Denver-based comedian Noah Gardenswartz will be performing at 9 p.m. Thursday at the Maintenance Shop.

Admission is free, and the doors will open at 8:30 p.m.

Even though the road to where he is now has not been smooth, Gardenswartz has had the fortune of performing for “Just For Laughs,” “Adam Devine’s House Party” and even placed as a semi-finalist on “Last Comic Standing.”

Previously attending college in Atlanta, Georgia, for a degree in psychology, Gardenswartz was already on the comedy road. Beginning with open mic nights his senior year, Gardenswartz didn’t initially have a passion for stand up. He hated performing on stage, and instead was interested in writing. However, with experience came a love for the career.

Even with that love for stand up, Gardenswartz didn’t start at the top.

“It was all kind of herky-jerky,” Gardenswartz said. “My first job out of college was the journalism job. I was doing stand up and writing for a small newspaper in Atlanta. I just kind of got burnt out writing for the newspaper and writing my own material. I just kind of wanted to step back and take a break from stand up comedy.”

For the next three years, Gardenswartz was a teacher, a trader and a marijuana grower. “All of which were enjoyable jobs,” Gardenswartz said. But the love of comedy eventually drew him back.

“I am the type of person where if it is not something I want to do with my life, I am not going to devote and waste a lot of my life to it,” Gardenswartz said.

Gardenswartz was eventually invited to perform at the “Just for Laughs” comedy conventions in Montreal, Canada. Gardenswartz sees “Just for Laughs” as the jumping off point of his career in comedy, as he was invited to audition for “Last Comic Standing.”

Even though Gardenswartz will perform anywhere there’s an audience, he still has a few qualms about going on stage.

“Just the very nature of trying to make a room full of strangers laugh is a very difficult thing to do,” Gardenswartz said. “Especially in today’s climate where different things offend different people and everyone has their own sensitivities. It’s getting harder and harder to manage.”

Gardenswartz hopes to continue climbing the comedy ladder in the future.

”I want to keep traveling across the country and performing at clubs, colleges and festivals. I want to continue doing television spots and writing for television … Instead of writing for someone else’s TV show, I would be wanting to write my own show,” Gardenswartz said.

When asked what his advice for people looking into comedy was, Gardenswartz advised them to stop looking.

“There is no real advice anyone can give you. You can’t teach someone how to be a stand up comedian,” Gardenswartz said. “When young comedians or aspiring comedians ask me how to get into it, I just honestly tell them there is no real advice … If you are actually thinking about stand up, the only thing that really works for you is to get up and do it.”

For more information, visit the SUB website.