Scientist turned Comedian vs Engineer turned Comedian

I had been a subscriber to an email newsletter from funcheapsf.com for a couple of years now. One event from this week's contest piqued my interest. "Scientist-turned-comedian", the title read. The comedian, Tim Lee, had a PhD in biology, but now does stand up comedy.

The event was held at Le Petit Trianon theater. Located across the street from San Jose city hall, Le Petit Trianon was a beautifully decorated, classically looking theater. The atmosphere there was a step up from the more bar-like environment of a comedy club.

The show opened with a opening act, 2 middle acts and Tim. One of the middle guy, Norm, was pretty funny. He was introduced as a writer for Jay Leno, and it showed in some of his jokes. The other middle act, was too self deprecating for me and I did not enjoy it too much.

Since comedy would be funny only if unexpected, I would not describe any of the jokes here. However, I like to compare Tim Lee's material with Don McMillan.

Don was an engineer turned stand up comedian. I was at his show a couple of years ago and his opening jokes draw on his experience working in corporations. His prepared piece was not very technical at all and could be enjoyed by anyone. However, some of the material felt old and needed to be updated to appeal to younger audience.

Tim's setup was more technical. He would explain some scientific facts/definitions, and his punch line was usually applying some of this fact/definition in day to day life. Worried that this format might still be too boring, he broke the act up into several sections, and interspersed the act with some funny personal stories.

Both Don and Tim used Powerpoint in their presentation. I thought adding a visual element to standup routine was really entertaining. Also, both comedian kept their jokes relatively clean, so the material would have wider appeal.

I do enjoy the work of both Don McMillan and Tim Lee, but felt I like Tim's material better.

Here is a youtube clip of Tim Lee's performance. Enjoy!