Oxford Comedy Collective poses backstage at their first show. Submitted photo.
Kiffin roast pokes fun and raises funds for former Ole Miss player
by Allison Estes
Walt Karr has a serious side quest: comedy.
“From an early age, I’ve always liked to laugh and I’ve always liked to make people laugh,” Karr said. “From the first time I tried it, I was hooked. I knew that was something I wanted to do.”
When he’s not busy with his day job, Karr performs stand-up and produces comedy events. His next project is “The Roast of Lane Kiffin” Wednesday, September 16 at The Lyric Oxford. Doors open at 6:30 pm for the 7 pm show. Admission is $25, or $40 for the balcony. The lineup includes Memphis comedians Colton Ales, Ryan Bush, and Hayden McOlgan, along with Oxford’s own Ayric Bradley and Chris Green, with Karr hosting.
“Cassius Ware gave everything he had when he wore the uniform and he’s always been a champion for the university football program and the community of Oxford,” Karr said. “Now he’s going through something much bigger than football, and we wanted to use the attention surrounding the roast to do some good and show support for Cassius and his family.
“At the end of the day football is what brings us a lot of us together, but taking care of people in our community is more important than a football game.”
Karr has been interested in comedy since before he could drive. But as a kid growing up in Batesville, his exposure to stand-up was limited to what was available on cassette tapes, DVDs and TV. For Karr, that amounted to comedian Jerry Clower, “the Mouth of Mississippi,” Rudy Ray Moore’s “Dolemite,” and Larry the Cable Guy and the Blue Collar Comedy Tour with Bill Engvall, Ron White, and Jeff Foxworthy.
“It used to be 30 years ago in comedy, you had to have an album,” Karr said. “Jerry Clower at one time, and may still be, was the highest selling artist of any genre, including music, on his record label.”
Karr never outgrew that fascination with comedy. As an adult, he still had a hankering to try doing stand-up himself, and started looking for opportunities. Eventually he found one in Oxford: An Instagram search led him to an open mic night at Moe’s Penny Bar on Wednesday nights.
“I did about 60 seconds worth of really bad jokes,” Karr said. “And I got maybe one laugh. But that one laugh — I said, ‘Ah, I like this!’.”
That first gig might not have gone as well as expected, but it connected him with others in the Oxford comedy scene and he continued to develop his stand-up skills at Moe’s and wherever he could take the stage.
“The comedy scene in Oxford has been a really good place as far as opportunities, open mics, things like that,” Karr said.
Does he get laughs now?
“I hope so,” Karr said. “I’m really hard on myself, but yeah, I hope I’ve gotten a lot better. I definitely have more than 60 seconds worth of material!”
Karr has progressed from performing to producing shows in North Mississippi, Senatobia, and Batesville, including pop-up comedy shows. And when Moe’s shelved the comedy night in favor of a music open mic night, Karr and four other local comedians got together and formed Oxford Comedy Collective, with the goal of expanding the comedy community in Oxford and North Mississippi. In April, they started doing shows and also offering free comedy workshops at The Powerhouse and the Lafayette County Arena. In August, the Collective had a show at Proud Larry’s, with an open mic afterward. The Yoknapatawpha Arts Council has helped the Collective apply for grants, though they haven’t yet received any.
What’s next for Karr and comedy in Oxford? Oxford Comedy Collective is producing monthly shows, and Karr said he plans to produce more shows locally — the Kiffin Roast is his latest independent production.
“We’re building a scene where we’re watching it grow,” Karr said. “It’s already growing for us. There’re new people coming to join the Collective. They’re coming to hang out with us and learn more about it and take part. And that’s really what we need.”
The Collective’s unofficial roster includes Jeff Adams, Lucian Blackbourn, Ayric Bradley, Chris Green, Keenen Darnell Kareem, Walt Karr, Connor King, Jake Purvis, Glisto Rice, and Shay Shuffield. Anyone 18 and older is welcome — to join or find out more about workshops and shows, follow Karr and Oxford Comedy Collective on Instagram at @WaltKarrComedy and @LaughOxford.
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