Robert Duchaine will be coming to the MRPS Hall on Saturday night to bring his own distinct brand of comedy to the community.
Could it be foreshadowing for what Manteca residents might be able to enjoy in the future?
According to event producer and Manteca Bulletin guest columnist Chris Teicheira, he and a comedian friend have been scouting out possible locations in Manteca to open a comedy club that would cater to Northern California comedians and those that are traveling – bringing the laughs back to the community that he loves so much for years to come.
Under the umbrella Pretending to Care, Teicheira and Anthony Krayenhagen – known as Anthony K – have been putting together comedy shows in the community for years. Both believe that with a growing number of contacts and an emergence of up-and-coming comedians in the area starving for a place to call home means there is a market to give the idea a go.
Duchaine, a headlining comic that spent much of the last traversing the West Coast for performances in places like Las Vegas, Reno, Portland, San Francisco, Santa Cruz, San Diego and Sacramento – including a five-night residency at the Punch Line comedy club in Old Sacramento – will be the first comic in several months that Teicheira and Krayenhagen have brought to town to play in an intimate, community-based setting that’s far different than the clubs that they’re used to.
“The comedians that we’ve had have been totally different in their styles but I think that they all get a kick out of coming to Manteca because it’s fun to perform in front of large groups of people like that,” Teicheira said. “For the most part we’re a small town and there aren’t a whole lot of bigger name comics that come through here and when they do they really want to leave a lasting impression – they don’t want to leave with somebody thinking to themselves, ‘that guy wasn’t that great.’”
And Manteca is in a unique position when it comes to providing comedy to the people of the Northern San Joaquin Valley.
Currently the closest comedy clubs are in either Sacramento or Pleasanton. And while there are some Modesto locations that provide venues for comedians to perform in – like the Fat Cat, which Teicheira has used to book several of his shows – there also isn’t anywhere in the immediate vicinity.
Duchaine, who spent several years in the Bay Area and now performs near his home in Los Angeles where he also works on writing and auditioning for parts, said that there’s just something different about small-town shows like the ones that Teicheira and Krayenhagen put together – events that make him feel more at home than when he walks up onto a comedy club stage in a town he doesn’t really know.
“It’s nice because people all know each other and it really gives off a hometown feel,” Duchaine said. “And everybody knows Chris and Anthony so there’s more of a hometown feel I guess you’d say, like you’re doing it for a bunch of friends and family members.
“What I like about Northern California is that it’s more real, which is my audience – the people that go to work every day. Just regular everyday people – the common man I guess you would say. I guess I’m more of a common man myself, but I learned how to tell jokes so I no longer have to work for a living.”
Duchaine will also make several stops at private engagements when traveling through the area for the weekend show.
Also performing will be Oakland native Dan Wilson who will return to Northern California for the first time since moving to Los Angeles to pursue his comedy career.
Tickets are $10 and can be purchased at the door. The show will be held at the MRPS Hall – located at 259 Grant Street – on Saturday night. Cocktails begin at 6:30 p.m. and the show is scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. sharp.