Laughing Through The Pain: My Journey from Detroit to Hollywood Standup Comedy & Beyond at United Solo Theatre Festival

Laughing Through the Pain: My Journey from Detroit to Hollywood Standup Comedy and Beyond is a thought provoking one-man play based on the autobiography of standup comedian, voice actor and author Joey Camen. It’s the story of a young Jewish boy growing up in Black neighborhoods in Detroit in the 1960s, making his way into the world of Hollywood standup comedy in the 1970s and working as an actor and voiceover talent.

This insightful seriocomedy delves into Joey's not so pleasant home life with an abusive father, his leaving home at 17 and becoming one of the youngest professional standup comedians at the World Famous Comedy Store on the Sunset Strip. Naturally funny, he finds himself working with comedians Richard Pryor, Paul Mooney and others. Joey’s story is also a tale of childhood survival, ups and downs, laughter and pain, engagingly written and performed by someone who has spent more than four decades in the world of entertainment.