Funny Business

Flint, secretary at Commerce Middle School, got the “wild hair” to do stand-up after 14 years with the Cold Sassy Players theater group, where she is co-author of several plays.

Eubanks, who owns Eubanks Pest Control, said he got the bug when he had a role in a production at Maysville Baptist Church.

“When I heard the reaction from the audience, that’s when I realized what I like – making an audience burst out in tears or in laughter, it’s a great feeling.”

He’s also active with the Cold Sassy Players.

Back in early June Flint got up the nerve to perform at The Punchline in Atlanta. Now she performs at least weekly at the Buford Variety Theater. Eubanks has performed mostly in his church — his goal is to be a “Christian comedian” — but he’s heading to Buford as well.

They’ll bring their talent home on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 18-19, in a pair of 7 p.m. performances at the Commerce Civic Center. Eubanks will host the two events, Flint will be the headliner and Steve Mills of Atlanta, a veteran stand-up, will be the “feature” act.

Tickets are $10 and are available at HR McGoo, Jay’s Department Store, the Commerce Downtown Development Authority office and CMC Consulting. Entry is limited to those 18-under and it’s a BYOB event. Eubanks will be on stage about 15 minutes, followed by Mills for about 30 minutes and then Flint for about an hour.

If Eubanks’ lips are moving, he’s looking for a laugh.

“The comedy really didn’t come about until my honeymoon,” he said. “…Whatever it was, I must have a knack for it.”

“I just like making people laugh or feel good,” he continued. “It’s just part of life, really. You can do whatever you want to in life. You can be a stick in the mud or laugh. I choose to laugh.”

He uses humor in radio commercials for Eubanks Pest Control.

“If (listeners) are sitting there enjoying a cup of coffee, I want them to spray that coffee across the room.”

After being “extremely nervous” in her first performance, Flint says she’s “getting more comfortable” on stage.

Her humor is adult-themed, but not vulgar, she explains. “It makes your mind wander.”

Eubanks nonetheless jokes that Flint “is in charge of offending people,” and Flint says Eubanks is likely to tell her, “you can’t say that,” when she tests a new joke.

“He’s wonderful at ad libbing,” Flint says of Eubanks. “So when we were looking for a host for this show, he was the first person I thought of.”

She noted that in the Cold Sassy Players show, “Got Talent?” Eubanks was the emcee and ad libbed all his comments.

Eubanks teaches youth Sunday school, and if a story seems inappropriate to tell at a church function, he doesn’t use it.

“What she says,” he says of Flint, “I ain’t saying. He adds that he’s “afraid to do something on stage a youth would see and be offended by because I was their teacher. I’m terrified by that.”

“I’ve never seen you come close to that,” Flint responded.

Flint filters her work through her husband, Kenny, who she says is fully supportive of her efforts at comedy.

“He has a wonderful sense of humor, but he would die performing in public,” she sys. “He edits – he’s really good.”

Likewise, Eubanks tries out material on his wife, Debbie.

Flint likes to tell stories. Eubanks recounts events — with major embellishment.

Both are constantly looking for a new line. When they hear something, they write it down in an ever-present notebook. Failing that, they call their homes and leave a message on the answering machine.

Sometimes a joke bombs. When that happens, Flint says she usually gets a laugh by saying, “Scratch that off the list,” and Eubanks accomplishes the same with “Save that one for the auxiliary ladies.”

What helps a show go well, they said, is to have one or two people who get tickled.

“Then the audience gets into it,” Flint said. “An audience with some alcohol, that helps.”

Eubanks agreed. “All you need is somebody who gets wasted,” he laughed

Eubanks said a night of comedy is about “forgetting your problems and having a little fun.”

They’re hoping a lot of people will avail themselves of the opportunity to do just that on Nov. 18-19. Proceeds of the event will go toward maintenance and repairs at the Commerce Cultural Center.