Take 18 local amateurs, send them to comedy school, and what results is the Wing Nuts Stand-Up Comedians.

Though they’ve only been together for about three weeks, the local group of comics has already played one show last Friday at The Zone. Roman Lynch, one of the organizers for the group, began doing comedy last November, and he’s been unable to quit since then.

Tell me the history behind the Wing Nuts Stand-Up Comedians.

A bunch of us have taken a comedy class. Part of what the class was learning how to write jokes, and we put on a showcase at the end of the class. We were having so much fun; we wanted to keep writing new material, and so we formed this group, and we’re trying to play every once in a while and just have fun with it. We started officially three weeks ago, and we’ve had one show already.

How did your first show go?

The audience was a little small, but we had a great time.

How do the performances work?

Usually, you have an emcee that acts as host. Each act is like probably 10 to 12 minutes.

What are some of the jokes you’ve done or plan to do?

I’m a little bit older; I’m about 50. And I figure part of gettin’ older is things are startin’ to droop. And if my nose drooped any more I’d be able [to] breathe all inside air; I’d be able to go scuba diving without a tank and also be able to pick my nose without a finger.

The other one is I’m losing my hair. It’s growing on my back. I look like I’ve been in a Rogaine attack. Actually, it’s grown clear down to my ass.

I went to Washington on vacation, and we were going to Gettysburg, but we lost the address.

And then we went to Ford’s theater — that’s where Lincoln was shot. Well, one thing I didn’t realize is they crank out four cars a day there.

OK, one more. Then we went to Mount Vernon, that’s where George Washington lives, and he’s got in his house a picture of his brother, and you know who that is — he’s the uncle of our country.

The thing with comedy is that it’s not really funny unless you’re with a group, and you’ve had a couple swigs of beer.

So, what kind of topics do the comics in your group usually address?

What we learned mostly is that especially when you start out, you make fun of yourself more. So, a lot of people talk about themselves, their husbands, their parents, news articles. That’s always good that adds to it and keeps it a little current.

When did you get inspired to do stand-up comedy?

You know, you always see these guys out in the middle of nowhere you don’t know. When you get old, there’s not a lot of weird things you can do, and people accept it.

Who are some comedians who have inspired you?

I actually have a local one. Have you ever seen Ronald McDonald at any of the McDonald’s here? Well, that’s Toby Kidd; he does stand up on the side — he’s a clown and a stand-up comedian.

Rodney Dangerfield’s funny. Some of the weird ones I don’t like, I mean some of the ones that get really filthy. That’s kind of what we try not to do.

How do you go about writing new material and brainstorming for ideas?

You think of an idea. Draw a line in the middle of a sheet. You put an idea on one side and then, anything that relates to that idea, put it together. You do about 10 to 15 minutes per idea, and then you edit it, and you look at it and see what could be funny, eliminate some of ’em, and then after the edit, then you try to write a joke from that.

Sometimes, though, one of the biggest things is to carry a little book around with you. Almost all the time, when you talk to people and they do funny stuff, almost right then is when you see something funny or hear something funny, and you write it down. One of the biggest assets is a little spiral notebook.

Have you ever had anything unusual or crazy happen to you on stage?

No, but I don’t know how I’d be able to handle a heckler. But there are ways that you can handle it. I just assume that no one’s gonna heckle me. Maybe I’d start crying, that’s the ticket.

Do you have anything especially planned for Friday night’s performance?

I’ve got this funny walk I can do. You know when you get old you get kind of bow-legged?