
At 25 years old, Glenn Rose, a Virginia Beach native, might just be crowned the Funniest Person in Austin.
Rose, a graduate of Virginia Wesleyan University, calls Kempsville home but moved to Austin, Texas in 2015 to pursue his passion for stand-up comedy.
“I’ve always wanted to do it,” Rose said. “When I was 4 or 5 years old, my parents would ask me what I wanted to be, and I would say: ‘Comedian!’ I didn’t know it was difficult to make money doing it, I just thought it was a career path.”
It wouldn’t be the first time Rose followed a more difficult path. A political science major, and a previous track and field competitor, his event of choice was the steeplechase — a 3,000-meter run with a series of hurdles and a 12-foot water pit. Never easy, Rose said, but he always finished feeling good.
Rose’s resilient attitude is necessary for the world of showbiz.
“In January of 2017, I stopped (performing) for a month after I bombed my first two open-mics. I thought, maybe I’m really bad at this,” he said.
But after attending Austin’s annual South by Southwest Comedy festival, and chatting with other comedy fans, Rose was inspired anew.
This year will be Rose’s second time as a competitor in the Cap City Comedy Club’s FPIA competition, having placed as an alternate in 2018.
“This year, it was a difficult night,” Rose said. “The way it works is there are 15 people per night, and three people move on to the next round, and one person gets (awarded) joke of the night. They called me up for joke of the night, and I was like dammit, I didn’t make it. But then I got one of the spots. It feels really good, I’m really happy about it.”
The FPIA semi-finals will take place from May 5-7, with the final night of the contest on May 13.
This year’s grand prize is $3,000 and according to Cap City’s website, the “subsequent (possible) fame.”
For more information on the FPIA competition visit their website here.