Photo provided Brent Terhune will perform at the Pump Up the Laughs comedy show at the Upland Columbus Pump House on Feb. 7.
A new series of comedy shows with the theme “Pump Up the Laughs” at the Upland Columbus Pump House will begin Feb. 7 with a show featuring Hoosier comedian Brent Terhune.
The new series is sponsored by the Office of Downtown Development with support from the Columbus Area Arts Council and Landmark Columbus Foundation. Series producer Mat Alano Martin, who is also the co-founder of the Limestone Comedy Festival, said Landmark Columbus Foundation Executive Director Richard McCoy reached out to him last year and asked if he wanted to help put together a comedy show for the 2024 Exhibit Columbus Symposium “Yes And” event.
Seeing the success from that show, Martin said McCoy wanted to continue the conversation to bring more comedy to Columbus. The two visited multiple sites to see which would be perfect for the series, with the Upland Columbus Pump House being their last stop. Martin said he immediately knew their basement space would be the perfect comedy club.
“It’s just intimate, there’s a low ceiling which is something that you want in comedy clubs. It just was immediately apparent like this is the home run, this is what we want,” Martin said. “So, I’m excited to put on shows in that space because I do think there is a little bit of magic to the physical dimensions and physical space where you put a comedy show on that can really heighten it. You can do it anywhere, you can do comedy anywhere, but if it’s in the right room, it just makes it to that whole other level and this room feels like that room to me.”
Terhune, a comedian from Indianapolis who has been doing comedy for almost 20 years, was also named Variety’s Comic to Watch in 2020 and has been a writer on the Bob & Tom Show for more than 10 years.
Terhune described his upcoming show as being PG-13 including comedy centered around his family and his cats. He said he will also perform his popular character where he rants about current events, in addition to some new material.
“… it’s going to be fun, it’s going to be silly and it’s going to be a chance to not have to think about the rest of the world for 90 minutes,” Terhune said.
Terhune will also be joined by opening act Shanda Sung from Bloomington, who has traveled throughout the Midwest performing stand-up in clubs, bars and wineries. She has also been featured on the album “On Tour Live” from Bloomington, has appeared on Vice TV and has a comedy special out on YouTube called “Pickles.”
Martin said he would love for “Pump Up the Laughs” to become a known and regular series in both the Columbus community and the comedy community. Terhune said people should attend the show because they will have a great evening out and because everyone needs to have fun in Columbus.
“It’s a local thing that you can support and when you do come out and support local stuff like that and the venue has a good turnout, they’re more willing to do it again and you build something up in your community that then you don’t have to go to another city to experience the same thing,” Terhune said.
Two shows are available Feb. 7 at 7 p.m. and at 9 p.m. Tickets for both shows are $15 and can be purchased at eventbrite.com. Table service will also available with a two-item limit in the show room.
