IU Comedian returns to Bear’s

“I ask girls ‘What is the sexiest thing a guy could do to get a girl?’” IU alumnus Brain Watts told the Bear’s Place Ale House and Eatery crowd Monday night.

“They said chase after your career,” Watts said. “So that’s why I am here tonight – to be sexy.”

A young crowd filled the tables, booths and even church pews that make up Bear’s Place’s back room, which is the site for the bi-weekly Comedy Caravan show.

Stephanie Wagner, the host of the comedy show, hushed the crowd as the lights lowered, and Watts took the same stage where he started his stand-up career shortly after graduating in 2008.

Watts’ routine touched on Subway shops, being a new uncle and his parents, who were also in the audience.

He made fun of words found on Web sites such as urbandictionary.com and other odd words that, if said with authority, will not be questioned.  

“I was a tour guide while I was here at Indiana and girls would come ask where the health center was, and I would tell them, ‘It’s just pollywompus from the Herman B Wells Library.’”

Watts also laughed at the texting trend of using acronyms. He pointed out that a simple “lol” doesn’t actually mean ”laughing out loud” the way an all caps “LOL” means actually “laughing out loud.”

“Ladies, next time just be honest, reply with ‘twkfbnttpwillol,’” he said, or in other words: “that was kinda funny but not to the point where I literally laughed out loud.”

Daniel Hiester, a 2006 IU graduate, was in the audience to support Watts, whom he met when they lived in the same dorm during Watts’ freshman year.

“He was one of the nicest guys you could meet – especially in a dorm,” Hiester said.
Whitney Buccicone, an IU alumna and Hiester’s wife, said Watts was determined to move to Los Angeles and “nothing we could say to him could daunt him. He has a dream, and he is following it.”

Watts, who does stand-up comedy one or two nights a week at Los Angeles venues such as The Comedy Store and Improv Comedy Club planned to head straight to the airport after his show to arrive in time for a casting call-back Tuesday.

“Ultimately I’d like to be a TV writer, comedian, actor – not a real actor. I just like being funny,” Watts said. “One day, if I do make it big, it would be fun to say this is where I started. I do like this place.”