Dublins’s Irish Pub brings the community together to heal and connect every Thursday at their open mic standup comedy show. This event has been recurring for 15 years and there are the same familiar faces every week on the stage. With talent ranging from ages 19 to 67, there is a punchline for all audience members. 

The event on Feb. 22 was hosted by a UMD freshman, Breckken Thompson. Thompson has done standup for four months. He has already climbed his way to hosting the event. 

“Nobody else wants to host, so they make me do it,” Thompson said jokingly. 

The event is sponsored by Twin Ports Comedy, a local comedy club. Many of the performers at the show are a part of the group. As the comics got to know each other more and the art of comedy, a healing process began.

“I have used comedy to help me get over things that have happened to me in my life,” Dustin Fawcett, a long-term performer at the event said. “Being able to joke about it, it loses its power.”  

To crack a joke is to look at the brighter things in life. Comedy heals the soul just as much as it heals the body. Laughter is the funniest natural pain reliever the body has! 

This event was therapeutic on both sides of the stage as endorphins filled the room. 

Not only does humor heal individuals, but it is also what connects them. Out of the different walks of life, there is one commonality: comedy. 

“Nobody looks like me, nobody looks like anyone else but we all crack jokes together, hang out together, we all help each other out” Nana Kwarteng, a former UMD student said. “I think that is the most special part about comedy. It doesn't matter who you are, how old you are, what you look like, where you're from, sexual orientation, anything. We all just have one thing in common and it bonds us together.”

Everyone at the event comes to have a good time and to share a laugh. Shared laughter is what connects people together by building a sense of like-minded interests. 

With the sound of laughter and sight of smiling faces, this environment welcomes all. 

Before Kwarteng set foot on the stage, he was in the audience with friends. Standup was always something that interested Kwarteng, but it wasn’t until he saw the inclusive community that Twin Ports Comedy and Dublins built together. 

Like Kwarteng, many comics got their start in stand-up doing this event. Twin Ports Comedy is always looking for more comics and urges those considering to just try it out! What’s the worst that could happen?

Dublin’s holds this event every Thursday at 8 p.m. and the mic is open for anyone to use. Whether on the stage or in the crowd, it is always a good time. 

This is a space created for healing, celebrating talent, and building new connections. Thanks to comedy, it makes doing those three things a bit easier!