DECIDING on a career in comedy took some soul-searching for standup Mike Betancourt, who headlines "A Special Night of Comedy" this week at Sonoma Chicken Coop. Betancourt, who was born and raised in San Jose, served in the Navy from 1999 until 2004 on the USS Theodore Roosevelt during the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. After the Navy, he attended West Valley College for two years before switching to Sacramento City College for a semester. When he finished college, he chose to begin a career in comedy instead of going to UC-Davis. "The decision between comedy or school was not easy; it took me two years to make my final choice," says Betancourt.
Since then, Betancourt has been performing comedy for five years at venues in the Bay Area along with a few tours in Washington and Oregon and a stop in Reno. He is recording his appearance this week to use on a comedy album that he will produce independently; it will be distributed through CD Baby on iTunes and XM Radio by next year.
The night will also feature Bay Area comic Sean Stryker, along with Scotch Wichmann and KayDee Kersten from Evil Twins Comedy. Stryker has been performing for seven years and was a semifinalist at the Avalon Comedy Competition in 2004. Wichmann was a semifinalist at the 2009 Battle of the Bay comedy competition and has toured with Kersten.
MIKE BETANCOURT performs A SPECIAL NIGHT OF COMEDY on Thursday (Nov. 12) at 8pm at the Sonoma Chicken Coop, 200 E. Campbell Ave., Campbell. Tickets are $5. (408.866.2699)
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