
WILLIAMSBURG — Williamsburg’s own Jace Laska and Randall Davis will hit the stage during the Last Word Comedy Festival, taking place from Jan. 30-Feb. 2.
WYDaily recently sat down with the two to discuss their upcoming standup performances.
Jace Laska
Jace Laska grew up in Williamsburg and recalls always being the “funny kid.” Now a student at Virginia Tech, Laska joined a standup comedy group at the school.
“The first group of people that I really belonged with was the standup group at Virginia Tech. I started participating and really fell in love with the whole process of trial and error that comes with comedy. It’s not always the easiest or the most fun but the people around you make it fun,” Laska said.
When writing his material, Laska tends to lean towards social commentary and satire. He often finds dark and irreverent humor as part of his act.
Laska’s performance at the Last Word Comedy Festival will be the first time he’s performed in his hometown.
“Everything that I’ve done has been up in the New River Valley area. I’ve been featured on some shows in Roanoke and Christiansburg and the surrounding area. This is a great opportunity to bring my comedy back to the Tidewater area. There is another level of expectations to do a good show for the people in my hometown, but I know I have good stuff and I’m really excited for it,” Laska said.
Laska will perform at the festival on Jan. 30 at 7 p.m. during the College Comedy Showcase. The show will take place at PBK Hall on the campus of William & Mary and entry to the performance is free.
To learn more about Laska’s comedy, visit instagram.com/jacelaska_comedy.
Randall Davis
After living in the hustle and bustle of the District of Columbia for years, Randall Davis now calls Toano home. When he was living in the District, Davis took a comedy class and really loved it, but with a wife and kids, other responsibilities took precedence.
For his birthday in 2024, Davis’ wife signed him up for another comedy class in Richmond. He enjoyed it and found himself attending open mic nights and local festivals. After entering a local comedy competition, Davis placed second and decided to show off his stuff to the Williamsburg area.
“I’ve loved comedy my whole life and I’ve always wanted to do it. Watching my first comedy show, I don’t think I blinked the whole time. I was just fascinated and amazed with seeing comedy in person. Being that close to it really made me think of how awesome it would be to do,” Davis said.
Davis uses life’s daily happenings as the base for most of his material. With two kids, Davis often gets his material from the funny things they do.
“100% of my jokes come from real-world experiences. 50% of it is stories from when I was a kid, and the other 50% comes from me being a father. If you can’t laugh at yourself, what kind of life is that?” Davis says.
Davis will perform at the festival on Jan. 31 at 6 p.m. during the first standup showcase. The show will take place at Precarious Beer Project and entry to the performance is free.
To learn more about Davis’ comedy, visit instagram.com/therandalldavis.
Passes for the festival and more information can be found at lastwordfestival.com.