Joe Emilio

Born in Texas, USA where he lived most of his childhood, he then moved to Egypt for a while before landing in Cape Town, South Africa in 2007.

It was in his college years when he began to write original material for his stand-up comedy routine. He began performing in front of friends at “Comedy Braais” and towards the end of his studies in 2011, Joe performed stand-up in front of a live audience whom he did not know.  Joe hasn’t stopped since. He graduated top of his class in performing arts, with a BTECH Diploma in the one hand and sheer passion and determination in the other, Joe pursued his career in Stand-up comedy.

He performs on a regular basis in many venues in and around Cape Town. He was even organizing his own gigs and giving aspiring comedians a chance to have their 5 min of fame. This developed into the brand: #ThatsFunny.

In 2014 Joe was part of the Newcomer category in the Savanna Comics Choice awards, where he performed at the Soweto Theater.  In 2016 he became the resident MC and commentator for Dodgeball SA. In 2017 Joe was a semi-finalist in the #ShowUsYourApples Stand-up Comedy Competition at Cape Town Comedy Club.

In late 2016 Joe debuted his one-man show: “Joe Ma Se BBQ” which is a journey about Joe’s experiences in South Africa from a foreigners perspective. He makes fun of himself experiencing the South African culture and thus attaching a new spin on every day norms for regular South Africans. Dirty Punk City Blog said: “It’s a must-see for all South Africans; you will relate and laugh at everyday things that you wouldn’t normally consider as funny…   He’s like an old friend telling stories over a few beers in a bar – no pressure.”

He has taken his one man show to many venues across Cape Town as well as doing a run at the Cape Town Fringe Festival in 2017, and has worked outside of SA in Windhoek, Namibia where he performed and MC’d at the music festival "Rock 'n Run" 2016.

Joe can currently be seen on the local comedy circuit and does not shy away from any event.