At the end of his work day, a Michigan comedian trades in his badge and uniform for a microphone at center stage to entertain the crowd.
For comedian Dwayne Gill, he gets to meet some interesting parts of society with his day job as a Michigan State Trooper for the last 26 years and in the evening he interacts with a whole other segment of different people at his comedy performances.
Gill explained that he started doing comedy as more of a hobby and over the years it has reached exciting levels, while having the opportunity to open for some heavy hitters in the entertainment industry.
“When I first started out, I wanted to let people know that police officers are human too,” Gill said. “It has been a fun ride from appearing at some smaller shows to being a part of some memorable shows, such as opening for comedian and actor Tim Allen to legendary singer Aretha Franklin.”
Over the years, Gill’s stand up career has grown to the point of becoming a second career for him. His comedy act has taken him from smaller venues, to casinos across the U.S. and also headlining corporate shows.
With the corporate shows, Gill puts his talents to work for law enforcement conferences, along with employee appreciation events.
Gill’s live show is a mix of relationship jokes, weaved together with some personal observations from everyday life, to different things that happen while being a law enforcement officer.
Recently Gill has included a lot more personal experiences into his stand-up comedy and will share some wisdom with his audiences.
“I’m a big believer in life is too short. We should all be able to laugh,” Gill said. “Years ago a large chunk of my stand up show was focused on jokes and funny tales of being a police officer. It is not as much any more, as I will still discuss some jokes about things that have happened to me on the job.
Over the years, my material has grown. I just find there is so much more to talk about when it comes to me. It now includes my personal life, jokes about travelling and I’m looking forward to retirement one day.”
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Gill also has an acting pedigree. In 2010, he was casted and played a police officer in the movie Crave. In the television show, Detroit 187, Gill was a feature performer in one episode.
Recently, Gill just filmed a pilot entitled ‘Joe vs Joe’ which originated from an audience member that wanted to write a situation comedy that revolved around his comedy act.
Currently, Gill said they are shopping it trying to get a deal through Netflix or Hulu.
“I have found when you become a comedian, opportunities will arise as people will want to know if you can act sometimes too.” Gill laughs. “Acting comes naturally for me. At one time, I used to be an undercover officer, so I have had some practice before trying it in front of the camera.”
Gill speaks very highly of the Michigan comedy scene from the comedians to the club owners.
“We are a good group of folks,” Gill said. “The nice thing about Michigan comedians is all of us get along. We are all supportive of each other, right from Grand Rapids to Lansing to Detroit and up north to Muskegon.”
Gill is looking forward to headlining at Haddon’s Comedy Club in Windsor, ON. He is not a stranger to Windsor, as he has performed in comedy shows at Leo Dufour’s comedy clubs previously.
“Come out and have a laugh. It will be a rare opportunity to ask the police everything you wanted to know about the Po-Po, but were afraid to ask,” Gill stated with a hearty laugh. “Just have a good time, as it will be the first time you get to see a Black police officer, that is also a comedian.”
Check out Dwayne Gill all weekend at Haddon’s Comedy Club with shows on Friday May 24 at 9 p.m. and two on Saturday May 25, the first one at 8 p.m. and second show at 10:30 p.m.
Tickets are available for $15 (cash only) at the door and available online at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/haddons-comedy-club-presents-dwayne-gill-tickets-61385408409
