Ryan Likens Makes History at The GhostLight Lounge Comedy Show.
Comedy Night: January 28, 2023.
At 8:19pm, Richard Jorn, Executive Director of the RiverPark Center and “Boss Man” of the GhostLight Lounge made the call none of us ever expected.
“We can’t let any more people in,” he said, squeezing past the bar door to refill his coke zero. Skylar, our rock of a bartender, and I were slammed with drink orders. The careful dance we’ve mastered in that tight space put to the ultimate test as we manuveured around each other to make vegas bombs and lemon drops, and fill the dwindling buckets with Michelob Ultras.
“What do you mean?” I asked, shaker in one hand, the other searching for a bud light.
“We’re full,” he said, “I told Jason not to let anyone else in.”
Skylar and I stopped in shock, though really it should have come to no surprise given the rush of people crowded across our three foot bartop. In that tiny space it’s hard to determine how many people are really in the building, and often it feels like the line will never end, but tonight it had been relentlessly, selling more drinks in those initial twenty minutes of opening than we had the entirety of the night prior.
The three of us shared a look, one of hope and fear at the record numbers, before getting back to business.
“Wait,” I called to Richard as he snuck through the back, “make sure all the comics get in.”
“Right,” he laughed, “I almost forgot about that.”
At 8:50, we were ten minutes from the start of the show, bursting at the seams with patrons, and almost out of beer.
There’s a double-edge sword to this kind of success. The GhostLight Lounge is small, intimate, and just fifty patrons can feel like a packed house. With our numbers that night, which will not be disclosed, it was like manuvering a sardine can. I don’t actually know what that feels like, but I assume it feels a lot like that night. Bumping into someone was inevitable, as I quickly found out each time I left the bar, an immeasurable amount of “excuse mes” and “I’m sorrys" dropped from my mouth. There was no easy way to move about the space, every chair full, including the ones we keep out in the courtyard which were brought in to accommodate. The walls were decorated with those not fortunate to grab a seat, and our entryway had gathered a crowd as well. As one of our dear regulars, Steve Wilkerson said, “you’re gonna need a bigger bar.”
This was the dream when we started our comedy shows a year ago. That first night, we held our hopeful breaths that our stand-up shows would gain traction as we saw our venue modestly packed with patrons unsure of what to expect. We weren’t sure what to expect either, and over the year we’ve made adjustments to that first format, figuring out how to best serve both the audience and the comedians. On January 28th, 2023, our line-up and audience was the fullest it had ever been, and success seemed just around the corner seconds before Richard took the stage to host.
Of course, there’s always a double-edged sword to success.
With such a full (and lubricated) audience, the comedians were in a difficult position keeping the focus. I can speak from experience here, as I have performed both at the GhostLight comedy nights and in other spaces full of drunk people, as well as being a disorderly drunk person in said spaces. Focus can be a nearly impossible task, especially in such a crowded space. Anyone who has ever worked in schools can probably relate to this, as all it takes is one person to disrupt the attention to throw the rest of the room off. That night, we had a lot of disruptions in the audience, and regaining the focus became a feat unto itself in the comedians’ routines. Even still, it was a challenge, both for those onstage and those in the audience trying to pay attention.
Our first performer, technically the host and technically my boss/father, Richard Jorn, took to the stage at 9pm. Richard has hosted most of our shows, and his routine consists of everything from updates on his marriage (it’s officially over now) to updates on the GhostLight Lounge (you can find that information on our Facebook) to observations he’s made in his every day life (you can ask him if you want to know that). He always ends his introduction with a census-level survey, asking everything from dating status to age to salary range, giving the audience a chance to share and the comedians an idea of who they’re performing for that night.
Comedy, like most art forms, is subjective. Not all senses of humor are the same, and not all styles of humor appeal to everyone. Say for example, you have an audience full of single women as your crowd, a comedian who focuses on going through a nasty break-up as her set is more likely to appeal to them than a comedian who uses fart jokes as their gag. Unless of course, all of those women also have IBS, then it’s a toss up.
This is to say that while the survey aids in determining who is in the audience, it’s still up to the comedians to find their footing with them throughout their set.
