There is no shortage of stand-up in Orlando. You can see our local comics cycle through venues across town any day of the week, so when a new show pops up, what makes it one to watch?
At Smile City Comedy Show in Maitland, the answer begins with how the night is framed.
Producer and host Robbie Toussaint, whose stage name is Rob Smiles, makes a point of setting expectations before the show begins. “These are just jokes,” he tells the crowd. “Don’t take anything too seriously.”
The point is to open up the floodgates, eschewing political correctness.
“I let comedians be themselves on my show,” Toussaint says. “I don’t put pressure on people when they perform. … It’s a safe space for them.”
That approach tends to loosen things up. Comics are less likely to stick to their safest material and more likely to take risks or try something new. For an adventurous audience, the payoff is a wild ride of a night.
Smile City Comedy Show is a recent monthly addition at Maitland’s Good Times Bar & Grill. The third installment is on Thursday, April 30.
The showcase features a cadre of performers, each getting about 10 minutes at the mic, which keeps the lineup moving and gives the night a steady rhythm. Thursday’s show will include Alina Valley, Alina Siddiqui, Robin Love, Patrick Cisk, Ivan Bropane and Robert Green.
Toussaint started doing stand-up around 2015, took breaks while studying acting, and committed fully upon graduating from the University of Central Florida in 2020. Now, he is performing locally and on the road and producing the Smile City Comedy Show monthly, handling everything from booking to setup to running the door, while building the show into a regular fixture.
The room is capped at around 100 people, which gives the show a level of intimacy lost in a large venue. Toussaint also mixes in giveaways throughout the night, including tickets and merchandise, to keep the energy up between sets.
7 p.m. Thursday, April 30, Good Times Bar & Grill, 1720 Fennell St., Maitland, $16.05.
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