Rise Comedy is a quaint entertainment club occupying a small venue on 22nd street in downtown Denver. Co-owner Nick Armstrong purchased Voodoo Comedy (the locale’s former name) with his business partner, Josh Nicols, in January 2019. They now work with former owner Steve Wilder to keep the club alive during the pandemic. 

As an accomplished actor whose filmography includes “The Office,” “Parks and Recreation” and “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” Armstrong saw ownership as a way to give back to the art that has propelled his career forward. 

“I love comedy, beyond just acting for TV,” said Armstrong. “It’s a nice way to make a living if you are lucky enough to do so, but it [owning a comedy club] is a good way to give back. Not a lot of people want to do it because, to be honest, owning a comedy club is not lucrative.”

He fell in love with the entertainment scene in Denver during the early 2000s. The nature of the city resonated deeply with Armstrong.

“I perform all over the world, but the Denver scene clicked with me,” stated Armstrong. “Their passion and sense of humor are something else, and I love it.”

His dream of owning a comedy club, however, turned out to be more difficult and straining than he anticipated. Unforeseen challenges struck Armstrong and Nicols during their first year of business. 

“We hit a lot of bumps in the first year, and we thought those were hard,” said Armstrong. “Then this [the pandemic] hit us, and we were like those [past hardships] don’t mean anything.”

The club, along with many others in Denver, shut down in March. Armstrong and Nicols were forced to lay-off people who had made the club what it was.

“It was traumatic for Josh and me,” said Armstrong. “These are people’s lives, so we did the best we could. We got a PPP loan, and we paid our employees even though they weren’t working. The pandemic began in March, and we paid them through mid-summer. We think of ourselves as a community theater, so we need to take care of those who perform, teach or bartend for us. We also came together to raise money past that. Our community donated to an Indiegogo, and we distributed funds that way.”

With the club closed, the group turned to online classes as a means to continue. Armstrong himself was already teaching online improv, so he found it to be an easy transition.

“We focused on the education [aspect] to stay alive and pay our rent,” said Armstrong. “We had to negotiate with our landlord who has been very supportive of us. You won’t find that in LA, which shows there is something about Denver and how they treat artists.”

Even with all of this support, the club is barely hanging on. Without the personal assistance of Armstrong and Nicols, it would have closed down long ago. 

“The online classes are bringing in revenue, but not enough,” stated Armstrong. 

While the situation is bleak, Armstrong remains positive. The club is beginning to hold in-person stand-up classes again, and they are hoping to hold performances at Zepplin Brewery beginning in March. 

“There are bad days, and there are good days,” said Armstrong. “We wouldn’t keep going if we didn’t see a light at the end of the tunnel. I think we will open this year. It won’t run like before the pandemic, but I think there will be a huge boom once things get to semi-normal.”

With a glimmer of hope in sight, Rise Comedy continues to trudge onward. You can support the club or attend one of their upcoming classes here.