Drift Roberts performed at Zorn Arena with Bo Burnham last year.

In my hometown of Peoria, Ill., I’ve logged dozens of hours on stage at the Jukebox Comedy Club. I started doing standup there the week I turned 17. In addition to performing across the Midwest, I’ve continued to do comedy locally not just at the Jukebox, but also in a friend’s basement, a brewery, a karaoke saloon, a coffeeshop, a biker festival headlined by the Little River Band, a buffet table without a microphone at a fancy restaurant, a rock club, a sports coliseum for 1,500 people, and in a small town bar on a stage made with 2x4’s that same day.

I’ve acted in pilots, films, shorts, and a commercial. I’ve played music on the streets and rapped on my high school news program. Despite these hundreds of local performances, you’re reading my publication debut in a magazine six hours away from where I live, in a city I first visited to open for Bo Burnham last February.

I think Eau Claire is the best comedy city without a comedy club in the country. They provide an inclusive space that attracts intelligent young people, and it has everything a scene needs to thrive.

On March 4, I’ll be making my third trip to Eau Claire to perform at one of the best comedy shows I know of between New York and L.A. I’ll be there on a Friday because I’m big-time show-business, but it normally takes place every Thursday night at The Plus. It’s reasonable to pose the question, “What does a pizza place in Wisconsin have over some of the best known comedy venues in the country?”

I first found out I’d be coming to Eau Claire while in L.A. I went to the Comedy Store that night to see some people I had performed with in Peoria – Mary Lynn Rajskub, Tom Rhodes, and Joe Kilgallon. But when I arrived, I got invited to do a spot upstairs in the Belly Room instead.

I spent the next two hours watching the most misogynistic, racist, hackneyed show I’ve seen in my life, in front of a slowly dwindling crowd. My friend and I felt physically uncomfortable, and we were surrounded by bitter, toxic comics backstage. My name was announced along with, “He’ll be on the road with Bo Burnham next week!” and I walked onstage as the last two audience members stood up to walk out. I never had grandiose expectations for my Hollywood debut, but this wouldn’t have met my expectations for even my earliest karaoke saloon appearances.

A week later, I came to Eau Claire and my favorite porn star followed me on Twitter minutes before I walked onstage at the Zorn Arena. It felt amazing. That’s not how most shows go when you’re beginning to travel for comedy. Most of the time, you’re thankful for gas money and a meal. Eau Claire was my favorite road experience anywhere, until I came back two months later with my friends Jeff Bailey and Courtney Bennett to do a show with Clear Water Comedy.

Clear Water Comedy is a collective of comics in the Eau Claire area. I think it’s the best comedy city without a comedy club in the country. They provide an inclusive space that attracts intelligent young people, and it has everything a scene needs to thrive.

The love and respect performers have for the show and each other is openly displayed. After every show, each performer gathers outside and participates in “Fingers.” That’s where comics gather in a circle, touch fingertips, and close their eyes until they feel something.

Well, I felt something. It wasn’t just elation from an audience member giving me $40 and a bag of Adderall for my pay-what-you-want-for-it merch. It was knowing that Eau Claire is a place where things too good to imagine elsewhere happen and people are open and kind.

Drift Roberts, Whitney Chitwood, and Jeff Bailey will bring their comedy tour through The Plus in downtown Eau Claire on Friday, March 4.