“It’s a dojo, not a deathmatch,” Ben Brown says.
Ben’s talking about Comedy Rumble, a high-energy, bracket-style stand-up comedy competition where eight comedians face off, each getting one minute to win over the audience and advance to the next round.
Comedy Rumble was born out of Ben’s desire to provide a platform for new, hungry comedians to refine their work. “We’re going there to practice to develop our craft,” he says, “recognizing that we’re not there yet.”
But its purpose runs deeper than that. Ben believes comedy has the power to heal the world.
“As a society, we have a lot to deal with,” Ben says. His solution? Humor. “It helps you see the world in a softer, gentler way.”
That was certainly true for Ben growing up. As a child in small-town Wyoming, he lived in a restrictive, isolated compound. “I liked laughing,” Ben remembers. “And I noticed that it was a way to sort of dissolve some of the tension that existed in my world.”
Before he left that world to become a lawyer, he didn’t even know what stand-up was. But once he found out, he left behind his upbringing to follow that calling.
“I decided… this is what I want to do with this life that I have,” Ben says, “and I want to do it in a way that is connected to my values as a person and that is a gift to the wider community.”
In January 2024, Ben hosted an open mic night at Wise Guys. He noticed something: every comic, no matter how funny they were, received the same amount of stage time. “A show is about collectively building energy together,” he says. “If somebody gets up and isn’t funny for three minutes, that will kill the room.” In the first 30 seconds of each set, Ben says, the audience decides whether or not they’ll tune in for the rest.
“The audience needs to feel that connection to the heart,” he explains. “If you feel that connection to the heart, and you feel safe, you've agreed to laugh” for the rest of the set.
At the same time, Ben remembered his time as a young comedian without much stage time. He says you can’t just practice lines in a closet. “You have to have that feedback from the crowd.”
Combining this thought with the recollection of his bracket-style college debate team, Ben created Comedy Rumble, a place for comedians to practice their craft while giving the audience a show guaranteed to keep their attention.
And that energy is catching on. In its first year, Comedy Rumble hosted more than 50 shows, giving stage time to more than 300 new comedians.
And it’s not slowing down.
With regular shows already happening in Salt Lake City and Las Vegas, Ben has his sights set on more. “I see this as a national project,” he says. “It's going to grow into a rumble in every major city with a national championship.” Most recently, Comedy Rumble came to Jordan Landing in September, and continues every Friday. Soon, it'll reach Seattle, Phoenix, and Denver.
Ben says people often look down on those who make light of things, but he sees it differently. “Making light literally means bringing light into darkness,” Ben says. “That’s what we’re doing… We do have serious problems to solve. But if we can take those problems a little less seriously, we can all breathe and relax. And if we can all breathe and relax, we can actually connect with other humans.”
Comedy Rumble is designed to give the audience that connection while allowing comedians to sharpen their superpower of humor.
Making light literally just means bringing light into darkness