FARM TO STAGE: Local Comedian Wayne Dallman to Headline First Comedy Gig in E.C.
local Clear Water comic is no stranger to the stage, but he will be hitting the stage as headliner for the first time
Growing up on a dairy farm and subsequently earning an education degree at UW-Eau Claire, Wayne Dallman always admired the on-screen stage performers who stole scenes such as Chris Farley, Adam Sandler, Dana Carvey, and David Spade on the iconic weekly late-night show Saturday Night Live. During some of his formative years, Dallman took the stage in an essential role in the lives of students as a special education teacher. Now, stepping away from the classroom, Dallman is ready for his center-stage comedy showcase at The Plus in downtown Eau Claire, where he will headline a show on Aug. 5.
Dallman’s comedy calling in Eau Claire came back in 2015 when he encountered an article in Volume One regarding a local group in town that had started an open mic at The Plus.
“I went to check it out. I don’t know what I was expecting going into it, but it exceeded my expectations. For the first time, I saw a group of people who were clearly as nerdy about comedy as I was,” Dallman said. “They were very funny. They were super nice, and they tolerated a 35-year-old dude hanging around like an estranged uncle who showed up at your college graduation and wants to be friends now.”
From there the stage was set. Dallman began writing jokes. Well, not good ones.
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It isn’t really a joke until an audience laughs at it. Until then, it’s just really bad ideas on a yellow pad.
Wayne dallman
local comedian
“They just weren’t any good because they weren’t ‘audience approved.’ It isn’t really a joke until an audience laughs at it. Until then, it’s just really bad ideas on a yellow pad,” Dallman said.
Dad jokes perhaps? As a father of four, Dallman balances work life (Dallman Insurance Agency) with his family life, and his comedy. Fatherhood is his number one responsibility at the moment, but he hopes to, in the future, be able to give back to the area’s comedy scene that has given so much to him.
That “scene” in Eau Claire was largely assisted by the establishment of the Clear Water Comedy collective in 2012 by Cullen Ryan, an Eau Claire producer, and comic. Ryan says that Clear Water Comedy really took hold in the community in 2015 when The Plus started hosting weekly open mics and eventually recurring comedy showcases.
Ryan first encountered Dallman at a children’s soccer match which both of their little ones participated in, where Dallman was overheard talking to another dad about his interest in the comedy open mics at The Plus. Dallman showed up to the next open mic, and the rest, as they say, is history. Since then, a personal and professional relationship has flourished.
“Cullen Ryan is one of the hardest working, most caring, intelligent – not to mention hilarious – gifts the Half Moon Lake Gods could ever have bestowed upon this town,” Dallman declared. He also credits the building and maintenance of Eau Claire’s comedy scene to a dedicated group of people who continue to book and produce shows in the area.
Since cutting his proverbial comedy teeth at the Clear Water Comedy open mics, Dallman has opened for comedians who have come to town such as Charlie Berens at Schofield Auditorium, Nate Craig at Wissota View and Brickhouse, and Michael Palascak at The Plus. Now, ready with an arsenal of jokes (dad-style and otherwise), Dallman is poised to stand up and take the stage for his first headlining showcase.
Wayne Dallman will headline at The Plus, 208 S. Barstow St., Eau Claire, on Saturday, Aug. 5. Visit Clear Water Comedy’s Facebook and The Plus’s Facebook for more information. Tickets will be available to purchase soon.
