By Greg Lehman
Published: September 22, 2009

By Greg Lehman
Daily Titan Staff Writer

The Skipper Stand-Up Comedy show at the Maverick Theater in Fullerton has showcased the comedic talents of a staple attraction at Disneyland for three years now.

The Jungle Cruise ride at Disneyland features skippers who guide a boat full of visitors through the dangers awaiting them in the Adventureland section of Disneyland. The job demands that skippers be performers in front of a new batch of strangers every time they set out on the river.

A high degree of confidence, energy and comedy are demanded of each skipper.

These also happen to be the requirements of anyone pursuing success in stand-up comedy.

The Maverick Theater show is the brainchild of producer, host and Vanguard history professor David Marley, 42, who graduated from Cal State Fullerton with his master’s degree in history in 1998.

“I had been doing stand-up for maybe about a year,” Marley said. “We were looking for new ideas, and I told my friends, ‘Hey, I used to work at Jungle Cruise for years, and those are the funniest people you’re going to meet. We should do a night of Jungle Cruise skippers.’”

The show was an immediate success, Marley said. “We did the show as a one-time-only lark, and we sold out. And now we’ve been doing it for three years. And every show we’ve ever had has sold out, so it’s just become this huge thing.”

The show involves five to seven skippers performing each night. While Marley acts as the host for the evening and introduces the comedians, each skipper performs their own original material in practiced routines, improvisations and video clips.

“About half the performers had never done stand-up comedy before, and (Brian Newell, owner of the Maverick Theater) didn’t believe they were brand new to it,” Marley said. “The Jungle Cruise gives them such great experience in all the tools of the trade of doing stand-up.”

Trevor Kelly has performed at all but one of the performances in the show’s three-year history.

“It’s just like the Jungle Cruise, except you can say whatever you want,” Kelly said.

“I’d done sketch comedy, and had a comedy Web site with a lot of the other skippers from Jungle Cruise (who have) never done stand-up,” Kelly, 26, said. “I figured, why not? It’s been fun.”

Kevin Lively, 24, has one year of experience performing at the Skipper Stand-Up show. “David’s really good at bringing comfort to the people who are kind of nervous,” Lively said.

Lively is currently an active skipper at Disneyland and also a human communications senior at Cal State Fullerton.

“It’s doing eight minutes on stage, just like you’re in a boat, except this is your material,” said Lively. “Everyone at the theater and the other performers are very encouraging. I don’t think anyone walks away having a negative experience.”
While the show has received offers from other venues, Marley said that the Maverick provides a perfect environment for the act.

With a free pass to say and do whatever they want, the theater gives the performers exactly what they need to perform at their best.

The show is also made affordable to everyone, with low ticket prices and no drink requirements.

“We just kind of keep it fun and bright and crazy,” Marley said. “It’s been a blast. I’ve been doing this for three years, and I never thought it would last this long. It just keeps getting better and more fun all the time.”

The next performance is scheduled for Sunday, Oct. 4, at 7 p.m. at the Maverick Theater. For more information visit http://www.skipperstandup.com/.