which will be a boon for comedians

James Yon of Orlando always enjoyed making people laugh. He was working at a theme park when a friend persuaded him to try stand-up. They wrote five minutes of material, and Yon practiced his routine for months to prepare for an open-mic night at a local Bonkerz comedy club.

"I ended up doing very well, so well that I actually killed at an open mic. And from that point on, I was hooked. It was a drug," Yon said. "I needed to do that again. And again. And again. So that's how I began."

At the time, Yon said, he and his wife had two kids, with a third on the way. You can imagine his wife's surprise when he announced he wanted to pursue comedy full time.

But Yon said his career took off quickly, and now, comedy has become a family business. His wife books the shows and helps him write the script for his brand-new TV show on Dish Network called Viral Breakdown, in which he shares humorous commentary on Internet videos. The couple now have four children, and on the weekends, the whole family is often together,linux dedicated server wherever Yon happens to have a show.

"It's great because we go to these nice places, casinos, resorts and whatnot. They take such good care of my entire family," Yon said. "My kids think we take a bunch of vacations throughout the year."

To get to where Yon is, up and comers need a comedy scene to hone their craft. They need stage time and venues in which to present their material and polish their routines in front of an audience.

It's something comedian Mike Di Tommaso said is lacking in Seminole County, compared with the bustling scene in New York. Di Tommaso, who has been in the business for 20 years, started his career there by performing at open-mic nights. He now routinely travels across the country to New York and Los Angeles for shows.

Di Tommaso moved to the Sanford area in 2011, but he said he doesn't do much locally and that, in his experience, there isn't much in the area for established comedians.

"Years ago I was doing a lot of church work here; I don't know if it's the recession, but I think because of the recession a lot of people just stopped hiring comedians. It's a luxury," he said.

These days, Di Tommaso is traveling most weekends to do shows. He said, at this point in his career, when he's doing hour-long shows and performing at casinos in the Midwest, searching for clubs in the area just doesn't work for him.

However, venues such as Holly & Dolly's in Casselberry are working to establish more of a comedy scene in Seminole County. For the past four months, it has been offering an open-mic night every other Sunday.

"We try to get the comedians to promote themselves to bring people out. Our regular crowd generally will stay for it," owner Biff Kaminski said. "They've had some good nights and some bad nights. I'll admit - it's hit or miss."

But soon, Holly & Dolly's may be the go-to venue for comedy in the area.

In May, Holly & Dolly's hired comedian Jersey to perform at a birthday party for one of its owners. Kaminski said Jersey was onstage for almost two hours and had the audience in the palm of his hand the whole time.

Jersey's manager and comedy producer, Gus Zuniga, saw something special in Holly & Dolly's. He said he believed it had the audience and atmosphere that could successfully host a show once a month.

Holly & Dolly's inaugural comedy show will be on July 27. There will be no cover charge, and Jersey will be the headlining comedian. Zuniga and Kaminski said they plan to host a show, free of charge, on the last Saturday of each month.

Zuniga said the comedy scene in the Central Florida area is spread out and that many comedians in the county travel to Orlando to perform. By working with Holly & Dolly's, he's hoping to help establish more of a comedy scene in Seminole County, which will be a boon for comedians and audiences in the area.

"A good thing about bringing comedy to Seminole County is that [comedians] are going to have a venue for them to perform at as well," Zuniga said. "We definitely want to grow that into something big."

He said having a venue like this one allows up-and-coming comics to shine as well.

Zuniga said, typically, one starts off doing open-mic nights - a learning ground for new comedians. There, they usually have about five minutes on stage to practice in front of an audience and get comfortable on stage, not only with their material, but also with holding a microphone, interacting with audiences and learning how to grab their attention.

If a comedian does well on stage during an open-mic night, it may lead to an opportunity to perform during a guest spot, have eight minutes on stage during a comedy show or maybe to be a host, the first one on stage who introduces the acts for the night, who typically gets a few minutes on stage to help warm up the crowd.

Featured comics typically go on for about 25 minutes as a sort of opening act for a headliner, who may be on stage for about an hour or more.

"There are comedians who need stage time to make it to the next level," Zuniga said. "They may be doing open mics all the time, but getting a stage show with people like Jersey that have been headlining for a while is good for them."

Zuniga said it takes a collaboration between comedians, promoters and venues to create a successful scene. In addition, he said, venues need to be dedicated to working to make comedy thrive.

It's a formula that the Why Not Lounge in Altamonte Springs has down to a science. Justin Williams, director of entertainment for Wyndham Hotels & Resorts Howard Johnson Plaza and Why Not Lounge, said it has been a venue for Bonkerz Comedy Club for the past two decades.

Williams said at the Why Not Lounge, the focus is on entertainment. Whereas most places are set up to be a restaurant or bar, he said, his venue is set up to entertain, and the bar and restaurant accommodate the entertainment.
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