A conversation about comedy with David Cope
I inhale interviews with comedians. I’ve noticed, however, that most of them — say, Marc Maron’s, which I listen to religiously — are with comics who are at the height of their powers, and therefore don’t have much interest in talking about the nitty-gritty of how to actually do comedy: how to write jokes, find your voice, and get comfortable on stage; the stuff they figured out years ago, but the rest of us are still learning. I’ve also always loved talking about the theory and practice of comedy, and wanted an excuse to do it more often.
So, as an experiment, last my friend Dave Cope sat on my roof for an hour and talked about comedy. The results are above. Dave’s a very funny comic with a very unique and specific style; we discussed his approach to joke writing, the adjustments he’s had to make to get his particular voice to work for an audience, and what he wishes he could have told himself when he was starting out. Listening back, my interview skills need a lot of work (Step One, say “Yeah” less often; Step Two, don’t interrupt), but Dave’s articulate enough to make up for it, and I think we cover a lot of interesting ground.
This isn’t a podcast — it’s just two guys having a conversation and recording it on a smartphone — but you can subscribe to the feed in iTunes, or download the mp3 if you’re so inclined. This is an experiment, so let me know what you think; I may do more in the future.
