Tucson comedian turning hosting gig into recording project

Tucson comedian Josiah Osego hasn’t been in comedy long enough nor traveled wide enough to land the coveted headliner or featured role at Laffs Comedy Caffé.

But he has an idea how to change his ha-ha fortunes this weekend: capture all that funny — the stories about being part of a family dynamic with his longtime girlfriend and her young daughter; the trials, tribulations and devils lurking from a drug past; and his newfound role as the adult in the room in a family dynamic that has seen some pretty dark downs — onto a recording when he hosts four Laffs shows.

But here’s the thing about “hosting” a show at Laffs compared to being the “headliner” or “featured” comedian: You get only a few minutes of stage time in between introducing the comedians to showcase your own talents.

So the 31-year-old Osego — a regular presence at Laffs and at Tucson open mic nights including at Frog & Firkin’, Mint Cocktails and Mr. Heads, which recently stopped its Wednesday night open mics — decided he’d get a little creative.

Over four shows this weekend — two apiece on Friday, May 12, and Saturday, May 13 — Osego will record his monologues and opening bits, which he plans to edit into a 30-minute recording.

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That means that for every show — 8 and 10:30 p.m. each night — he will perform new material.

Osego, whose busy schedule includes a full-time job in behavioral health, going to school — he graduates on Friday — comedy gigs and juggling a long-distance relationship with his girlfriend and her young daughter, has had to come up with some new material.

You’ll hear him delve into those drug-addled years that included living and socializing in the Santa Cruz River. He also will likely bring up his family life. He might even talk about recently running a red light and getting pulled over with a van full of people heading to drug treatment. And there could be some anecdotes from appearing Thursday, May 11, on comedian Anwar Newton’s late-night comedy show “This Week Sucks, Tonight!” at the Crescent Ballroom in Phoenix.

Osego is hoping to use the recording as a calling card of sorts, a way to get his comedy out there, which he hopes will lead to one day soon ending up on the Laffs marquee as the headliner.