Two LSU students are helping the community recover from recent devastating events by encouraging people to laugh through the pain.
Best friends Nam Vu and O’mar Finley have been doing comedy together for almost a year now.
The duo started off performing every week at local venues’ open-mic nights before their first appearance at a venue called The Guru located on Government Street. Vu said that the venue liked them so much the owners offered them a permanent gig.
Since then, Finley, a digital media arts graduate student, and Vu, a computer science student, have started their own comedy show called “NO show” which they perform once a month at The Guru.
The comedians had the idea to combine their first initials to create the title of their show.
Finley and Vu had their first show in May, and according to the comedians, it has since been a huge success. After their first show, Vu said that he realized that “this comedy show was going to be bigger than I could imagine.”
The show has a natural comedic chemistry because the comedians are best friends and understand each other’s senses of humor, Finley said.
Vu and Finley have had several comedians featured at their shows including local comedians Reggie Raw, Tim Smith, Mike Honore and Howard Hall.
Even though the comedians have had great success, they have remained humble.
Because Finley and Vu are Baton Rouge residents, they felt compelled to help the community after the devastating flood in August. The comedians were able to raise almost $500 to donate to the American Red Cross during that month’s show.
Finley said he thinks their comedy show is important to the community because Baton Rouge has had a “long and eventful summer” and he believes that their show will help unite the community. For this reason, they will also be hosting a roast in December. They will donate all of the proceeds to three charities.
Finley said Baton Rouge is a great place to live and he believes that their comedy show is a great way to showcase local talent.
“I just want our comedy show to be something that the community can be proud of and look forward to every month,” Finley said.
They also agreed that they plan on expanding their show to New Orleans, and they are constantly aiming to improve.
Their next show is Monday, Sept. 19.