If a stand-up comic writes a joke, but doesn’t have a venue to tell it in, is it still funny? That’s a question being pondered by a group of Madison comedians who have grown frustrated with a lack of venues in town catering to their specialized talent of laugh making. In fact, said venues number one, the Comedy Club on State Street.

Having only one club for comedy in a city with a strong comedic underground, just doesn’t pay. And that’s literal. At the Comedy Club the only performers who go home with money in their pockets are the MC and headliners.

While Madison area comedians have been thankful for the audience the Comedy Club provides, they have begun looking for new ways to stretch their chuckle cords. Enter: WiSUC, the Wisconsin Stand-Up Comedy Project. Dane101 sat down with a couple of the founders of WiSUC over drinks at the High Noon Saloon, the venue that will be hosting the first show of troupe on May 17 starting at 6:30 p.m.

Kendra Frank, Mark Kump and Chris Woldt are regulars at the Madison one-venue comedy-circuit. All three of them echo frustrations that many of their comic peers have – little pay and limited stage time.

Frank knew she couldn’t just walk up to Cathy Dethmers, owner of the High Noon Saloon and say, "let me perform." So she went to Kump and Woldt, two local comedians that inspired her to take up stand-up and found them eager to try something new.

"I want it to be like a Second City," Frank said, comparing her idea to the infamous Second City touring troupe that was born in Chicago in the 50s and eventually went on to take over the world (well, at least Canadian television and major U.S. cities). Second City launched the careers of legends like John Belushi, Bill Murray, John Candy and Gilda Radner.

Frank says that it would be more likely for non-comedy venues to take her seriously if she approached the owner as a group. So far ten Wisconsin comics, from as far away as Green Bay, have signed up to join WiSUC. The group can set out together and feature a rotating roster of members at each show providing strength in numbers.

All of the comics in WiSUC have a similar "edgy" style. Kump described it as "funny and against the mainstream. It goes against the conventional 80s Robin Williams bullshit."

Woldt added that "it's not just jokes about airport food and Jack Nicholson impressions. It's a bit more intelligent."

One of the long term goals, besides branching out into other cities, is helping those that have just become interested in doing comedy. "It’s scary starting out," Frank said, "we could help someone who has never performed and help their level of quality improve."

She said that a lot of students at the University may be interested in performing, but need a support base. WiSUC could provide the base and support system. She added that without enough stage time comedians can't improve. She hopes the project can change that by offering starting comics more opportunities then she had in her first few months.

The three comics said they were happy that their first group show would be at the High Noon. "The vibe is cool," Woldt said, "and it caters to our style of comedy."

Frank, a regular of the venue's Tuesday night Rock Star Gomeroke, says she hopes that Dethmers is impressed with WiSUC and considers asking them to come back, maybe to perform during Gomeroke (for those that don't know, Gomeroke is Karaoke, except with a backing band, the Gomers).

The other comics performing on Tuesday include Patrick Janka, Nick Mortensen, Ben Kissel, Dan Kreig, Brett Voss and KaeLynn Kees. Kitt Burroughs will emcee the event. To top it off, the show is absolutely free.