Amy Carlson

Today I am interviewing Amy Carlson, a comedian from New Rochelle, NY who has been doing comedy for about a year and a half. To find out more about Amy, please visit her website.



Why did you start doing stand-up comedy?

My childhood home was depressed and depressing. Stand-up and sketch comedy were two of the very few things that brought my family together when I was growing up. My mom was a huge fan of Richard Pryor and Eddie Murphy among many others, and she allowed us to watch their stand-up specials at a very young age. We also used to gather around the TV weekly for Saturday Night Live and for reruns of Laugh-In and SCTV on Nick at Night. Very early in life it became my mission to make my mom and the rest of my family laugh as hard and as often as our favorite comedians. And I was good at it. I would prance around the apartment in various home made costumes, dancing, singing and doing impressions, never satisfied until my mom, step dad and sister were in tears. I realized as a very young child that laughter truly is the best medicine; it can make a very dark place bright for a moment, and it's a way to reach people who may seem otherwise unreachable. These early revelations were reinforced later on in school where I also learned that it's very hard for a bully to beat your ass when they're cracking up.

Sketch comedy is ultimately what I would like to do, really what I've always wanted to do, and I decided to try to use stand-up as a vehicle to get me there.

How do you write comedy?

Unfortunately there is no particular formula or technique I use for writing, although I've certainly been searching for one this past year and a half. It would make it so much easier if there was some way I could just sit down and write, but when I actually try to think of something funny, the funny never comes. Most of my jokes are written in the car or in my bed at 3 am when something funny pops into my head. I do find that being prompted or challenged by others to write about a certain topic helps get my creative juices flowing and I've written a lot of 'keepers' through those kinds of exercises.

How do you deal with hecklers?

I usually deal with hecklers by briefly giving them what they crave-a chance to have their say and get a second in the spotlight. I have found that a quick playful comeback in response to their bullshit will usually shut them up. I try not to alienate or flip out on anyone, no matter how much of a jackass they may be, because in doing that I am giving them way too much attention and allowing them to steal my time. I have found that staying composed, (at least on the outside), is the best way to deal with hecklers.