Daniel Dagris, 32, performs comedy in this photograph available at his website.
Daniel Dagris, 32, grew up in the small town of Winlock and is now hitting the big stage at the third annual Mutiny Radio Comedy Festival in San Francisco.
Dagris was chosen as one of 38 comics from around the United States who will be performing at the festival. Most notably, he will be performing on Monday, March 5, for the first of two “Best of the Fest” showcases.
Originally from Las Vegas, Nevada, Dagris and his family moved to Winlock when he was 7 years old. Dagris took an active role in local theater and graduated from Winlock High School and Centralia College through the Running Start program with the class of 2003.
“I did drama in high school, which helped with being on stage,” said Dagris. “I really enjoyed it at Winlock High School. The teachers inspired me.”
He has since left the Pacific Northwest to study abroad at a university in Thessaloniki, Greece, and is now back and working his way up in the Portland standup comedy scene.
Dagris took his first comedy class “Alex Falcone’s Intro to Standup” at Comedy Sportz in Portland back in 2015.
“I took the class as kind of a fluke; just a fun bucket list thing,” said Dagris. “The class helped me realize I have a comedic voice, and that it doesn’t have to be the same as what you see from mainstream comedians.”
At the end of the class, each student participated in a final performance. However, that performance was the first and last one Dagris’ mother would get to see. She was diagnosed with stage 4 terminal cancer just before he started the class.
“My mother was my favorite person in the world; she was always incredibly supportive,” said Dagris. “That she was able to see me perform before she passed away will always be one of my proudest moments.”
Dagris also planned on participating in the “Portland’s Funniest Person” event, but two weeks before the 2015 competition, his mother died and Dagris dropped out of the contest.
“It was hard to be funny,” said Dagris. “I didn’t do anything with comedy for a while after that.”
Dagris strayed away from comedy and tried to pursue other endeavors; however, in 2017, Dagris eventually made his way back and has since become a regular on the Portland-based public access comedy panel show “Stand Up for Geeks” hosted and produced by Tristian Spillman. He has also produced and occasionally hosted "Wait, What?" a comedy panel show at Curious Comedy Theater and Helium Comedy Club for over a year, and has performed at Helium Comedy Club and other local venues.
“I think Portland is lucky to have such a thriving scene for a city its size,” said Dagris.
Learn More
Learn more about Daniel Dagris online
• www.danieldagris.com
• www.facebook.com/danieldagris/
