Written by: Joseph Santiago
How did you get your start in comedy?
People would always laugh at me when I got angry. I went for a Masters in acting at the Yale School of Drama, and we’d be talking about something tragic, say like 9/11, and I would talk, and they‘d laugh. Then THAT used to make me angry. They certainly weren’t being malicious, and I didn’t understand what was humorous about my angst. But people would tell me that I should be a comedian. I always looked at stand up as the underbelly of show business, booze, and rooms full of loud, blousy women drunk, smoking and screaming. Just chaos. Stand up was barely a thought in my head. I mean, to a degree it was, but my reality was that I was way too scared. Then I graduated from grad school and eventually I found myself hating theater. “You’re the racist, greaseball Italian. He stands on stage for three hours and has no lines, but he’s IMPORTANT! You’ll be paid $1.47 at Theatre by the Pothole for a six week run.”
