It’s been a while since I’ve covered comedy in this column but with the climate in this country and the world, I firmly believe that we could all use a bit of comic relief so the remainder of this month my columns will feature some comedy events happening in various venues here in the central Maine area.

Let’s begin with a chat with Mark Turcotte and a show he’s bringing to Gardiner’s The Blind Pig — Next Level, the venue that has adopted Johnson Hall’s Stand-Up Comedy! Series while that landmark theater undergoes renovation. Turcotte himself is an established comedian and the founder of Maine Event Comedy which has been bringing laughter to concert goers for a good many years; and seeing it has been almost six years between conversations I wanted to find out how things are going for this gifted comedian.

Q: It’s been a while since last we spoke, so I guess I need to be reminded about what you do.
Turcotte: I’m a comedian and a promoter and a booker, so I produce the comedy shows that Johnson Hall puts on.

Q: Is this something that you do out-of-state, as well?
Turcotte: I perform regularly out-of-state but the majority of the shows that I produce are in Maine.

Q: How do you go about picking the performers to appear in those shows?
Turcotte: Well, I’ve been doing this for about 12 years so I’ve met a lot of people, been to a lot of venues and I have a pretty good idea of who’s going to work in what situation, what their strengths and weaknesses are and how to put a line-up together. So I’ve learned a lot over the past 12 years and the experience has treated me very well.

Q: Now you say most of the shows you work on, as far as promoting goes, are in Maine — do you use exclusively Maine comedians?
Turcotte: Ah, no, I book comedians from throughout New England primarily, and I’ve even had a couple from New York City, it all depends on what their schedules are.

Q: Do you find that Maine has some talented comedians?
Turcotte: Oh, yes, of course! The scene in Maine has been growing pretty rapidly over the past 10 years; in Lewiston/Auburn area, that scene is really experiencing serious growth. The Empire Comedy Club in Portland has reopened, they closed after the pandemic and they reopened in the last couple of months, and they’re putting on two, three, four shows a week over there. They have open mic (shows) so that newer comedians can hone their craft and work on their jokes. So, as far as the state is concerned, it’s Portland and Lewiston/Auburn that are really shining as far as developing new talent.

Q: Do you do anything with open mic nights?
Turcotte: I don’t produce as much as I used to, before the pandemic I was running about 13 venues in Maine and now I’m down to a few because I just don’t have the time to devote to that many venues anymore.

Q: I take it the demand is up for shows like that?
Turcotte: Yeah, the demand is.

Q: Back to the search for finding new talent — you say that you get people from New York, is that a place where you’ve performed as well?
Turcotte: Yeah, I’ve been to New York City. I’ve done the Gotham Comedy Club there and you make a lot of connections and once people find out that you produce shows and that you book talent, they have no problem reaching out to you for work.

Q: Now the people you promote are the up-and-coming ones, correct?
Turcotte: Yes, because I enjoy giving newcomers some opportunity to perform in a great venue like we have at the Blind Pig and like when Johnson Hall reopens. So usually the format of a show is that you’ll have a host, an opening comic, a feature comic and a headliner. If I see that a newer comic is putting in the work, they’re really getting their legs under them onstage and they have a comfort level that justifies an opening position at a bigger show that we have. I’ll put them on and give them that opportunity because that was provided to me when I was there three or four years into comedy. I really appreciated it and it gives you a lot of great experience; you get to work with comics that are established and you get to learn from them.

Q: Now I understand that your shows—while Johnson Hall is being renovated—will be held at The Blind Pig; I’m not familiar with that venue, could you fill me in on it?
Turcotte: Well, while Johnson Hall has been undergoing its restoration, which I believe has been nearly two years in the making, we’ve been having our comedy shows at the Blind Pig. It’s actually called The Blind Pig Next Level — it’s upstairs from The Blind Pig, which is a pub and restaurant that is next door to Johnson Hall. The venue upstairs reminds me a lot of a speak-easy, it’s a really cool venue. It has a bar adjacent to the show room and the show room holds just over 50 people, so it’s a very intimate venue and the shows there have been going great. We’re so appreciative of that venue for taking on the comedy shows while Johnson Hall is getting a make-over.

Q: Is there anything you’d like to pass on to the folks reading this article?
Turcotte: Sure, yeah — well, you know that the renovation at Johnson Hall is nearly complete

Q: I’ve heard that, yes.
Turcotte: So we’re going to have our first comedy show there on April 20 and the headliner that night is Carolyn Plummer, who has been on Comics Come Home with Denis Leary, so she’s performed at TD Garden … and then on May 18 we have Amy Tee, she headlines throughout New England and is just a fantastic comic and I really enjoy working with her. So, starting on the 17th of this month with JJ Jones, Dennis Price, Tim Hofmann and Derek Cote, we have a really great run of three shows taking us into the spring.

Lucky Clark, a 2018 “Keeping the Blues Alive” Award winner, has spent more than 50 years writing about good music and the people who make it. He can be reached at luckyc@myfairpoint.net if you have any questions, comments or suggestions.

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