Ha Ha’s, Hellos and Goodbyes

By John Showalter

This coming weekend marks another turning point for the Fargo comedy scene. On the evenings of Sept. 25 and 26, the Hotel Radisson downtown will be hosting the grand opening of its new Level 2 Comedy Club with a show headlined by stand-up comedian Al Jackson of Comedy Central, TBS, BBC and Showtime fame.

Not only that, but the event will be featuring the comedy stylings of our very own Adam Quesnell and Janna Syverson, who will be performing one last grand hurrah before they set off to Minneapolis for further adventures in stand-up. Of course this is after they planted the seed for the burgeoning comedy scene in Fargo.

Before 2009, if someone were to mention comedy hot-spots, Fargo would not be the first location to jump to mind. There were perhaps only one or two regularly scheduled open mic events in town and they weren’t even necessarily devoted to comedy. According to Quesnell, “Open Mic’ers would take over the Red Raven music open mic, and Courtney's Comedy Club (the club that I owe so much of the last six years to) was just about to start running their open mic twice a month. Twice a month. That was it.”

However, Quesnell has had a passion for comedy ever since he was a kid listening to his dad’s Steve Martin albums, graduating on to include the likes of Steven Wright, George Carlin and comedians such as Maria Bamford and Louis C.K., who use their comedy to battle their insecurities and social anxiety, something that really resonates within him. After writing down his own jokes for 10 to 15 years, he decided to find an opportunity to exercise his talents.

Things started off with a one-off show at The Aquarium in 2009 but Quesnell wasn’t sure how to plug himself. After a few false starts he really got his act underway that December with help and information from friends and MCs at Courtney’s Comedy Club in Moorhead. “I wouldn’t take all the credit,” Quesnell said, citing JD Provorst, William Spottedbear, Nick Wieme and Ben Baukol as other integral figures and fellow comedians who pushed for a larger scene and more open mic opportunities in the area. “It was a collaborative effort.”

It was during one of the open mic events at the Red Raven about four years ago that Quesnell met his good friend Janna Syverson, who will be hosting the opening show at the Level 2 Comedy Club. She started performing at the open mics after seeing the ads outside the establishment. When the two met up a friendship quickly sparked, which would also bring forth a fruitful collaboration between the two as aspiring comics.

Given their excellent comedy track record in the Fargo-Moorhead area, one might wonder why the two have decided to head to Minneapolis. There are several reasons. First, Quesnell has gotten engaged to his fiancée Brittany Ordahl and wants to go live with her. Also, Quesnell and Syverson, despite loving their experiences making people laugh in Fargo, see a larger playing field for continuing their comedic careers in the more populous Minneapolis. It’s also the location of Stand Up! Records, with whom Quesnell has already recorded a comedy album.

Do they think the comedy scene in Fargo will continue to live on in their absence? Absolutely. Quesnell especially believes that the local college-age demographic has real potential to break out into doing stand-up in what’s essentially a lower-pressure environment than a major city. That’s not to say that people of all ages can’t break into the scene. Their advice for aspiring comics in the F-M area? Syverson says it’s important to keep supporting the local comedy scene and patronizing the various open mics around here. Quesnell is inclined to agree with that and also suggests visiting them as often as possible, but not to expect instant success.So what kind of stand-up can we expect from our comedic alumni at the event? Quesnell likes to make his humor goofy but true to life experiences. He says that he doesn’t think of himself as an “R-rated comic” but that his material can certainly be profane. Syverson makes wry, abstract observations about life, coupled with joking about the stereotypes surrounding her identity as a lesbian Native American. For example, “I’m a lesbian, but I don’t particularly like that term: I prefer singer-songwriter.”