Our first comedian of the night, Dustin Matteson, has performed a few times at the GhostLight Lounge, and many more times outside of it. Dustin has a distinct voice, and uses that attribute to his advantage in his sets with impressions that create a stark contrast from how his natural speaking tone. The first big laugh of the night came when Dustin dropped the low, deep, darth-vadar-esque voice he began with, and revealed his true vocal tone. Dustin’s strengths as a performance comes from his awareness of perception, and his commentary on his life resonated with the audience as he was able to integrate his experiences with humor.
The next comedian, Leann Morris, came in strong with a similar tactic, though very different execution. She too excelled in understanding perception, and utilizing the stereotypes made through biases to her advantage. She also had one of the best examples of prop comedy seen on the GhostLight Lounge stage, as her U-Haul shirt added an extra layer to her set for those who understood the reference.
After Leann came Ean Stanhope. This was Ean’s first time performing at the GhostLight Lounge, and his commentary on the absurd nature of true crime and it’s fanbase garnered many laughs from the audience. Observational humor can be tricky, as perspective can really shape whether or not it’s find humorous on the receiving end, but Ean navigated his set and the audience well, as nearly everyone could agree that having to report a handful of homegrown tomatoes to the government is ridiculous.
The next comedian was me, Alex Jorn, and while I do love to bask in self-indulgence, I save that for the stage so come to our next comedy show (2/25/23).
Rebecca Bradfield followed, another familiar face to the GhostLight Lounge. Rebecca’s comedy offers insight into a world very few of our comedians can, motherhood. Her unique perspective sets her apart from the other sets we often see, and depending on the crowd that night, speaks to the audience that is often forgotten by the male-dominated craft. Her relatablity adds to her charm as she shares anecdotes of what it’s like to be a young mother.
Lindsay Marie was the sixth comic of the night. Lindsay, as she points out in her set, is not the typical expectation of what a comedian should look like. Her routine focused to the duality of expectations, and the various ways she plays into or against others’ perceptions.
Second to last, Ryan Likens. Ryan was with us at the beginning for our first ever comedy show, and has continued to grow as a comedian as we have as a place that does comedy. After watching the other comedians struggle over the excess chatter of the bar, Ryan strayed from his typical routine and began directly interacting with the audience. This direct initiative played off well, and Ryan manuvered his practiced work into these asides with audience members, gaining the attention of the audience and ultimately the title of that night’s champion, but more on that later.
Last, but very far from least, Kristopher Izzi closed out the show. Like Ryan, Kris has been a part of the GhostLight comedy scene since day one, not only as a consistently stellar performer, but respected guide to our mission. Kris has often offered insights into how to better build our shows, as well as suggesting comedians to our bar and our bar to comedians. His work in the local comedy scene goes far beyond what he does on stage, as he supports the art of comedy in its entirety, uplifting other comedians with opportunities to perform and uplifting venues by performing in them himself. Kris is a professional in every sense of the word, as is evident in his stand-up. Despite the challenges of attention as seen throughout the night, Kris stuck to his guns, and his strength as a comedian shone through the restlessness of the audience, ending the show on a high note.
And then it was over. Richard took to the stage to start voting, and as The Wobble played, patrons put their tickets into their favorite comedians jars. It was a close call, but Ryan Likens earned the most amount of audience votes and walked away with the $250 winnings and a handmade trophy. When later asked about the experience, he stated:
“My process in comedy is to just go up there, just have a good time. Like, I love doing this, it’s my passion. Nights like tonight, you have a rough crowd, sometimes you gotta just break away and just like address the crowd and you know have fun with it.”
Having fun is what these shows, and all of our events, are about. This particular comedy night had its bumps, but such is life, and each bump is opportunity to learn for the next time. To all of our comedians, thank you for sharing your passion on our stage and we hope to see you back. To our audiences, thank you for coming out and showing your support for our comedy nights.
The next GhostLight Lounge Comedy night is on February 25. Doors open at 8pm and the show starts at 9pm. If you’re interested in performing at the GhostLight, you can email us at gllowensboro@gmail.com
