Thursday, 30 August 2012

Rodney Campbell goes all out with one-man comedy show


Rodney Campbell ... I wanted to make sure I explored all the social and moral issues everybody would not want to touch. - Contributed

 If it's comedy that pushes the envelope you want, then Rodney Campbell's That's Right ... I Said It!! is the show to attend this weekend.

 Campbell will be hosting a one-man stand-up comedy show tonight and tomorrow at the Pantry Playhouse, starting at 8 p.m. The cost is $1,000.

 He said the show will be like no other in Jamaica's history.

 "This is the first time ever. Normally, we have stand-up comedians who poke fun but they don't go all out as a Chris Rock 'cause they are afraid to step on toes. I wanted to make sure I explored all the social and moral issues everybody would not want to touch," he told The Gleaner, while noting that he will be calling names.

 While the show will explore these issues, Campbell said it would not be an X-rated show, but one for mature adults only.

 serious matters

 "What I don't want to hear is anybody open dem mouth and say 'My God, I can't believe he said that.' It's not something I would advise anybody to bring live," said Campbell, who is a co-host of FAME FM's 'Uncensored'.

 However, he promises that the show will not be one filled with light or baseless comedy. Rather, it will give patrons the ability to leave the show having shared in a discussion about serious matters. In addition, they will be able to talk about those issues with a bit of edge.

 Although not a stand-up comedian, Campbell was part of a revue several years ago called Dis Ting, which received an Actor Boy Award. And he will be a member of the cast of Four-Play, which starts its run in November. He has also emceed shows on which he has inserted comedy.

 take a risk

 With the little experience he has in comedy, Campbell decided to take a risk and do his own show after procrastinating for years.

 "Nobody has gone out there and do a show like this. Nobody think they have what it takes to go out there and do a show by themselves," he said.

 "I don't consider myself a comedian. I'm just venturing into something that I've always wanted to do. Whether it works or it fails, no one can tell me I never did it."

 Campbell said after this weekend's show, he will decide his future in stand-up comedy.

 "If it is that I'm going to have something else, it would not be for now. I will use this to determine what the other event will be," he told The Gleaner.
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Rodney Campbell: Biography

Rodney Campbell: Biography

Rodney Campbell: BIO

Born in Kingston, Rodney Campbell grew up between Havendale, Barbican and Constant Spring Gardens until age 18. Shortly after, he took on the life of an adult or should I say 'rolling stone'. Campbell attended St. George's College and Jamaica College and later went on to do a stint at the University of the West Indies (UWI), where he started the Degree programme in Mass Communications with Radio as his production technique, but did not complete it. However, being a persistent individual, he completed the Diploma Course instead; "Let's face it, I had years and years of experience under my belt in Media and found CARIMAC to be....I was just going through the motions for the paper," says Campbell.

The 35-year-old began his foray in Media when he submitted an article to the now defunct Jamaica Record newspaper. "Primarily, I was a writer in school, I used to do a lot of poetry (which I still do) and stories. While I was in second form, my English teacher, Ms. Stafford, suggested that I enter a piece in a competition. I came second in the competition, but couldn't collect the prize because the competition was for sixth formers. However, I got little assignments here and there, something like a stringer to go along with the daily news or a bigger reporter would say, 'yuh waan do this? Get a story and come nuh.'

OFFICIAL STORY

Eventually, I wrote an article and submitted it to the Jamaica Record and at that point, Vincent Tulloch (now deceased) called me and said he read the piece and asked if I was interested in going around, yuh nuh... My first official newsworthy story was a story that I travelled to Great Pond in Ocho Rios and covered. It was the opening of a basic school. I took my little camera and took a picture of the school and the balloons and wrote a story and it was published. It was the greatest thing in the world, though it was not my first piece that was being published, it really felt like my first 'real' piece. And one thing led to another... I've done everything in media except technical production."

The 'Ram', who was born on April 18, has three children: 14- and eight-year-old sons and a four-year-old daughter, but says he's, luckily, not married.

According to Campbell, if he had been married already, he would not have been ready. "I would have been divorced, separated or miserable or all three. Marriage is such a wonderful thing that you should only be able to get married when the woman you want to cheat with is your wife. When you look at your wife and say 'I would give my wife bun with this woman', she is the number two woman for the same number one woman."

When not involved in Journalism, Campbell relaxes by listening to 'oldies', writing poems and fishing with his children. His favourite pet is a dog because he believes dogs are loyal and honest. On the other hand, he detests cats because he thinks they are hypocrites.