You might know local funny guy Tim Hoeckel from his near-twenty years as an improv performer at downtown’s Theatre 99. Maybe you’ve caught him doing one of his hilarious characters in the sketch comedy show Rip City Chs, or seen one of his high-energy stand-up sets.
On Aug. 8, Hoeckel will premiere his debut comedy special, “Touch Of Class” at Wit’s End Comedy club.
It’s free to attend the event and watch clips from the special alongside live performances from Hoeckel and other local comics, including Liam Baker, Sarah Hartmann and Hagan Ragland in a night of nonstop hilarity. Hockel enlisted the help of his sister, Beth Hoeckel for the special’s cover art, and she’ll be showing art at the Aug. 8 party.
Though he’s performed comedy for nearly two decades, it’s the first time Hoeckel will release a full length comedy special. With the help of local comedy production team Nameless Numberhead (Henry Riggs and Maari Suorsa), Hoeckel performed and recorded a stand-up set at the Commodore back in April.
“I had wanted to do it for a while and but always found a reason not to — I think a lot of people in the creative world might feel the same way… But then one day, I just asked Henry, and he was all about it and offered to help with it. So I’m really thankful for him and Maari. It’s been a great process…
“I knew I wanted to do something purely for creative reasons,” Hoeckel said. “I’m not trying to make money off of it, or get special gigs or get famous or something. This project was about celebrating the joy of being creative.”
Shining light on the local scene
Hoeckle said his hope is that the special and its release on Aug. 8 will offer a celebration of the local comedy scene — and a source of inspiration for other creatives to put their work out into the world.
“Who knows, maybe other people in the community will see it and want to put themselves out there and make something — that’s really my goal, is to contribute to a positive and supportive comedy community in Charleston.”
It’s a full circle moment for the comic who first started classes at Theatre 99 in 2005, which he in fact found through a City Paper article.
“I was curious about comedy, and then took a class there. That place really changed my life.”
He uses his skills as an improviser in his stand up material, he said, which relies more on energy and crowdwork than pre-written jokes.
“I can talk about anything in my stand up,” he said. “My thing is I try to bring a lot of energy — I don’t worry as much about writing material. I try to bring a big, positive energy to the stage and then let that kind of figure out where a bit will go. I feel like that sets me apart from others in the standup world.”
The topics he riffs on in the “Touch of Class” special range from the trials of fatherhood to seafood marketing, he said.
“As long as the crowd knows I’m having fun, then I can figure out from there where to go… I think of it like performing music. You might go see a band and you really feed off their energy rather than listening to the lyrics word for word.
“So I try to do that with my comedy — make it known that I want to be up there performing. That love and joy for comedy is what this special is about.”
It’s free to attend the Aug. 8 release party at Wit’s End comedy lounge. RSVP by securing a free ticket here. Doors at 7 p.m., party starts at 8 p.m. Keep up to date with Tim Hoeckel by following him on Instagram at @timfreckle.
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