2015 South Beach Comedy Festival, the album features seven of Miami’s top comics.

“Our comedy scene is much like Miami itself,” explains Freddy Stebbins. “It’s diverse, extremely talented, often poor, eclectic, transient, starving for attention, tense, fun, bizarre, excited, tri-lingual and not really concerned with what anybody else thinks (but actually is).”

While Miami is known for late night entertainment, comedy often falls under the radar compared to the city’s legendary club and party scene.

John Wynn was born in Texas but developed his comedic chops in South Florida. “Compared to other cities, Miami can be tricky,” shares Wynn. “I think Miami likes comedy, but is not exactly sure how to nurture that scene. I ‘won’ the chance to be the Miami Dolphins’ Official Comedian. This meant I got to do five clean minutes in front of season ticket holders outside while they enjoyed all you can eat barbecue and beer at 10 in the morning. They put me up after the cheerleaders and it was a dismal experience. Plus I had to pay for my own parking. But the fact that there was that opportunity tells me that Miami likes comedy, but they don’t love comedy. Sort of like foster children.”

There’s no shortage of world-class comedy in Miami. The South Beach Festival  brings the biggest names in the industry to South Florida annually. Last year’s lineup included Bill Burr, Dave Chappelle, Hannibal Buress and Patton Oswalt. Each show was supported with local talent -as is the case every year- providing festival goers with great exposure to the local scene.

“As Miami evolves into an artistic and cultural center in the US, our comedy scene is no exception,” says producer Mike Levine who owns and operates the Comedy Inn. “Miami is the next comedy city to explode onto the national scene. We have everything it takes; we’ve just got to realize it.”

The Comedy Inn is currently Miami’s premiere comedy club and is part of a growing community of rooms and venues throughout the city, including Elwoods and Mad Cat Theatre Company, that support amateurs and pros alike.

As is the case with most North American comedy communities, New York and Los Angeles are often destinations for those who have found local success. Forrest Shaw is Miami’s latest example. Having won 2013’s Ultimate Miami Comedian he’s since moved to LA and appeared on Conan and the FXX show Legit.

Ricky Cruz is one of the handful of professional comedians who still lives in South Florida and works the road from Miami. “The Miami comedy scene is growing, What it lacks in veteran professional local comedians it makes up in amateur venues that allow established comics a place to work out.”

“NYC and LA are still the meccas,” adds Levine. “But hardly anyone’s getting more than 5 minutes of stage time per set. If you want to really work on your material for your hour, or even your half-hour, there’s nowhere better than the good ol’ 305… especially during winter.”

Live From South Beach is available now through Comedy Records and features Miami’s Dave Williamson, Orlando Leyba, Forrest Shaw, Ricky Cruz, John Wynn, Lisa Corrao and Freddy Stebbins.

Read more comedy news.