Trenton Davis is winning the new world of comedy

Trenton Davis is a smart comic. In the couple of decades he’s been on the road, he’s always had a day job. He’s now also co-parenting an 11-year-old daughter. Last week, he was midway through an all-expense paid, two-week comedy gig in the Bahamas. Next week, he starts a new day job as a global business development manager for HP.

He’s also a smart comic. His jokes are smart, never obvious, but never tricky, either. They’re tied to universal happenstances that trip us up in everyday life. He shines a light on the humor in things we all take for granted, and, maybe most importantly to his fans, he lifts us up from wherever we’ve metaphorically dragged ourselves in from.

Traveling for work has opened doors to opportunities he might not have scored if the clubs had to pay for travel. That, he figures, is one source of his success. It’s given him the privilege of putting in a lot of time — at least 10,000 hours, he figures.

It’s obvious, and relevant, that he’s done so much stage work, because when we talked about recent developments in the comedy scene — the new, YouTube-to-stage model — he noted that folks who build their fan base online often falter onstage.

Never mind the professional writers and management they may attract, or the thousands of online fans who turn out for their shows; he’s seen them fail to sustain a quality show for live audiences. The reason, he thinks, is they haven’t done their “10,000 hours.”

The book “10,000 Hours” was among a torrent he read in the wake of a devastating life event — divorce. He was determined to become more self-aware and a better person in general. The result, in addition to greater maturity and stability, was a different outlook on life that added depth and new dimensions to his comedy.

“10,000 Hours” extrapolates on a revolutionary 50-year-old paper about the development of expertise. From scientists to chess players to sports stars, the top performers had spent around 10,000 hours at their craft.

“When I started 16 or 17 years ago, you’d go to a club, start out at an open mic, you’d move to hosting, from hosting to featuring and from featuring to headlining,” he said. “And hopefully you go from there.”

To oversimplify, Davis said he feels every hour on the stage makes for a better comedian. By contrast, some of the current crop of digital darlings, live and in their Netflix and YouTube specials, are shy of some hours.

But does that mean they have nothing to say? What accounts for their popularity? He said YouTube and other streaming phenomena have led to greater diversity among comedians, material and audiences. At the same time, it’s creating something like echo chambers.

New shooting stars have attracted hordes of colleagues from their profession or their lifestyle cohorts. Examples are Nurse Blake in the medical field, Joe Dombrowski in education, Fortune Feimster among lesbians and #IMomSoHard in motherhood. (The #IMomSoHard duo comes to the Fox Tucson Theatre on Monday, Aug. 11.)

Can we think of it as “identity comedy?” Do we exempt the newcomers from “reading the room” standards? Their audiences have known them on social media, sometimes for years. They are followers because they have so much in common.

“The good and bad of identity and algorithms is they give you exactly what you want,” Davis said.

“The bad thing is it gives you exactly what you want. There’s no space for growth.

“The beauty of getting what you don’t want and hearing voices that you wouldn’t normally listen to is you get information that you’re not used to. The problem is comedians are now afraid to bring (uncomfortable) voices. It comes off as a safe space. Or it comes off ‘Oh, were you offended?’ or ‘You offended me because I heard something I did not want to hear.’

“Reality is, if we’re going grow at some point in time, we need to hear things we don’t want to hear. There’s not just one truth, but that’s the space we play in. You can either be upset and take your ball and go home and no longer participate in comedy, or you can try and change with the times and try to adapt.

“And that’s where I’m at,” he said. “I’m in the space of trying to adapt.”

Davis is excited about taping his show at Laff’s Comedy Cafe this weekend. “I recorded my first album at Laff’s in 2013 and I recorded my second on March 14, 2020. It was the Friday before the world shut down,” he said.

Davis said fans can expect all-new material.

“I actually think our biggest growth happens when we’re in times of turmoil.”

Trenton Davis, Laff’s Comedy Cafe, 2900 E. Broadway Boulevard. 8 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. Friday, July 14, and 7 and 9:30 p.m. Saturday, July 15,

laffstucson.com, $15, $20 preferred seating.

Other shows

Catalina Craft Pizza, 15930 N. Oracle Road, Suite 178, 9 p.m. Saturday, July 15, “Comedy in Catalina,” $8 or free with a donation of food or clothing. Allana Erickson-Lopez opens for Boulder-based comic Billi Jo Gillispie. Kenny Shade hosts. Reservations recommended, 520-825-0140.

Coyote Trail Stage, 8000 N. Silverbell Road, 7:30 p.m. Friday, July 14, maranalaughs.com, tickets start at $10, Marana Laughs Clean Comedy, Danielle Williams featuring Leigh Cummings, open mic opens.

Corbett Brewing, 309 E. Seventh Street, 7 p.m. Friday, July 14, free, “Deep Enough Comedy,” with headliner Magghie O’Shea featuring Keeley Wolf with support from Kenny Shade, Morgan Kuehn, Leo Skrzypczak and Tyler B. Cory Lytle hosts.

Vail Theatre of the Arts, 10701 E. Mary Ann Cleveland Way, 7 p.m. Saturday, July 14, vaillaughs.com, tickets start at $10, Vail Laughs Clean Comedy, Danielle Williams featuring Leigh Cummings, show starts with an open mic.

Tucson Improv Movement/TIM Comedy Theatre, 414 E. Ninth Street, tucsonimprov.com, $7 each show, $10 for both shows, same night, free jam and open mic. 7:30 p.m. Thursday, July 13, “Harold Eta” and “Soapbox Harold”; 6:30 p.m. Friday, July 14, Improv Jam, Jessica Hill hosts; 7:30 p.m. “The Soapbox”; 9 p.m. Improv vs. Stand Up; 7:30 p.m. Saturday, July 15, “Your Favorite Movie Improvised” and “The Meeting”; 9 p.m. “The Dirty Ts.”

Unscrewed Theater, 4500 E. Speedway Boulevard,

unscrewedtheatre.org, $8, live or remote, $5 kids. 7:30 p.m. Friday, July 14, Family-Friendly Improv; 9 p.m. Unscrewed Fridays After Dark (uncensored, pay what you will); 7:30 p.m. Saturday, July 15, Family Friendly Improv; 9 p.m. “The Backyard” Improv Playground.

This article appears in Jul 13-19, 2023.