Gina Brillon is ready to make Savannah laugh with Big Comedy Network debut at District Live

Bronx-born and New York City-based, Puerto Rican actress, comedian and podcast host, Gina Brillon, brings her spicy, keenly observant comedy to Savannah this weekend.

A finalist on “America’s Got Talent” with multiple appearances on Comedy Central’s “Live at Gotham,” “Late Night with Seth Meyers” and “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” Brillon’s crafted story telling appeals to wide-ranging national audiences. And with a three-night run at Plant Riverside, Brillon also kicks off, “Big Comedy Network,” a new series of funny presented exclusively onstage at District Live.

Brillon found comedy early. In high school she was a theater kid and started entertaining her classmates with pop up shows in the hallways. By age 17, she did her first professional-level stage performance, a curated open mic at comedy hotspot, Stand Up New York.

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“I knew when I was 14 that this is what I wanted to do,” recalled Brillon. “Back then, I’d do jokes that related to being in school. Like, I’d set up something with, ‘Did you see what Mr. Fine did in 5th period?’ Because this was a shared experience my friends could relate to, and from there I started learning joke structure, how to tell a story and deliver a punch line. Theater and drama were game-changers for me.”

As an English major at Marymount Manhattan College, Brillon dove headfirst into the hustle of performer life. Most evenings after classes she’d walk to a nearby club, Comic Strip, and would sit, watch and study how others constructed their sets, noting what worked and what didn’t.

“I never lost my fascination with comedy. I’d be working three jobs, going to school full time and still doing stand up,” emphasized Brillon. “I created my own ecosystem, so I could pull it all off. I made friends with the school janitors, so I could get into the computer labs after hours and finish writing papers at 4 or 5 o’clock in the morning. Sometimes I’d even give them tickets to shows. That helped make friends and supporters.”

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Brillon’s comedy is thoughtful, often with multiple layers of punch lines woven within one story. Her Bronx upbringing and Puerto Rican heritage come into play; relationship dynamics factor into her sets as well as teasing apart issues of gender roles and expectations.

Her art and craft are testament to how much she revers the work of George Carlin and George Lopez as her finely tuned delivery makes audiences, both, laugh and think.

“I want to create an experience when I perform,” said Brillon. “To create a truly memorable moment, the experience has to have so much more than just a laugh. You’ve got to be able to forge a connection and then really speak to the audience’s inner most parts where they won’t forget this performance, and then when they laugh it’s more a sigh of relief that felt good and was funny.”

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She’s not afraid to find the funny in even the most socially awkward situations. In one popular sketch, “Farts are Funny,” she begins resolutely with “I have the sense of humor of a four-year-old… I still think farts are the funniest things on the planet.” She then launches into a story about being in a packed women’s bathroom when someone in a stall beside her lets a long one rip. The room gets momentarily quiet before a little girl loudly squeals “eww.”

From there, Brillon takes the audience on a hilarious journey examining the feelings, thoughts and emotions of the women in the bathroom and ties it up with “best part of that joke is now whenever that happens, you’re gonna think of me. You’ll be in the bathroom, and you’ll think, Gina. You’re welcome.” The audience erupts at her nuanced delivery and final punch line.

In the more than 20 years that Brillon has been doing comedy, her triumphs and challenges have been consistent taskmasters.

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Last year, she made it into the top-10 as a finalist on “America’s Got Talent.” According to Brillon, the performance portions were always fun and full of camaraderie, but the elimination rounds were incredibly stressful.

“Seeing people that you genuinely like getting eliminated from the show, those moments can be humbling,” recalled Brillon. “But being able to impart to people that this isn’t the end for you just because it didn’t work out this time is a powerful message that I also had to embrace. You’ve gotta get up and keep going because the thought of not doing it again, quitting, is worse than the rejection.”

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True to her word, Brillon brushes it off and keeps it moving. She’s done comedy features with HBO and had a positive experience working with Amazon to produce her most recent special, “The Floor is Lava.” Currently, she’s working on a sitcom pitch with friends as well as writing her next feature.

For her performances at District Live, longtime friend and comedy colleague, James Goff, opens each night.

“The quality of people you surround yourself with is so important, and I am phenomenally blessed to have a creative connection with a talent like James who keeps me in line, cheers me on and holds me accountable,” reflected Brillon.

“As entertainers we usually don’t get money and respect for years, and that’s not the point — it’s not about money and fame. It’s the love of doing comedy. It’s passion, and passion doesn’t let you quit.”

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Savannah GA events: Gina Brillon at District Live, Plant Riverside