THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, May 1, 1995 TAG: 9505010040
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY CRAIG SHAPIRO, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 69 lines
No question, it was Steven Jaymes' room.
Dressed for the occasion like most up-and-coming comics - T-shirt, jeans and sneakers - he bounded up to the mike, bantered with the audience, then launched into his routine.
``What did the elephant take on her trip?
``Her trunk.''
Da-dump.
``What song does a cat like?
`` `Three Blind Mice.' ''
Da-dump.
Shifting gears, he ad-libbed a few choruses of ``Rain, Rain Go Away,'' counted to 160 - by 5's - then went for the big finish:
``Why did the turkey cross the road?''
``Because he wasn't chicken.''
OK, Jerry Seinfeld probably started with better material, but was he doing stand-up at 6 years old? The way he worked the Sunday-afternoon crowd at Barnes & Noble, Steven, who'll be a first-grader this fall at Cape Henry Collegiate School, could have a future on the Borscht Belt.
Once a month, the mammoth bookstore on Virginia Beach Boulevard holds an open mike for children. As rooms go, Barnes & Noble Jr. is not the Improv; on a good day, 30 people fill the six benches fanning out from the red-carpeted stage. But otherwise, it's the same idea practiced at professional clubs.
Cindy Hostetter, children's department supervisor, hit on the open mike after watching her young customers venture onto the stage, where employees hold weekly storytelling sessions, to sing and dance.
``Most of what we see are kids reading,'' she said. ``Dr. Seuss is always real popular. A big one lately has been Shel Silverstein's poetry. They find a book on the shelf here. Up to the third grade, they read stories. After that, they're too cool and have to read joke books.''
Sometimes, she said, it's so slow that the parents have to get things going with a story or a joke.
Parental guidance was not needed Sunday, although Steven did try to coax his mom into joining him.
Lisa Cazares of Chesapeake watched in surprise as her 5-year-old son, A.J., moved from bench to bench until he was up on stage talking about his soccer team, apparently a very good soccer team. ``We win more than the other teams,'' he said.
The Avery kids of Virginia Beach had their own agendas. Meghan, 4, tugged on her hair, chewed on her finger, then told a couple of knock-knock jokes. She tried to get Kailee to sing the ``Barney'' song, but the 2-year-old would have none of it. She treated the microphone like an ice cream cone and tried to eat it.
Only after considerable prodding did their big brother, 7-year-old Alex, take a turn. He talked about his collection of sports cards, which now numbers 1,000 and includes baseball, basketball and football stars.
``Do you let your sisters play with them?'' someone asked.
Alex scoffed. ``Maybe in a million years.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color staff photo by JOSEPH JOHN KOTLOWSKI
Up-and-coming comic Steven Jaymes, 6, delivers his routine of jokes,
riddles and songs.<
"What's black and white and red all over?" says Steven Jaymes. "An
angry zebra." Meghan Avery, 4, and brother Alex, 7, watch.
by CNB