Paula Lindo – Our histories, stories, present, future.

The Haul Yuh Mic Challenge (HYMic) series continues to provide opportunities for local stand-up comedians to fine-tune their craft in front of an audience. The series is the brainchild of comedian Rhea-Simone “Simmy the Trini” Auguste.

Auguste said she began the comedy challenge in April 2018 to help “discover, nurture and support local stand-up comedians by providing them with open mic opportunities as well as competitions focusing on different topics. The challenge typically features five comedians competing for the audience’s votes for funniest set performance on the given topic. On August 16 we are doing a show at Bite Me Bistro in St. Augustine featuring Kevin Soyer and on August 29 we are at Woodford Cafe in Chaguanas featuring Ro’dey.”

She said the stand-up comedy industry in T&T is growing, with more young comedians participating in open mics and testing their sets on stage. “A lot of people think comedy is easy and anyone can tell jokes. That’s far from the truth, as stand-up comedy takes a lot of work from writing to practising material on stage. Opportunities to perform as a feature stand-up comedian here are limited but we’re working on building the audience to support shows and comedians so more gigs surface. A lot of restaurants and bars have reached out to us to produce shows at their venues. This has been helping comedians get more paid work. I’d love to see it reach a point where more comedians can make a living from their talent. I also think it’s a positive sign that the venues are showing interest as they benefit from having a feel-good, laugh out loud alternative live entertainment option for their patrons.” 

Auguste said she’s currently focused on building “awareness of the HYMiC brand, stand-up comedy, and the comedians, so more patrons would come out for the experience and to enjoy the laughter and vibe. This part is critical because we can’t make empty chairs laugh. We have our regular supporters and we’ve actually had three completely sold-out shows in the past year, including our last show, which saw social media sensation Certified Sampson taking the stage to try stand-up.  However, we’ve also had some nights that attendance could be better. Hopefully, as we enter our second year we will see even more people coming out to check out our work.”

She said stand-up comedy in T&T would benefit greatly from the support of the public. “Globally, stand-up comedy is a billion dollar industry. Unfortunately, we haven’t penetrated the global market yet, not because we lack the talent, but because a lot of the talent isn’t polished or prepared in terms of material that is relatable to the international audience. By attending and supporting the live shows, we would be helping the comedians get the stage time needed to hone sets that can be used to showcase on international circuits. If one of our own comedians were to gain global acclaim, their brand’s growth could have a positive ripple effect in areas ranging from tourism to our film industry. We could never go wrong with investing in developing our own talent for the international market.”

Auguste said performers who are curious about trying their hand at stand-up comedy can do so at their open mic sessions. They can register at haulyuhmic@gmail.com. Those interested in attending shows can find Haul Yuh Mic on Facebook and Instagram. There are at least two shows a month.