Daily Inspiration: Meet Jared Berger

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jared Berger.

Hi Jared, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
We started as a small comedy troupe performing shows in various places and on multiple stages since the early 2000s. We had performed in the West End of downtown Dallas back when that was a thing. We did shows at Dave & Busters, Screen FX, The Factory Theater, and a monthly show at The Addison Improv Comedy Club. But after performing a few too many times at community theaters on stages with their current shows set on full display in the background, we realized we needed to find our place and provide our fans some consistency. Plus, if we had our place, we could accomplish more of our goal, which was to make live comedy more accessible to everyone and put more laughs and fun out into the world. It’s hard to say if we found McKinney or if McKinney found us, but we liked the idea, and soon, we were the very first and only business at 305 E—Virginia St. in historic downtown McKinney. We did show every Friday and Saturday night to a 40-seat audience and offered them sugary concessions in both liquid and solid form. We were BYOB, so we also sent a lot of business to the nearby gas station. We would teach comedy classes or hold private events on the other nights of the week.

After our 3-year lease was up, we resigned our lease again. About 2 days later, the world shut down for COVID-19. After we freaked out for 5 minutes, we remembered that we were improvisers and could think of something. And we did! So, we decided the show must go online! We figured out how to do comedy effectively on Zoom. I met many new fans in Ohio, the UK, and Australia. We also did a few outdoor comedy shows to allow local audiences to remain socially distant. While all that was happening, we took a risk and decided to take over the 2nd floor of 305 E. Virginia St. so that we could expand our mainstage showroom and add a kitchen and a bar. It was a big risk, but it paid off, and just this past year, we’ve opened up a comedy training center on the 3rd floor of our building so we can teach the skills we use on stage for people to use in life. From small stages to a 3 story comedy club ever since we opened, we’ve been taking our business to the next level.

It wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It’s always a challenging road. Comedy is subjective, so it sometimes hits differently with everyone. When we first opened, we had parking. Then, we lost parking for them to build a 5-story garage. We didn’t have a liquor license when we first opened (that’s changed since), plus the challenge of getting through COVID-19, all of the festivals that come through, and having to deal with blocked-off traffic to the club, there are always struggles. But the audience, performers, students, and staff support shine so bright we only sometimes focus on the struggles.

Thanks – so, what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
In our mission to make comedy accessible to everyone, The Comedy Arena is known for high-quality comedy shows on our mainstage featuring talent you might have seen on movies, TV, and online. We also offer comedy classes taught by seasoned and experienced instructors in our Training Center. Many of these students now perform regularly on our stage. An audience also knows us for our “pay what you want” events, including Open Mic nights, Improv Jam nights, and Karaoke nights. We’ve also had the excellent fortune of partnering with some fantastic clients to provide corporate training, team building, and private events in our venue or at theirs. Regarding private events, the club has hosted 3 weddings and 2 funerals, so we’re like a 1994 Hugh Grant movie in that respect. The crowd also enjoys frequenting the club because they like our food, drinks, and atmosphere. One thing that sets us apart is we can offer multiple co-occurring events, all within the same space, because we operate on 3 different floors. Only a few comedy clubs who provide what we do are more significant than 1 story, needless to say, 3 stories. We take comedy to the next level. Literally!

What do you think about happiness?
Giving people (audiences, students, staff, performers, and other artists) a fun place to live their best life and have a great night out. Seeing communities form on the foundation of laughter is rewarding. And, also, chocolate.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.thecomedyarena.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thecomedyarena
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheComedyArena
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-comedy-arena/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/thecomedyarena
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCkwgoIwlFDCQ1htSwIS_Jw
• Yelp: https://yelp.com/biz/the-comedy-arena-mckinney-2
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@thecomedyarena

Image Credits
Pictures taken by Von Daniel