The Heavy Anchor: Committed To South City’s Comedy Scene

Photo provided by venue

By Anthony Brescia

While consoling a close friend in the loss of his aunt, I happened upon The Future Is Female+: A Stand Up Comedy Show at The Heavy Anchor on December 12th. Tasked by Mound City Messenger to write on the club’s comedy offerings, and this presented an opportunity to speak with the owners about the venue’s comedic programming. The Future Is Female+, like most performances The Heavy Anchor promotes, focuses on mostly local talent with reasonable cover charges at the door. This particular evening was a collection of women comics letting loose and telling stories. It’s a popular event, as is their weekly Comedy Shipwreck open mic event. The open mic has been running for over a decade, making it one of the area’s longest-running regular comedy events.

The evening was headlined by Libbie Higgins and hosted by Meredith Hopping. As advertised, all the comics were women, and they came from numerous walks of life. There was a gynecologist/comedian. A past host Tina Dybal, was a special guest. The event’s host Meredith, who’s comedic style is focused on storytelling, spoke of being a “trauma protector”. Libbie “heckled” me twice walking outside to hang with my pal. It was great; I quipped something back that supported her as she was ribbing me. It was witty and funny. I couldn’t help but note that most of the comedians openly admitted being autistic to some level. As I am also afflicted with ASD, I could empathize with some of their experiences. I’ve tried doing stand up three times, and I am currently still writing with my comedian roommate. Humor is indeed good “medicine”, and when you look into the life of many comedians, one can often find pain or trauma as a main catalysts for their art. I, for one, am grateful for the many local and international comedians who continue to offer healing in the context of their pain. In many ways, I consider some of our current and past comedians to be philosophers in addition to providing laughter and linguistic and nuanced insights. All-in-all, the evening was extremely entertaining. This series happens three to four times a year, and I highly recommend making a point to see it.

The Comedy Shipwreck began August 12th, 2012, as their first open mic comedy night hosted by Stephen Heffernan (deceased, “RIP” per the Anchor’s owners). Since then, it has had a number of hosts, with Chad Wallace’s decade-long tenure especially worth noting. “He would work overtime, then come in to host the show. Back then, it would sometimes go till midnight,” said the owners. These days, the event is co-hosted by Brandon Judd and Ella Fritts. For his part, Judd is proud to help continue a tradition that has been so personally important as a comedian. “I moved to St. Louis in 2013, from Central Illinois, specifically to pursue more comedy opportunities. The Shipwreck, then hosted by Stephen Heffernan just before Chad Wallace took the reins, was THE independent mic to be at and the center of local comedy happenings,” said Judd. It started as a monthly event, but was eventually made biweekly. In 2017, the regular event’s success deemed weekly sessions necessary. Like many things, the pandemic slowed business for about two years, but it has since recovered well. Jodie and Josh Timbrook, co-founders/co-owners of The Heavy Anchor spoke with me on why they started the Shipwreck. As to the series’ long tenure and continued success, Jodie and Josh had a simple answer focused on three basic ingredients for continued success. “It’s a place to try something new. Great hosts keep it alive. Everyone likes to laugh.”

Current co-host Ella Fritts reminded me that it’s the “longest running indy open mic” going in the city. She mentioned how comedy for her is a way to release (feminist) anger, so she can “take back power”. She likes to be “not lady-like.” “I like to be disgusting,” she added. My comic roommate who knows Ella describes her as “Sam Kinison in female form.”

I asked both Judd and Fritts, “Is humor a coping mechanism for you?”

Both c-hosts agreed. Judd  was exact, “Sure. Absolutely.” He said he did stand-up the night of his grandma’s death and incorporated this. He still uses this material.

As to why The Heavy Anchor started booking comedy to augment their music schedule, the owner pointed to the venue’s goal of building community. “We always strive to do events that build community. We enjoy stand up, and we like to laugh. We had comics that needed a space and we thought it would make a great event to get in with new people.” Not that it’s all been fun. The Timbrooks have had to deal with some comedians that they feel violate the goal of building community. There have been a few occasions where they have had to kick out performers for telling a racist or homophobic “joke”. “We don’t want to censor our comics, but we do have to draw a line,” they said. 

For a full schedule of The Heavy Anchor’s comedic and musical offerings, just visit their website at www.theheavyanchor.com.

Anthony Brescia is a longtime city resident who resides in Dogtown.