Consistency in comedy requires hard work. Many a standup has had a timely TV special that led to a movie or sitcom career, but the comics that remain on top of their craft decade after decade continue to perform live regularly. Certainly comics like Margaret Cho, Bill Maher and Jerry Seinfeld do not have to tour, but it is that live element of their art that makes them consistently funny. Brian Regan is one of those comics, and he is regarded by his peers as one of the funniest comedians in the world.

Seinfeld calls him “one of my favorite, favorite stand-up comedians.” “Brian Regan’s the best stand-up working today. Period,” says Patton Oswalt. And Marc Maron adds, “Brian Regan’s the funniest guy – there’s Brian Regan and then there’s other people.”

Since his beginnings in the mid-1980s riding Greyhound buses from comedy club to comedy club, Regan has always delivered fresh and clever original topics, and his fans return again and again because the material is always new. This prolific ability combined with a blue-collar work ethic has become a 30-year, nonstop tour visiting close to 100 cities each year.

While a student at Heidelberg College in Tiffin, Ohio, Regan would emcee college activities. “I would introduce the basketball players and the cheerleaders. I would make that stuff funny.”

He divulged how that led to trying standup. “I didn’t think about pursuing standup comedy as a career until I was in college trying to study accounting. A comedian performed at our school and was paid $800. Even though I wasn’t learning much in accounting, I knew $800 for one night was pretty good. So one night, I decided I’m going to try to do comedy in a campus bar – they had comedy night. It was just me. I went on stage in front of, I don’t know, 40 or 50 fellow students, and it didn’t work out. It was very strange. Because there’s a fictional quality to comedy. I remember being on stage and trying to get into bits. I’d be like, ‘Hey, so I was on a bus this morning,’ and my friends are in the audience going, ‘No, you weren’t.’ “

Regan kept at it though, eventually landing his first paid gig. “The first time I got paid for comedy, the guy gave me $10. I was like, ‘Where’s the $800 per show thing?’ “

I asked Regan about all the traveling he’s done over the years. “Traveling is one of the cool things about doing comedy,” he shared. “I like going everywhere. In fact, I think I’ve been to every city listed in Johnny Cash’s ‘I’ve Been Everywhere’ song. My favorite cities are the ones where the hotel check-in clerks say, ‘Here is your reservation, and here is your key.’ But, many, many, many, many times, that doesn’t happen.”

Over a similar 30-year period, I have had the privilege of seeing and meeting some of the finest comedians in the world ranging from Red Skelton, Don Rickles, Buddy Hackett and Bill Cosby to modern comics like Eddie Izzard, Wanda Sykes, Cho and Maher. Regan is possibly the most reliable of them all and is able to be so with a PG-rated act. A recent topic of his was to have a dozen Easter eggs tattooed on his body, “but tell the tattoo artist to hide them,” he explains. “Then if someone finds all the eggs, they must really like you.”

With a nascent comedy scene on Maui, I wanted to know if Regan had any advice for Hawaiian comics.

“Comedy is a pretty cool experience. My advice to anyone getting started would be to steal material and burn bridges – wait, that’s not right – oh yeah! Be original and be a good human.”

Oahu’s Kermet Aipo will be joining Regan at Castle Theater at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center. “Kermet is great! He will be joining me again on this Hawaii adventure. We have a Friday show in Honolulu at the Blaisdell, then we head over for the Saturday show on Maui. I love Hawaii. The crowd in Maui was really cool and I hope they check out my show again.”

When asked about career highlights, Regan offered, “My arc has always been kind of gradual. I don’t think there were any single moments that clearly delineated whether or not I would continue as a comedian. I’ve had good nights, and I’ve had bad nights. But the good ones always more than compensated for the bad ones, so I kept on going after the comedy.”

I inquired if he had any plans to reduce all the touring and traveling in the future. “I don’t plan to slow down yet. I love doing my comedy on the road. But who knows, maybe one day I’ll decide to slow down a bit, but not yet. I actually like the traveling. Especially now that I travel in a solid gold Lear jet – now, I will make the disclaimer so some reader doesn’t think I actually travel in a solid gold Lear jet. I mentioned earlier the hotel stuff, that’s the only thing that is getting increasingly frustrating. But my kids love watching daddy get mad at hotel check-in desks, so maybe it’s not so bad.”

THIS WEEKEND

Adaptations Dance Theater is pleased to announce its 2015-16 season with its preliminary fundraising soiree, “Just Desserts,” on Saturday night. Join ADT at the Hui No’eau Visual Arts Center in Makawao for this after-dinner event featuring dazzling desserts, cocktails, dancing, live music by the Toby Couture Quartet and a special ADT performance.

This month, the local dance company will also be featured in a dance documentary by creators Amanda and Wade Robson (“So You Think You Can Dance,” “Dancing With The Stars,” “Cirque Du Soleil”). Wade Robson calls ADT “the real deal – beautiful, honest, gritty, fantastic.” The film segment will premiere at the Hui No’eau event.

In September, “Dance Maui 2015” will be the first of what will be an annual dance festival produced by ADT. The company will also begin an apprenticeship program beginning in September for aspiring dancers just entering the professional dance world and in January 2016, they will present “Bring it Home,” a performance of their entire repertoire.

* Join Adaptations Dance Theater for “Just Desserts” from 7 to 10 p.m. Saturday at the Hui No’eau Visual Arts Center in Makawao. All-inclusive, general admission tickets start at $75 and are available through www.adaptationsdancetheater.com.

*****

Seabury Hall Performing Arts concludes its season with its 20th annual “Side Shows,” a wild array of short plays. This year’s crop includes pieces by contemporary playwrights and two Seabury student playwrights, Miles Kelsey (class of 2011) and senior Zeb Mehring. Students Sabrina Futch, Zoe Harrelson-Louie, Logan King and Eliza Wright will be directing.

Performances will be at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday in the A’ali’ikuhonua Creative Arts Center on the Seabury Hall campus in Makawao. Admission is free, and donations are welcomed. For more information, call 573-1257 or visit www.seaburyhall.org.

UPCOMING

Alexander Academy Performing Company presents Prokofiev’s “Cinderella.” More than 150 student dancers from age 3 to adult will perform the classic ballet along with professional guest dancer Nathaniel Hunt.

“We are extremely excited to provide our advanced dancers with the opportunity to partner with a male lead on stage,” says AAPC Executive Director Danelle Watson.

* Performances will be at 2 and 6 p.m. June 6 and 2 p.m. June 7 in the A’ali’ikuhonua Creative Arts Center at Seabury Hall. General admission tickets with bench seating are $18 for adults, $10 for keiki ages 2 through 12, with VIP seats available at $30 for adults and $20 for keiki. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit www.alexanderacademy.info or www.aapa.brownpapertickets.com.