When laughter is not the best medicine, it can at least help pay for it.
Chris Cope, a local stand-up comedian, suffered an aortic aneurysm on Jan. 9. He was brought to a hospital in Harrisburg, Pa., to have open-heart surgery performed on him.
Members of the Gainesville Comedy Showcase, a group that has also performed shows for the Toys for Tots Foundation and the UF Music and Entertainment Industry Student Association, put together a benefit to help pay Cope’s medical bills. The group decided to roast Cope.
“A roast is an event to honor a comedian by insulting them and closing with a sincere and nice sentiment,” Cope said.
The roast was held Wednesday night in the crowded Mother’s Pub located on West University Avenue.
“The goal of the roast is to put on a show so people will drink,” said Cope, “and some of the money from drink sales will go directly to me.”
Brian Amos has been doing stand-up comedy for about a year and has known Cope for just as long.
“Helping out a friend is probably the best part of the event, but we do these roasts from time to time,” said Amos, “and it’s a fun way for the group to do something a little different than our normal sets.”
Sandra Mirocha, a fellow stand-up comedian with the University Stand-Up Comedy Club and the Gainesville Comedy Showcase, has also known Cope for almost one year.
“This is sort of the equivalent of appreciating someone more when you’ve realized you almost lost them,” Mirocha said.
Amos said the members of the Gainesville Comedy Showcase are considered to be “pretty tight-knit, so we’ve all performed together, and most of us spend time together outside of shows, too.”
While the roast was all about the insults, it was also about Cope and his friends.
“We always try to one-up each other by being as funny as possible,” said Amos, “but this is us directly doing so by seeing who can insult the rest of the group best.”
“The best part of a roast is that you get a group of comedians you know and respect and they rip you apart, but it’s all in good fun,” Cope said.
Cope has been performing stand-up for seven years and said that he plans to be “back on the road traveling and working for a living in a few months.”
