Gnandt living double life to make dream come true

"Comic Capers"
By RODNEY BENGSTON

Oct. 28, 1999

Shawn Gnandt is leading a double life.

Sometimes he works as a doorman at the Cleveland Improv. Other times, he's on the road, trying to make his mark as a stand-up comic.

From May through September, Gnandt pursued his stand-up dream. "I was down South mainly," he says. "I was in Florida in August. It was ungodly hot."

Gnandt especially enjoyed a trip to Omaha, Neb., where he performed with two stand-ups with Ohio connections -- Todd Yohn and Craig Peters.

That willingness to hit the road paid off. Among people for which he has opened are Gilbert Godfried, the Amazing Jonathan and George Wallace.

His best onstage experience was in Columbus. "They just have great audiences," he says. "Even when the audience was yelling things out, it wasn't to be obnoxious. They were just having fun. I couldn't say anything wrong that night. HBO should have been there."

People seeing Gnandt won't see the same shtick every night. "I never know what's going to come out," he says. "When people go to a club, I think people like to see the comic work a little. They don't want what they could just get on TV."

The Near West Side Cleveland resident lists comedic influences that span the spectrum. He remembers growing up watching Johnny Carson on "The Tonight Show" and especially enjoyed "Saturday Night Live" when Mike Myers and Dana Carvey were in the cast.

"I also liked Dennis Miller growing up," he says. "Some of the other kids my age didn't like him because they didn't get him."

He raves about Don Adams of "Get Smart" fame: "I loved that show. I guess I liked comedic actors more than stand-ups."

Gnandt is adding acting chops to his resume by taking roles in local murder mystery events. He is working on a couple of scripts, too.

"I just want to work as much as possible," he says. "I want to make my mark, so that I can be doing stand-up full time."

While others talk about how hard it is to make a mark in show business, Gnandt takes life as it comes. Working with big-name comics has helped.

"That made some of my dreams come true," he says. "I believe that if I keep working at them, the rest of them will come true, too."

ON STAGE: Tommy Blaze, who has guest-starred on "Friends," headlines through Saturday at Hilarities in Cuyahoga Falls with Tammy Piscatelli as the feature act.

Vinnie Favorito, with credits that include the TV shows "Clueless" and "Stand-up, Stand-up," headlines through Sunday at the Cleveland Improv.

Rodney Bengston, an editor in Sun Newspapers' Metro office, covers northeastern Ohio comedy scene.