Working funny

Why wait for the weekend? Milwaukee has comedy for you right away to start the week.

For free, you can check out the Mellow Monday Comedy Showcase at 7 p.m., Monday, Oct. 21, at INdustri Café, 545 S. 2nd St.

Tom Grimm will be the emcee, with performances by

  • Ryan Mason
  • Ryan Lowe
  • Liza Marie
  • Sammy Arechar
  • Tim Hunter
  • Gary Zaj
  • Jason Hillman
  • Tyler Menz and
  • Adam Loeding

And don’t be surprised if you see some of the same comedians developing further material at the Comedy Show Comedy Show Open Mic at 8 p.m., Monday, Oct. 21. That’s also free, and it’s at the Bremen Café, 901 E. Clarke St.

But don’t stay out too late. Pace yourself. It’s only Monday, for Pete’s sake. And a lot of these same comedians will be attending the second bi-weekly workshop known as The Writers Block. They’ll be getting together to share deep discussions on the word choices and other craftwork that help make them funny.

That starts at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 22, at the Underground Collaborative, 161 W. Wisconsin Ave., lower level.