Comic digs the laughs, not the lifestyle.

Byline: Serena Markstrom The Register-Guard

Debbie Newman emerged from Leigh Jasheway's stand-up class at Lane Community College a star. Each student performs as a rite-of-passage, if not an official final, and Newman got the bug for the spotlight. She soon had a show in Eugene that was a big hit.

"I thought I was ready to make it big after one showing," said Newman, who performs under just her last name when she's not on her day job: office manager at Schnitzer Steel.

That was five years ago, and while she hasn't hit it big, she hasn't really tried to, either. She soon realized the lifestyle of a comedian was not for her.

For the first three years after she took the comedy course, Newman, 50, was a regular at Jasheway's monthly Comedy Workout at Actors Cabaret. She has performed at the Eugene Celebration, First Night and at a smattering of other events.

Her performances may not be as frequent as some fans might like. But on Sunday, a Eugene audience will get a taste for what has made her a local favorite.

Newman said she never really tried to make it as a comedian. She had a show at a bar in Southern Oregon where the audience members were, she said, as drunk as they could be.

"Here in Eugene, people are friendly; they laugh and they clap. That's the way Eugene is," Newman said. "When you're performing in front of drunks you need one-liners; you need to be vulgar and just go for the laugh."

That is not Newman's style. She tells stories. Funny stories, like Bill Cosby used to do.

"Out there in the real world, it's dog-eat-dog as far as comedy clubs," Newman said. "So I'm lucky, I'm here.

`I will do at least an hour. I don't know any other place in the world where I can do that."

Her show is called "Comedy Without the Carbs" because she has spent the past seven months working with a trainer and losing almost 50 pounds.

Newman talks about everyday life in her shows. She said she gets help with writing from fellow funny lady Paula Larson.

She said lately she has been incorporating more and more ad lib into her comedy. She still gets that rush she got the first time she performed and said comedy is like a drug.

"All that attention; woo-hoo!" Newman said.

COMEDY PREVIEW

Comedy Without

the Carbs

What: Stand-up with Newman

When: 7 p.m. Sunday

Where: Actors Cabaret, 996 Willamette St.

Tickets: $12, percentage of proceeds to Greenhill Humane Society

Rated: No cursing, for all ages

You can reach Serena Markstrom at 338-2371 or [e-mail].

CAPTION(S):

Newman may be laying off the doughnuts these days, but she's laying on the comedy thicker than ever.