Weekly comedy open mic starts in Sylva

No Name Comedy — a new, weekly, Monday-night comedy open mic — kicked off Monday, Aug. 22 at 8 p.m. at the No Name Sports Pub in Sylva. Anyone is welcome to sign up and perform.

“We want to provide a place West of Asheville for people to enjoy and perform comedy,” said Tom Scheve, a writer and performer who edits “Asheville Disclaimer”, a weekly satirical feature in Mountain Xpress. “We encourage anyone from Haywood County, Jackson County, Swain County and beyond to come out, enjoy a craft beer on the patio next to the river, and check out some free hit-and-miss comedy on Monday nights at the No Name riverpub.”

No Name Comedy is co-produced by Sylva performer Shucky Blue (“As seen on Facebook,” he boasts).

Scheve, who co-produces Disclaimer Stand-up Lounge in Asheville on Wednesdays as well as Disclaimer Underground Comedy at Asheville’s The Magnetic Field, said he performs several times a week, which ultimately led to his decision to start an open mic closer to his current home in Cruso.

“If I want to perform on a Monday night, I have to drive almost two hours one-way to Greenville, S.C., where some friends of mine run an excellent mic,” Scheve said. “But I needed something closer to home. Then I came across Sylva’s No Name riverpub, and I knew if a comedy open mic could make it anywhere outside of Asheville, it was there.”

“That,” Scheve adds, “and Waffle House said, ‘No.'”

Scheve and Blue hope the weekly event attracts a mix of “river hippies, burn-outs, failed academic-types, refugees, mountain-bred ne’er-do-wells, doctors and nurses who have grown to dislike their patients, and hilarious marijuana farmers.”

No Name Comedy open mic will occur every Monday at 8 p.m. on the outdoor patio of the No Name Sports Pub. First-time performers are always welcome, as are more experienced performers who need a venue to work on their material. There is no cover (“and no promises,” adds Scheve).

“We hope to build a weird little live comedy scene out here on Monday nights, and we need witnesses because I have a good feeling there’s going to be police reports,” said Scheve.

No Name Sports Pub is located at 1070 Skyland Drive, Sylva, NC 28779. It can be reached by phone at 828-586-2750 or online at www.nonamesportspub.com.

For more information about the Monday comedy open mic, find “No Name Comedy” on Facebook or call Tom Scheve at (828) 216-2331.