Actor Edmund Gwenn once said, "Dying is easy. It's comedy that's difficult."
Philly-dweller B-Phlat will give Albuquerque the best of both worlds when her own special blend of brassy, urban humor has people dying of laughter.
"I never know what I'm gonna do until I see the audience," B-Phlat said.
B-Phlat started her standup career in 1995 at a talent show in Philadelphia.
"I didn't know I was performing until I got there to see the show, and my friends told me they signed me up as a comedian for the night," she said.
Since then she has landed a spot on BET's "Comic View" for five years running and has toured extensively.
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"I've been all over the world, and I always have a great time," she said. "I'll leave one place and think; 'Man, I'll never be able to kick it like I did in Aruba,' and then I'll leave another place and go, 'Now I know I'll never kick it like I did in Vegas.'"
Standup comedy isn't all just laughs, though. Being a woman of color in any industry is going to have its rough spots, she said.
"I've worked in a lot of different genres, from corporate to what I'm doing now, and there's always an obstacle with any job," B-Phlat said. "But one of the hardest things I've had to deal with, though, is that when you look at me, you don't see someone who looks like a comedian. But how the hell do you look like a comedian? People see me come on stage, and they think I'm going to be prissy or bougie and like a lady and then I get out there acting like a clown. They really don't expect it."
Appearance isn't the only hurdle female comedians have to jump.
"The biggest thing, though, is in being a female comedian, you got to do it twice as good as the men. We're so saturated by male comedy that we don't think a female comedian can be funny," she said.
B-Phlat proves them wrong, though. Her brand of humor comes from what people give her, and what's a more readily available source than the quirks of daily life?
"I always look for the odd in people," B-Phlat said, "The thing they'll notice and not say anything about. I'm one of those people who say it."
B-Phlat bases her shows on where she is and the tone the audience sets. At tonight's show, people can expect her to take on college life and living in the dorms, but that's definitely not all the show will cover.
"It can be anything from childhood to sex," B-Phlat said.
For those who can't catch B-Phlat's show, have no fear. She's working on a sitcom to air in fall of 2005 called "St. Philly." The show will center around B-Phlat's life in Philadelphia and her hilarious neighbors' antics.
And for all the aspiring comedians on campus, she gives this advice: "Make sure you buy a mini-recorder or a mini-disk or something, and record every one of your shows. Even when you're first starting out, and you know you're not funny, listen for that one person to chuckle cause that means someone connected to that. You gotta take that joke and work on it. Build on that chuckle."
Who: B-Phlat
When: Tonight, 6:30 p.m.
Where: SUB Ballroom C
Price: free
Tickets
& Info: 277-5602
