Students probably know Brent Gill as “that guy” who sat in the back of weather class and made it fun. However, there’s more to Gill than just being a class clown.
Gill is a junior film studies major at CU. Even though he finds creativity in his film making, his real talent comes in the form of comedy. Working his way through the rough business of humor hasn’t always been easy, but Gill has stuck with it and his work is paying off.
He started doing comedy at the Redfish Fish House and Brewery during open mic nights. From there he started doing gigs at small clubs and bars in Denver and Golden. It didn’t take long for this guy, who is a raging ball of energy, to start building a reputation on the comedy circuit.
Gill’s big break, so far, came when a professional took notice of this crazy comedian. Gill started working with comedian Dick Black. Gill said Black kind of took him under his wing. He thinks of Black as a mentor for his comedy.
Black runs the Sunday night BrewHaHa open mic at Redfish and offered Gill the chance to be the master of ceremonies. Gill took the job and now fans and foes can catch his act once a week.
That wasn’t the only opportunity Black provided for this budding comedian; he also offered Gill a spot on his team, Team Black, for the Funny Final Four competition at Comedy Works in Denver.
The Funny Final Four is a competition made up of four teams that have both professional and amateur comedians from the surrounding area. Each team has their own night at the Comedy Works to perform their best stuff. The audience plays a big role in deciding who moves on and who doesn’t.
So far, the competition has been getting a good response, said Susan Collyar, director of marketing at Comedy Works.
“It’s been really going great and the audience loves it,” Collyar said.
After each team has performed, there will be two nights of head-to-head competition where a panel of judges will pick the two teams to move on to the final round. The judges also have help from the audience. This is where it helps to “know how to work a room,” Gill said.
Finally, those two teams will have a battle of wit and humor to see which team will prevail.
Gill and the rest of Team Black will battle for a chance in the finals at 8 p.m. on March 5 at Comedy Works in Denver. The doors open at 6:45 p.m. for those who wish to laugh the Monday blues away.
Contact Campus Press Staff Writer Emilie Johnson at Emilie.Johnson@thecampuspress.com.
