It’s not a joke that 24-year-old Warren Viegas has taken comedy seriously and plunged into this funny profession that pays in dollars. “Every joke I crack gets paid for and I truly and thoroughly enjoy this million-dollar-business to earn from spreading smiles and laughter,” states this Bachelor of Science in Business and Marketing from USA who has performed at over 300 comedy shows abroad so far.
“I have graduated learning the business side of comedy and seriously want to be a comedian, offering Goa its first comedy club,” announces Warren. His upcoming comedy show in Goa scheduled on February 10 will break the ice in his home state when he will perform live for two-and-a-half hours at Institute Menezes Braganza in Panaji. Keeping the ball of optimism spinning, Warren says with a smile, “Let me keep my fingers crossed. I am expecting this comedy show to turn out a super hit”
Why open a comedy club here in Goa? Would people pay simply to make them laugh, one may wonder. “Yes, Goa is a tourist destination and we Goans like to laugh a lot. Our comedy club would charge a small fee and bring the best talents from all over the world to Goa. To start with, we shall have two shows in a month,” says Warren, chalking out his plan.
But can a person actually have a serious career in comedy? “Why not,” he retorts, citing examples of renowned comedians across the globe. However one must note that these comedians are successful in the West where comedy sells, however unlike West, India nurtures a different culture and there still prevails a bit of scepticism whether comedy will sell in India. However, Indians by default, are very tolerant and they do have a sense of humour.
Each community on this planet has its holy cows and one must always keep that in mind. The comedian should be aware of the weaknesses in the society and not challenge them. By mocking at the sentiments of the people a comedian can create a controversy. “Personally I do take such precautions when I write a script or perform live,” admits Warren. But it is the need of the comedy business to look for funny side of life and bring it forth, making people laugh, he feels.
So where does humour come from? “Life,” pat comes his reply. In the same breath he adds, “Look around. Keep observing, keep listening and keep watching things happen “ then apply logic, tweak things. Try to be witty, look at things differently and think out of the box - that makes you a good comedian. Think how you can add a funny angle to what you have just seen or heard. Make mental notes. Follow the timing, take a pause wherever needed and deliver with confidence - that’s very crucial. Comedy does hurt, it does pinch. That’s why one should know when to say what and how. Of course, comedians too are bound by rules, ethics and self-imposed restrictions.”
Warren asserts, “It dawned upon me when I was 21 that I can take up a career as a comedian. Today, life has become mechanical. People are bored following that monotony. Fun, pun, charm and humour seem to have long lost. There is an urge to laugh out loud. Tragedy can be turned into a comedy - tragedy plus time is comedy. Tragic situations can turn around into comedies provided the audience is intelligent enough to understand the punchline. One has to draw a line and this depends upon person to person and comedian to comedian.”
Warren, who did an internship with TV channel HBO, adds, “I was a contributor and worked with the shows of John Oliver and Bill Maher and during this internship with HBO, I learnt a lot. Every joke is a veiled attack. It is self-deprecating humour. Each time the script is written fresh and you have to keep it ready but some material is universal and works anywhere,” admits Warren. He feels, “Once the audience is convinced about your intention, loyalty and capability, it feels comfortable and accepts you. Sometimes it hurts “ but when you make your own self a think to be laughed at, to be made joke at, you are adored “ you have to learn to laugh at yourself first, then you are allowed to make fun of others and win their appreciation.”
Can comedy act as a social tool? “Yes, humour is a bridge. It breaks the barriers. For a comedian, it does take time to pick up a career but once established, comedy can be used as a social too to spread messages in disguise where laughs can pass under their deep line advices on antiracism or feminism etc. Comedy makes one leave his troubles at home and enjoy laughs as pure entertainment. Entertainment must be the focus point and whatever message has to be given, should be through laughter - that’s the only condition. Comedy is not main stream in India but I am hoping to see that happen soon,” underlines this young comedian.
The television channel pays for the content and the programme but when a comedian does mockery of somebody it is not necessary that he always agrees with what is being said by him. “It’s looked upon as a joke and because it sounds funny, the comedians say it. That’s all. We are paid for our jokes,” Warren is honest to share. He admits that as a teenager he had no clue what a comedian is. However laughter was not uncommon in his home.
“The bug caught me in my own home. Both my parents are funny and we share a lot of laughter together. I enjoyed watching Charlie Chaplin to F.R.I.E.N.D.S. but I had never seen a stand up show. It was Russel Peters on YouTube that I watched first and got zapped. It was then that I began to take comedy seriously. It’s a funny business and I learnt to figure it out how it works. Political science was one of my subjects and I learnt to turn very serious political news into a humour,” says Warren who did stand up shows in America, first as a hobby in college.
He recalls, “I was the youngest comedian, and when I saw it’s paying, I started doing it more often outside college, in comedy clubs for about a year-and-a-half. Finally I decided to take it up as a profession. Stand-up comedy shows are live. It’s all you alone on the stage performing in one of the most judged professions in the world where you are rated every 15 seconds. I chose comedy for the feeling and for the kick it gives. It’s not easy to make people laugh but once you do it, it’s like a drug of laughter, its’ contagious and gives you hangover although the response varies depending on the age and type of audience. What you say should be funny but there should be truth in it. Comedy is truth tweaked, twisted and made to look funny. It’s a skill and one has to update it all the while. I keep making mental notes all the time and even write down. If you are taking comedy as a job, you have to take it seriously and do your homework well.”
To brush up his skills Warren met renowned comedians who offered some valuable tips. Eventually he was drawn towards this profession and even before he realised he became a comedian himself. While his father Alphonsus is a marine engineer Warren’s mother Nandini takes regular classes of speech and drama. His uncle is a film maker in the US. Warren has been to the film sets and learnt editing too. He learnt work ethics from his family and worked hard to develop his skills.
Before he starts the Las Viegas Comedy Club Warren wants to test the markets in Goa and for that Warren is hosting his first show in the state on February 10 at Institute Menezes Braganza where wildly popular comedian Kenny Sebastian will perform his hilarious show ‘Don’t Be That Guy’ which he hope will captivate the audience from 8 pm to 10.30 pm and two days after, on February 12, Warren is hosting another show where stand-up comedian, actress and writer Aditi Mittal and Dubai based comedian Nitin Mirani will perform.
