Interview with Steve Bennett

CB: How long have you been gigging in comedy?

SB: A couple of years, I only started taking it seriously in 2012, leading up to my first Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

CB: How would you describe your comedy?

SB: Musical, with a bit of wit and energy. I like to talk about universal feelings from a bit of a different angle. It’s nice to try make people think as well as laugh.

CB: Which comedians influence your comedy?

SB: I really love musical comedy like David O’ Doherty, Tim Minchin, Bill Baily and Flight of the Conchords. I’m also a huge fan of people that stand there with a microphone and talk for an hour: Louis C.K., Dave Chappelle, Dara O’ Brian, Richard Prior, Bill Hicks, Bill Cosby. And people who do stuff that’s a bit different as in anti-comedy like Phil Kay & Tim and Eric.

And of course, the funniest stuff is the stuff that’s not meant to be funny like bad movies or R-Kelly songs.

CB: Did you always want to go into comedy?

SB: I think it was always bound to happen. I’m very bad at getting my feelings across without the use of humour so comedy was an obvious choice.

CB: How do you go about writing your material?

SB: I keep a notebook nearby 24/7, I’ll write down day-to-day observations and the occasional quip that makes my friends laugh over a beer. Then I make “beautiful mind” style wall charts with scraps of paper. Then I’ll find 4 or 5 chords I like and play them over and over again and I just sing whatever comes out, then you edit out about 90% of the drivel and you’ve got yourself a joke. Then I’ll try it in front of a few different crowds and see if it’s working. Over weeks or months it’ll develop into a gag or a routine that I’ll grow to love then hate in time.

Not that I think too much into it.

CB: Do you gig as a stand-up full time or is it more of a part-time hobby? If so, do you find that your main job influences your material?

SB: I work as a foreign language teacher so comedy is more of a hobby that I want to get better and better at, to the point when I can quit the day job and do it full time. I like this idea as it always struck me that comedy, whether writing, acting or stand-up, is something I can do until I die, I have a fear of retirement.

CB: What do you find the most enjoyable and frustrating parts of the amateur comedy circuit?

SB: Well, It can get a tad frustrating when “who you know” gets you the gig instead of being the best one for the job. Also, people tend to expect you to work for free at gigs. Comedy is a marketable skill. Even at charity events, the kitchen staff and bartenders aren’t working for free, the pub is selling drinks, often the charity admins have a salary.

But there’s so much to enjoy, I have a “real” job so I don’t rely on comedy, which means I do it because I want to, not to make ends meet. So I write comedy for me primarily. I don’t have any pressure on me to change my style or compromise. I appreciate the hell out of that.

Also, it’s a cheap thrill. There’s no better feeling in the world than that first laugh when you go on stage. It’s a hobby that lets me meet new and interesting people, have public therapy sessions and it tends to just about pay for itself.

CB: What’s your favourite type of audience to perform to?

SB: A crowd that are there for comedy, I know that seems redundant to say, but the worst audience members are the ones who clearly don’t want to be there. Arms folded in the defensive “Ok, make me laugh funny man” pose. Crowds should be there for a show, not a seat.

I love people who understand that you have to listen to the words the comedian is saying in order to get the jokes. People who can handle comedy that’s a bit different, dark or out-there and maybe has a life lesson or two thrown in with a bit of story… along with the giggles and snorts of course.

I like mixed crowds, different ages, different nationalities, different coloured shirts, it’s all good for balance. If there’s any one demographic that’s too prevalent, they can get a bit cliquey. But I find older women are really up for a laugh. Maybe it’s because I remind them of their son who’s doing better than me in life.

CB: Have you been heckled a lot since you’ve started gigging? Do you enjoy being heckled? What’s the best heckle you’ve had?

SB: I love a good heckle. It’s great for showing the audience that it is really a live performance and I can be funny on the spot. I also hate hecklers because I’m afraid I won’t have something witty to say back. There’s two types of hecklers: nasty disruptive ones (although, in general, with hecklers, there’s a reason you’re the on on stage and they’re not) and lovely ones

My nasty favourite is when somebody is really trying to get involved and the audience just turn on them. I think the best one I’ve had is when a guy borrowed his friend’s crutches and staggered out of the room like Lee Evans in There’s Something About Mary. I had previously asked him not to come to the show when I met him on the street because I could tell he was, as we in the industry call them, a drunk asshole. I think it’s funny though that he felt so strongly about not enjoying the show that he had to tell me and the whole crowd via mime.

My other favourite was when I was performing in Paris. At the last minute I realised I didn’t have an announcer so I just stuck my hand out from behind the curtain and did a…for want of a better word: “flesh puppet hand thing” where I just made my hands talk and introduce me on stage.

This American lady loved it so much that during one of the applause breaks in the show she yelled out “Bring the hand back!”

We had a lovely chat and discussed the differences between American and Irish expectations.

CB: What advice would you give to new acts thinking of starting out in comedy?

SB: Have fun with it. Also, I still get nervous before every gig. If you’re not excited by it, you probably should be doing something else. Also, don’t be arrogant or take audience/organisers for granted, no matter who you are, there’s someone better than you, and if not better, just different. It can seem like a solo sport but we all need to help each other out whether that’s setting up contacts, advice on sets or just a couch to sleep on.