A few months ago, Chris Quimby heard one of his favorite comedians was coming to town. Seizing the opportunity to see Brian Regan live, Quimby purchased tickets for the April 27 performance at the Maine Center for the Arts.

Regan has appeared on Comedy Central, “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” and “Late Night with Conan O’Brien.”

And at 32, Quimby is an aspiring comedian himself. He has dabbled in the local humor scene in the past – performing stand-up routines and song parodies at the annual Maine State Bar Association meeting and at his aunt’s birthday party. The full-time computer technician at the Bangor Daily News even won back-to-back “Funniest Person in Bangor” honors in 2004 and 2005.

Then he got an idea – even if it was a little far-fetched.

“What if I could open for Brian Regan?” Quimby recalled asking himself. “Now, that would be a big break.”

Quimby e-mailed Regan’s manager, Rory Rosegarten, former executive producer of the CBS sitcom “Everybody Loves Raymond” and manager for its star, Ray Romano. He made an honest pitch: He’s a 1995 University of Maine graduate and his humor would cater to the local demographic.

“But these guys are from New York,” Quimby said of the cultural disconnect. “I live in a trailer in Brooks.”

He never expected to hear back. But he did.

Rosegarten requested a seven-minute DVD containing his best humor. Having never professionally recorded a routine, Quimby turned to the one resource he knew would come through – his church, Calvary Chapel in Orrington.

In the building’s cafe, equipped with digital sound equipment, Quimby compiled an audience of 35 – a mix of churchgoers and friends. Their job was to laugh. His job was to make their job easy.

Considering the setting, that could’ve posed a problem. He had to keep it clean. But like Regan, he adheres to a set of scruples, only occasionally straying with a sexual joke.

“It’s not a churchy church with stained-glass windows,” he said. “But I had to do this my way, and if I can’t do it in a church, I can’t do it.”

Quimby rattled off the seven minutes he thought were most representative of his talents.

“They laughed,” he said, “and it was sincere – I think.”

The DVD “No More Tears,” a blend of humor about his mobile home and shampoo, elicited a response. Rosegarten asked Quimby to condense his routine into five minutes and open Regan’s performance.

Those recent events have put Quimby in an enjoyable position, he said, especially considering he almost dropped the hobby altogether last summer. At a Brewer Days act, a crowd of elderly and infants didn’t respond to his performance.

That event revealed a void in his life. He had never been much of a drinker, but as a last resort, he gave it a try.

“In December, I drank coffee for the first time, and I felt great,” he said. “That’s what I was missing – caffeine.”

Quimby isn’t nervous about his upcoming act. Caffeine helps him cope, he said, but he knows that whatever happens, happens. His last gig marked the first time he could consume food before performing. “That’s good, because it shows I’m not nervous,” he said, thrice thwacking his stomach with the palm of his hand, “and I like to eat.”

Tickets are available for the 8 p.m. Thursday show for $35 each. Visit the MCA box office on the UM campus in Orono, call 581-1755 or follow the link on Quimby’s Web site, www.chrisquimby.com.