Comedy in Topeka is on the rise. Here's how to get some laughs around town.

The first laughs JaWon Wheat got on stage were during a talent show at Highland Park High School when he was a student there in 2014.

"That was my first time, and I still got footage of that," Wheat said Thursday night at The Foundry Event Center. "Blurry footage from my iPhone 4."

Since then, he sought out spots to work on his craft in Topeka and quickly came across Top City Comedy — a comedy showcase started in 2011.

"As soon as I graduated high school," Wheat said, "I started with them doing open mic nights at The Break Room, been with them ever since."

Laughter as medicine

Wheat was one of 14 comedians who participated in a comedy competition through Top City Comedy this past week.

Through a storytelling format, Wheat brings you into his life and makes you a part of it.

"I tell everyone, when you get on stage like this, what I do, I treat you all like family," he said.

During Thursday's show, his family was in the crowd and could be seen laughing along to a bit about his dad's truck.

"It's sometimes a sad sight," Wheat said, "but I put my twist on it because there's always a light in a situation."

Wheat said having opportunities to perform his comedy is what helps him get his mind right.

"I have severe anxiety and depression," he said. "This is my therapy."

Growing a scene

Vicki Trembly and Dan Shenck are the duo behind Top City Comedy.

Comics themselves, the two have been relentless in a pursuit of growing laughs in the Capital City.

"We just never shut up," Trembly told The Capital-Journal.

Since hosting their first open mics nights in 2011, Trembly and Shenck have continued to offer comedians and performers spots at various venues and shows across the city.

Thursday was their final third Thursday comedy competition of the year at The Foundry.

More than 50 people came out to watch each comic perform for six minutes before voting on their favorite at the end.

Ace, a comic from the Kansas City area, took home the top prize of $200, while Wheat placed second and won $100. Malik El-Amin, also from Topeka, placed third and won $50.

"Before when they first started the contest, it was just Topeka comedians," El-Amin said. "Now we're getting them from all over the Midwest."

Ace echoed El-Amin's sentiments.

"Everyone can relate to Midwest comedy," he said. "Whether you're living on the East Coast or the West Coast, I think you can if you have a family or if you're just out here living, you don't even need to have a family. Midwest comedy usually hits on all of that."

Throughout the contest, encouragement could be seen from the other comics. Some drive in from Lawrence, Kansas City and even Omaha, Nebraska.

Jay Patterson, who goes by the stage name "Just J," is somewhat of a standout as a 70-year-old in the Topeka open mic scene. He was in Thursday's lineup.

"I've been doing (comedy) for three years," Patterson said. "I started it during the pandemic."

Patterson said she's seen more younger comics coming up since she became involved.

"It's really been nice to watch them come up," she said.

"I struggle kind of fitting in, but that's OK," she said. "There's opportunities, there's studies, there's classes. Just do it. Not be afraid."

Where to find comedy

Besides the third Thursday shows, Top City Comedy puts on a regular open mic at Happy Basset Barrel House. It's the second and fourth Wednesdays of each month.

"It's kind of a different setup," Trembly said. "You got to learn how to get people's attention."

Top City Comedy has also hosted a televised comedy hour on Fox 43.

Chris Shultz, owner of 909 and 911 S. Kansas Ave., has hinted that he might bring live comedy back to downtown Topeka as well through his restaurant and nightclub concept revealed earlier this year.

To get on the mic yourself, Shenck and Trembly say the best thing to do is just try it out at one of their open mics.

"We've actually gotten a lot of our features and our headliners and things like that as they started as open mic’ers," Shenck said, "and then they just have gotten better and better and better and then pretty soon, man, they're actually getting more laughs."

To find their events, follow their Facebook page and website www.topcitycomedy.com for more.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Need a laugh? Top City Comedy is providing plenty at its shows