OCEAN CITY -- Dennis Ross equates his urge to do stand-up comedy with a drug habit, except it comes with a payoff of audience approval instead of a chemical high.
He said it's something he can't see himself not constantly seeking, and he worries often about when he can get it next.
"Once you get this need for the approval, nobody really leaves (comedy)," Ross said of the profession he decided to pursue. He found his flair for comedy in college, where he wrote a humor column for the school newspaper. One day 20 years ago, he decided to try to perform his jokes on stage.
Ross spent one day putting together an act and performed it at an improv in New York. He's been doing it ever since, but said he's only been good at it for about the last three years.
Ross performed in Iraq recently and has worked with comedians like Louis Black and Chris Rock. His latest gig landed him in Ocean City, where he's performing stand-up at the Princess Royale Hotel six nights a week for the summer's duration.
When the 53-year-old comedian from Barnegat, N.J., took the "Waves of Laughter" job, he was wary of how the crowds in general might behave toward him and his material. He'd been to the resort to perform a few times, but never for a long stint, and some of his comedian friends had warned him about volatile audiences.
"They said there'd be hecklers every night, that people would be drinking all day and saying horrible things, but so far pretty much everyone has been great," Ross said.
He's extra happy with that because he said some nights he is better than others, but it's difficult to discern whether this is true, or if it's just more of his worrying about his craft and livelihood.
"That's just Dennis. He's always worrying," said Johnny Watson, a close friend who has been opening for him most of the summer.
Ross' trepidation is a daily thing that hits a head a few moments before his opening act comes on. He gauges the attendance in one of the hotel's small conference rooms -- it fits a few more than 60, but they've pushed capacity to 74 on their best night of the summer so far.
Ross and others have converted it into a makeshift comedy club, equipped with stage lighting, a wicker chair and a maroon sheet backdrop. Then he thinks a little bit about the new material he's been writing, wondering what works and what doesn't and what he's going to try out that night. Ross and Watson spend time writing at the hotel almost every day.
"We're always trying to get better," Ross said. "That never stops."
On a Monday night in August, Watson took the stage at 9 p.m. and Ross sipped water and watched him from the back of the darkened room. There were about 30 people present for the show, but that level of attendance at an actual comedy club in a big city would be astounding for a Monday night, Ross said, keeping it in perspective.
"These people all paid to come here and see us, so that's great," he said a couple of minutes before
Watson finished and brought him on the stage for his set. It's $20 a person to see the show, and for $75, a couple gets two tickets to the show, two drinks and the hotel's seafood buffet beforehand.
He said it's something he can't see himself not constantly seeking, and he worries often about when he can get it next.
"Once you get this need for the approval, nobody really leaves (comedy)," Ross said of the profession he decided to pursue. He found his flair for comedy in college, where he wrote a humor column for the school newspaper. One day 20 years ago, he decided to try to perform his jokes on stage.
Ross spent one day putting together an act and performed it at an improv in New York. He's been doing it ever since, but said he's only been good at it for about the last three years.
Ross performed in Iraq recently and has worked with comedians like Louis Black and Chris Rock. His latest gig landed him in Ocean City, where he's performing stand-up at the Princess Royale Hotel six nights a week for the summer's duration.
When the 53-year-old comedian from Barnegat, N.J., took the "Waves of Laughter" job, he was wary of how the crowds in general might behave toward him and his material. He'd been to the resort to perform a few times, but never for a long stint, and some of his comedian friends had warned him about volatile audiences.
"They said there'd be hecklers every night, that people would be drinking all day and saying horrible things, but so far pretty much everyone has been great," Ross said.
He's extra happy with that because he said some nights he is better than others, but it's difficult to discern whether this is true, or if it's just more of his worrying about his craft and livelihood.
"That's just Dennis. He's always worrying," said Johnny Watson, a close friend who has been opening for him most of the summer.
Ross' trepidation is a daily thing that hits a head a few moments before his opening act comes on. He gauges the attendance in one of the hotel's small conference rooms -- it fits a few more than 60, but they've pushed capacity to 74 on their best night of the summer so far.
Ross and others have converted it into a makeshift comedy club, equipped with stage lighting, a wicker chair and a maroon sheet backdrop. Then he thinks a little bit about the new material he's been writing, wondering what works and what doesn't and what he's going to try out that night. Ross and Watson spend time writing at the hotel almost every day.
"We're always trying to get better," Ross said. "That never stops."
On a Monday night in August, Watson took the stage at 9 p.m. and Ross sipped water and watched him from the back of the darkened room. There were about 30 people present for the show, but that level of attendance at an actual comedy club in a big city would be astounding for a Monday night, Ross said, keeping it in perspective.
"These people all paid to come here and see us, so that's great," he said a couple of minutes before
Watson finished and brought him on the stage for his set. It's $20 a person to see the show, and for $75, a couple gets two tickets to the show, two drinks and the hotel's seafood buffet beforehand.
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