Dwayne Perkins

Perkins earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the New York Institute of Technology.^[4] After emceeing events in college, Perkins began performing at the Uptown Comedy Club^[1] in Harlem.^[5] After graduation, he moved to Boston in 1994.^[6] While performing at The Comedy Studio in Boston in 1999, he was scouted by Late Night with Conan O'Brien,^[7] and he made his television stand-up comedy debut on that show in July of the same year.^[8] During this period, he also appeared in the New Faces of Comedy showcase at the Just for Laughs festival in Montreal.^[9][10]

In 2003, Perkins moved to Los Angeles.^[11] He has indicated that his primary clubs in the area are The Comedy & Magic Club and the Laugh Factory.^[12] Other notable area clubs where he has performed include the Hollywood Improv,^[13][14] The Comedy Store,^[15][16] and The Ice House.^[17][18] Notable clubs outside Los Angeles where he has headlined include Gotham City Comedy Club^[19] in New York City and the Punch Line^[20][21] in San Francisco.

In addition to performing in the United States and Canada,^[22] Perkins has also performed in Europe,^[2][3] the United Kingdom, South Africa,^[23] India,^[24] the United Arab Emirates,^[25] Hong Kong,^[5] Singapore,^[26] and China.^[27][28]

Perkins has indicated that he prefers to appeal to broad audiences rather than to narrowly defined audience segments.^[5][29][30] His earliest stage time was in front of predominantly black audiences in Harlem, followed by a period in which he played to predominantly white audiences in Boston, and he credits both experiences with influencing his style.^[5] He has also indicated that he prefers subtler material over more confrontational approaches.^[27][31] While he includes material about race in his act, he has indicated that it is not the central focus of his material.^[5] His delivery style has been characterized as "likeable" and "matter-of-fact."^[32][33]