UH’s Tuinei takes a shot at comedy

As a University of Hawaii football safety, Tumua Tuinei loves to hit.

Next month, Tuinei will deliver punchlines.

Tuinei’s stand-up comedy routine is the opening act for a Summer 4 All show at the Hawaii Theatre on July 7. Musician Kiwini Vaitai and the Jimmy Weeks Project band also will perform.

“He’s pretty good,” said comedian Augie Tulba, whom Tuinei describes as his mentor and inspiration.

Tulba recalled receiving a cold call from Tuinei for help on a class report. “He wanted to know the importance of local humor, how it’s evolving,” Tulba said. “We did a lengthy interview.”

Later, Tuinei told Tulba he was taking UH professor Nick Murray’s class on stand-up comedy. Tulba invited Tuinei to a show. Afterward, Tuinei performed a routine for Tulba.

“His routine is decent,” Tulba said. “I like people who pick on themselves, do observations on themselves. Whenever you can do self-deprecating comedy, you won’t hurt anybody’s feelings. He pulled it off. You look at him, you don’t know he’s Samoan. He talks about being the smallest in his family. That’s kind of interesting considering who he’s related to.”

Tuinei’s father is Tom Tuinei, a former UH defensive tackle. His late uncle, Mark Tuinei, was an offensive lineman with the Dallas Cowboys for 15 seasons.

Tuinei said he intially took a theater class to fulfill writing-intensive requirements. “I ended up taking a lot of theater classes,” Tuinei said. “My adviser said I might as well minor in it. So I minored in it.”

Tuinei contracted the acting bug, which eventually led to enrolling in Murray’s comedy class. The course’s final exam is to perform a stand-up routine at Hawaiian Brian’s. He admittedly was nervous for his public show, but “now I got it out of my system.”

The most difficult part is creating fresh material. He said he draws inspiration from his family and UH teammates. “Observational comedy,” said Tuinei, who jots ideas in a notebook. “Whatever happens in the locker room or whatever happens in every local family, I try to find some stories and humor out of it.”

His act features impressions and is sprinkled with pidgin dialect. “I record myself and practice at home,” Tuinei said.

As for hecklers, Tuinei said: “When you have a microphone in your hand, you usually have the last word.”

Tuinei took Tulba’s advice and tightened his act.

“I’m rooting for him,” Tulba said. “He’s an athlete, he’s a competitor. (Stand-up) is like sports. Sometimes you’re going to walk on the field and lose. Sometimes you might win. It’s how you respond after that.”

Tuinei recently sent Tulba a picture with his name on the Hawaii Theater marquee. Tulba said he told Tuinei: “Now it’s all up to you. You can do it.”