South Florida "funniest comics you've never heard of," the Have-Nots have teamed up with Just the Funny -- Coral Way's comedy clubhouse for sketch and improv. They're doing a television broadcast that is sure to be the South Florida comedy equivalent to the Power Rangers' Megazord bio-mechanical robot vehicle, or even Captain Planet ("With your powers combined...").
However, unlike the Power Rangers or Captain Planet, the Have-Nots don't give a damn about saving the world. No, these attention-starved circus freaks care about nothing other than, yes, it's true, cheap laughs. We sent troupe co-founder Dominic Perenzin some questions to find out the details between the upcoming Comedytime live TV taping, and how he sleeps at night.
New Times: How did the Have-Nots and Just the Funny team up with Comedytime TV?
Dominic Perenzin: Another one of the Have-Nots, Jay Mays, has a relationship with Comedy Time through his day job working with T-Mobile. So we approached them with the idea. ComedyTime has never done a shoot in Miami before so they are excited about the opportunity to collaborate and get some of our Sabor Latino.
We've worked with Just the Funny in the past, and Diane Garcia has been a great supporter of the Have-Nots since Day 1. Tying in with her monthly Hilarious Basterds stand-up comedy show at JTF was an obvious choice. And theaters always make for a great comedy experience, not to mention the room itself is perfect for a shoot.
Is it essentially going to be a nightclub comedy lineup, but taped? Or is there a "TV content" (skits, etc) angle?
Our first show will be purely stand-up comedy, but the catch is they have to be 100% broadcast TV clean sets (like you'd see on Kimmel or Letterman). ComedyTime was real specific about the content standards because the clips are seen on PG-rated channels like Verizon V-Cast, AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, MobiTV, Hulu, etc.
Have the Have-Nots ever worked in TV/film before?
Nope. But we'd love to continue producing other short format comedy content. Adding video clips to live comedy shows really adds another fun element to the experience if you do it right.
What kind of vibe can the audience expect? Is there a consistent "Have-Nots style" that everyone puts their personal spin on?
"Have-Not" is a feeling that I think most comics can identify with at some point in their careers. What you can expect is to be surprised at the HIGH level of comedy we have in Miami. Our spin is for people to be exposed to the funniest comics you never heard of, then hopefully you have so much fun that you support them until they become famous and sell out to the "the man."
On that note, what makes a Have-Not a Have-Not? Are you a gang or cult?
Is there a Democrat/Republican-like divide between "indie/alt" comics and the Comedy Central mainstream (which itself seems to be slowly being consumed by either indie/alt stuff or redneck humor)?
I thought "alt" was just a euphemism for "not yet famous"? I don't really buy into these labels. I think funny is funny and if you keep working hard and get in front of the right people you will get your shot. I actually think that some of the comics on our show have so much undiscovered talent and should be on Comedy Central.
Tell us a true-blue audience war story. When have you bombed?
I will never forget starting out and performing at a bar in Coral Gables. I was bumped so many times that the host forgot I was on show. He realized after he was closing show for the remaining four audience members and cleaning crew. He decided to bring me up and I had the most uncomfortable five minutes of my life and questioned why I was doing this. But the truth is that once you get the rush of being onstage and making an audience laugh it's really hard to quit.
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