Mike E. Winfield, who has appeared on “The Late Show” and “The Office,” will be coming to the Empress Theatre on Friday with Evan Williams opening. (Courtesy photo)

Comedy shows are a chance to laugh until your cheekbones hurt, but they also can be an opportunity for self-reflection. As the bio for comedian Mike E. Winfield states, “Winfield in minutes will describe what has happened in your life that very day. Many often leave his live show saying, ‘Does he live with us?’”

To get an idea of what this entails, one can check out his standup this Friday at Vallejo’s Empress Theatre.

Winfield was born in Baltimore, but he got his start as a comedian in California’s capitol, where he attended California State University, Sacramento. Since then, Winfield has delivered standup sets all over, which have led to performances on “The Late Show with David Letterman,” MTV’s “Acting Out,” Showtime’s “Comics Without Borders,” Comedy Central’s “Live at Gotham,” “The Arsenio Hall Show” and a role as Wes on two episodes of NBC’s “The Office.”

Anything can happen at a Winfield show. In one YouTube video, he goes into the crowd of one of his shows and attempts to wake up an audience member who has fallen asleep. Other subjects of his comedy include shopping on Valentine’s Day and the quirks of relationships.

Opening for Winfield will be New York City comic Evan Williams. After struggling with drugs and alcohol as a teenager, Williams became sober at 19 and incorporates stories on his past addictions in his standup in a humorous way. He was named as one of Complex magazine’s top 30 comedians under 30 and has been featured on Comedy Central’s “Roast Battle II.” Williams will bring his brand of honest comedy to the Empress.

The show will be held at 8 p.m. Friday, Aug. 4 at the Empress, located at 330 Virginia St. Doors open at 7 p.m. Tickets purchased online before Aug. 1 will be $10. Afterward, they will be increased to $15 online and $20 at the box office. For tickets and additional information, go to empresstheatre.org.

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