When the lights go up and there’s nothing between you and the crowd but an empty mic, you better have something to say. And if you’re holding down the stage at McCurdy’s Comedy Theatre, it better be funny.

Carmen Ciricillo

Beginning his stand-up career by winning open mic competitions in Cleveland, Ohio, Carmen Ciricillo has worked the McCurdy’s stage since 1989. On Fulfillment It’s definitely not the money. On Material In the beginning I was a character. I did a construction comedy character. I got bored. I was sick of telling tales onstage that I didn’t believe in. Today my act has evolved into straight me. I wanted to see if I could tell a story about me that was real. It’s my family, my wife, how I’m treated. It’s my fears and my anxieties. It’s all me 100 percent. On Crossing the Line You mean between what I should and shouldn’t say? I think I’ve crossed that. On Fulfillment Again The ability to make people laugh—the idea that I can write material, other people will be entertained by it and I can do it again and again—something about that is very seductive. Your first couple jokes are horrible and they die, but then you have that one kernel and it goes over and you’re hooked. On Heroes Sam Kinison and Richard Pryor. I didn’t see anyone I liked for a long time before Marc Maron and Louis CK. Then I started really getting into stand-up again. On Sarasota-Bradenton It’s pretty active and there’s a real hunger to get stage time. But there’re not enough viable places and you have to travel quite a bit. Too many comedians. On Fulfillment Yet Again It’s not the money, the traveling, the waiting around—it’s the people.

Scott Novotny

Away on tour from his home in Lakewood Ranch, Scott Novotny calls in from a show in Minnesota. The next night, he’ll be in Wisconsin and then North Dakota. “Have laugh; will travel,” he says. “That’s how it works.” On Material It’s me ramped up to a 10 and then slightly tilted. I tell a story both verbally and physically and I’m not afraid to be 100 percent a dog if I have to be a dog. I’m sort of a cross between Robin Williams, Red Skelton and toss in a little bit of Goofy and you’ve got me. On Fulfillment I have a knack for it and it’s wonderful to be able to give that gift. Everybody needs to laugh, so that’s my goal on the planet, to do that. I feed off of [the audience]. It’s like I have this overabundance of plus battery and they’ve got negative and they need it. And I need to get back to grounded zero and they need to get up to zero. It’s like a magnetic thing and we’re all trying to get to even and having a great time doing it. On Crossing the Line I work clean. I’m a very clean comedian. I work really hard at keeping things adult, but kids can still watch my show. It’s like a Bugs Bunny cartoon—there’s all sorts of things flying around that adults are picking up that kids aren’t. Kids can enjoy my antics, but adults will be getting it at a different level. On Wisdom I worked with Jay Leno once and he said, “Just enjoy the ride. Every rung in the ladder is another step to deal with, but enjoy climbing the ladder.” And he’s right. Every single rung has been fun. On McCurdy's McCurdy’s is unusual in that they really seem to understand the comic’s point of view. When you perform at McCurdy’s, everything is about the performer and that doesn’t always happen. It’s so professional. 

Tim Wilkins

A former Marine, Tim Wilkins is a transplant from LA to Sarasota since 1994, “I had work the day I got here,” says Wilkins. “This is all I’ve wanted to do since I was six years old.” On Material This is me. I’m the observational/relatable kind of comic. I have my own take on everything from politics to technology, but it’s from the perspective of “We’re all going through this.” I accidentally locked my son in the car when he was about a year and a half old. I thought I knew the keyless entry code and I didn’t. There was an AAA office next door and as fast as I could run there and run back, there was an entire crowd of senior citizens around the car who’d called the police, the fire department and child services. On Politics For the last seven years, all over radio across the country, I’ve been Obama. I have to grab my trachea to do it and that used to be the voice of my drill instructor from when I was in the Marines. I started working the voice—stopping and starting, adding a little lisp and a stammer—and it really came around. On Family I’m stuck between my mother and my kids right now with all my technology. The kids know everything, my mother knows nothing and I’m just tech support to try and figure them both out. On Edgy Comics The one time I tried to be edgy, some neo-Nazi in the audience fresh out of jail wanted to kill me and they had to call the cops. He pounded on the glass and I said, “I’m just not meant to be edgy.” Don’t want to piss off the Nazis. On Boot Camp We put on our 60-pound backpacks for the first time and they were going to march us 10 miles. We were in San Diego and I asked since we were so close to the border to Mexico if we could pop over and get some Coronas. I got to find out what it’s like to do push-ups with a backpack on. I got in better shape. I did a lot of push-ups. Once I realized that boot camp wasn’t scary anymore, I cracked off a lot. On Material Again I haven’t really been very good at staying married. On Heroes It was old Jerry Lewis and Bob Hope movies. I would stay up late secretly and watch Johnny Carson and watch the comedians. I literally used to stand behind my grandparents’ curtains, do The Tonight Show music, pop out and give myself a big introduction. On Stand-Up in Sarasota It’s getting better. It comes down to stage time. If I were a young comic I think I’d be frustrated, but I’m in a different spot now. I do McCurdy’s two or three times a year, but I do 10 to 20 private corporate or private events in the Sarasota area every year. 

McCurdy’s Comedy Theatre, 941-925-3869.