How my best bits originate in conversations (and more Q&A)
Answering reader questions about standup and more.
A bit of reader Q&A with yours truly:
Are you creating more alone or do you collaborate a lot?
Standup is a solo artform although I'll do "jam sessions" with other comics to work on new bits. Video stuff can be more collaborative and that's fun too. And actually, you could argue that standup is a collaboration between the comic and the audience and that we're creating it in the room together every night.
Does it start writing or in conversations?
Both. A lot of my best bits originate in conversations I have with interesting people. But then it usually goes to writing and then back to stage and it's different for every bit.
I am 40 and just starting something I wish I had done twenty years ago.
Hey, at least ya got something to say now. A lot of 20somethings have chops but who cares what the hell they think lol?
What do you like about pop culture?
It gives people a shared language and commonality. A big problem with the internet is how everyone exists in their own bubbles and living in different realities. It makes me realize how much it helped when everyone was watching Walter Cronkite and Johnny Carson...it's what made america the country that it is. Now, everyone is living in their own America. And then everyone becomes the enemy. I just wish the current version of mainstream culture wasn't all comic book movies and teeny bop tunes.
What do you make of parasocial relationships?
I think we're in a loneliness epidemic. We long for connection. And that makes you think the person who hosts the podcast you listen to is your actual friend when they don't even know you exist and that's a dangerous asymmetry. Especially when someone's saying wrong stuff, yet people blindly back them up because of tribal nonsense.
Is it amusing when people quote your work back to you? Annoying? Befuddling?
It happens rarely enough that I still find it flattering.
What did you learn about yourself from making “Substance” and how long did it take? Are you happy with the product?
It took a month to film and then several months to edit. I think what I learned is well explained in it if you watch but a quickie summary: I like performing sober because it helps me be in control, but a little buzz can be good for more playful/human sets and developing new material. And yeah, I think the finished product is great and I'm proud of it. I marvel at the job the editor did bringing it all together.
Chicago! I’ll be headlining Zanies tonight (11/22). Tickets here.
Ha. I have many more questions.