“Right before I started doing comedy, I was in community college in Philadelphia,” says comedian Big Jay Oakerson. “I had my niche: some guys are great athletes; some are a lady’s man. I was the funny guy.”
He never gave performing much thought until he ran into an old friend from high school.
“We started talking and she said she was disappointed in me. She always thought I’d end up doing comedy. By chance I was with my buddy the next day, buying sneakers, and I saw a comedy club that was having an open mic. I fell in love with it immediately.”
Onstage these days, he’s much more of a storyteller who lets the audience guide him.
“That’s what I sometimes advise younger comics to do,” he says. “Learn how to relate something to a room full of people and make them laugh.”
7:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 1; 7:30 and 10 p.m. Friday, Aug. 2; 7 and 10 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 3. $17-$47. Funny Bone Liberty, 7518 Bales St., Liberty Township, liberty.funnybone.com.
