Laughing Matters
Open Mic Nights Shine Spotlight On Aspiring Standup Comics
By Colin McGuire
Photo courtesy Ryan Neser
For nearly 35 years, Deb Nylec’s husband Mark was the unofficial official comedian of the family, cracking her up regularly with ease and providing the medicine of laughter to those around him.
That changed nearly four years ago when Mark died suddenly. Accompanied by the unexpected loss of her husband came the departure of laughter. While the former was a void she could never fill, the latter was something she tackled herself almost immediately.
“I started to think about how funny it is to be a widow,” Nylec recalls. “I needed an outlet and I needed laughter back in my life, so one night I thought, ‘I can try this.’”
“This” for Nylec was the Cellar Door’s open mic comedy night. Running for more than 12 years, the gathering has exploded in popularity, painting a tiny section of Downtown Frederick as an essential location for up-and-coming comics.
Photo courtesy Ryan Neser
Its success is due in part to the commitment of local comic Ryan Neser, who began the open mic nights. Dozens of comics like Nylec get a chance to hop on stage for five minutes every Tuesday night.
If they impress, they have a shot at landing a spot on one of Neser’s Sunday night comedy shows at the Cellar Door, where national comedians frequently perform. The one-two punch of punchlines has survived and evolved due to a combination of Neser’s lifetime in comedy and the venue’s ability to let his ideas thrive.
“The ownership at the Cellar Door was willing to work with us as partners and not control what we’re doing,” Neser explains. “They’ve had our backs through all this time. Even when we went through the pandemic and had to do them at half-capacity, we found a way to make it work. I’ve tried five to 10 other venues from New Jersey to Rockville and, half the time, these things don’t work because the ownership has their own idea of what comedy should be. But with the Cellar Door, we have such a good relationship and partnership. I never want to stop working with them. They’re amazing.”
Due to the success of the open mic nights, Neser sometimes receives up to 50 requests a week from performers coming from as far away from Frederick as Washington, D.C., Baltimore and even New York City, forcing him to turn some away. It’s a difficult decision for Neser, because he understands the importance of the Tuesday nights for those who want to try out new material or merely just blow off some steam. Having made comedy his livelihood, touring across the country and sharing bills with standup stars, Neser knows how valuable stage time is for comics developing their acts.
Photo courtesy Deb Nylec
Like Nylec, who has been honing her comedy for nearly a year. Upon first stepping under the spotlight to share her unique blend of darkish humor, she caught the bug to keep going. Since then, she’s been searching for open mics throughout the region and even hopped on a stage in Florida during a recent vacation.
Her work has not gone unnoticed. Neser notes how Nylec has been “killing it and doing great.” She even landed an appearance on one of the Cellar Door’s Sunday night showcases alongside professionals.
Even so, that success pales in comparison to the intangible benefits of what comedy has done for Nylec amid the loss of her life partner. “It’s been 100 percent therapeutic,” she says. “It makes me feel close to my husband again. I think he’s behind me 100 percent of the way. He’d be pretty proud of what I’ve been doing.”
She pauses.
“The first few times I did it, I got in the car and was really proud of myself, and then I cried the whole way home.”
Nylec chuckles at the thought.
“The next day, I just laughed about the fact that I did it at all.”
Photo courtesy Ryan Neser