April Macie, Vargus Mason, Jack Shaw and Orlando Leyba, comedians of the AFE Brings the Laughs tour, visit Stars and Stripes Europe (Jasmin Elder)
Four comedians have been bringing the laughs to U.S. military bases across Europe. Hosted by Armed Forces Entertainment, the group began the tour in Brunssum, Netherlands and proceeded to Hohenfels, Germany. April Macie, Vargus Mason, Jack Shaw and Orlando Leyba are all masterful comedians with accolades like multi-country tours, appearances on popular television shows like “America’s Got Talent” and “Last Comic Standing” as well as entertaining audiences through podcasts. I had the privilege of stealing a few moments of their time to ask a few questions before catching their show at the Ramstein Enlisted Club on Ramstein Air Force Base.
As I settled in to watch the show. It took me a few moments to shake off the stress of the week and current events, but the crowd’s belly-deep laughs booming all around me and my own chuckles quickly brought me back to the present moment.
Crowd cracking up at AFE Brings the Laughs (Katie Wells)
Jack Shaw opened the show by immediately putting audience members on the spot to yell out a particularly funny word. His self-deprecating humor and play on words were endearing and had everyone giggling. April Macie came in strong, turning the tables on the crowd. Her raunchy humor, exaggerated facial expressions and spot-on miming, had everyone roaring. Orlando Leyba calmed the room with engaging storytelling, but only long enough for relatable jokes about military life and popular T.V. shows to have everyone cracking up and nodding their heads in agreement. Vargus Mason closed the show in true performer style; his dance moves, acrobatic poses and surprisingly angelic singing voice kept the crowd surprised and howling.
I couldn’t help but think of the words the comedians had shared with me just a couple hours prior, especially these from Vargus Mason,
“The best things we can do with comedy is if you forget about your problems or your troubles or how hard your day was, even for just five minutes, that’s the gift that we can give.”
Vargus Mason singing to the crowd (Katie Wells )
Judging by the response around me, the comedians succeeded.
What struck me most about each comedian during our interview was how kind-hearted and thoughtful they were when speaking about why they do what they do—especially when it comes to the military community. Below are just some of their responses.
When asked, what makes you passionate about providing laughs to the military community?
Vargus Mason said, “We travel the world and perform for thousands of people, but when our troops are away from home and you can give them a little taste of home, they are the most responsive, they are the most appreciative.”
Vargus Mason entertaining the crowd with acrobatics (Katie Wells)
Mason has a connection to the military, elaborating “And my dad actually served three tours in Vietnam, and I have a great uncle who was a Tuskegee Airmen… It’s just nice to give back what I can, my way, with my time in the same way that they supported the country.”
Vargus Mason captures the audiences attention (Katie Wells )
Jack Shaw told me that the tour has been an amazing experience for him, stating “It makes me really happy to be giving back… It’s easier to be serious, so when you can take the time to be like ohhhh we all live however long each of us lives, let’s smile about it [and] find the silly in the everyday. That’s all I’m trying to do.”
Jack Shaw opening up the show (Katie Wells)
Orlando Leyba shared, “To be of service to them. It hit me today when I woke up in my hotel room and was doing my morning writing. All of a sudden, I was filled with gratitude towards the military.” He paused for a moment.
“With some of the stuff that’s going on with the world, I realized that at any minute I could just be put on an airplane and taken off of base and brought back to the U.S. They would get me out of here. And these wonderful men and women whom I’m entertaining, they don’t have that option. They have to stay here serving. So [that] I have my freedoms back home. It means the world to me. I just find myself full of gratitude today towards them. It’s an honor and complete privilege to be of service to them.”
Orlanda Leyba painting a picture to the crowd (Katie Wells)
Orlando Leyba performing in a pose for the crowd (Katie Wells)
Everyone needs to laugh, especially during tough times. When asked, why is it important for people to laugh?
April Macie went into the science behind laughter.
“Well, one, doesn’t it replenish white blood cells? There is a science behind it. For laughter, that it’s healing. ‘Laughter is the best medicine’ is a saying for a reason. And then I feel like as a comedian, you kind of forget that our friends are the funniest people in the world. And then you’ll go to a comedy show and somebody will tell you something tragic that happened in their life and they’re like ‘oh I haven’t laughed in months,’ and I don’t feel like that’s familiar for us… We’re always surrounded by laughter. I think it’s just valuable to laugh, it makes life easier if you can find the humor in every situation, even tragic ones, eventually. Tragedy + time = comedy is the saying.”
April Macie leaning in to share a joke with the audience (Katie Wells)
April Macie using a chair as a comedy prop (Katie Wells)
Orlando Leyba said, “It’s such a stress reliever. Laughing, it seems like it’s natural, but it’s actually a glitch from the norm. You were expecting something, one and two, 1+2 is 3, but I go 1+2 is… Seven! And you go “Seven!” and it glitches your brain and you start laughing. And it releases all these things; it keeps you young, it keeps you healthy. Man, I’m so old people can’t even tell. Because I laugh all the time, I stay young.”
Orlando Leyba cracking up the crowd at the Ramstein Enlisted CLub (Katie Wells)
When asked, has comedy taught you any valuable lessons?
Jack Shaw answered, “Yes, absolutely. Learning to laugh at myself. Learning to say that you know, when I get frustrated or anxious, to find that hey, there is something bright on the other side of this. I’m going to be okay. The people around me are going to be okay. It’s given me a lot of love. A lot of love, and I think that’s so important.”
Jack Shaw using body language to land a joke (Katie Wells)
April Macie replied, “The ability that you can bring a room together, like I think there’s something cohesive where it’s almost like a group think mentality to know that you can alleviate someone’s pain or if they’re having trouble in their own life for an hour, hour and a half out of their day, which is a typical comedy show in the states usually, you can provide them a little respite from whatever else is going on in their lives.”
April Macie calling out an audience member in a light-hearted way (Katie Wells)
When asked about what keeps them coming back to the stage, although each comedian answered one-on-one, the common response was that laughter is addictive.
Jack Shaw’s answer encompassed it all:
“When people laugh at something you’ve been working on, it’s incredibly validating. It’s affirming of existence. It’s affirming of being good enough…. Laughter is like a shortcut to feeling better.”
Jack Shaw entertaining the crowd (Katie Wells)
If you missed the laughs this time, check out the AFE website for upcoming tours.
