Mo Diggs

Today I am interviewing Mo Diggs, a comedian born in Edison, NJ who has been doing comedy for three and a half years. To find out more about Mo, please visit his website.


Why did you start doing stand-up comedy?

I was sleeping with hookers and strippers, thinking, "What job can I have where this lifestyle is common to the point of cliche?"

Also, I saw Aziz Ansari and Eugene Mirman do this bit on M.I.A. I thought Aziz Ansari was an Arab-American like me, which was refreshing because there was no such thing as a cool Arab-American. Then I found out he was Indian and tried to look up Arab Americans as funny as Aziz and I couldn't find any. In fact, I thought I was better than the Arab-American comics I saw so I figured I would give it a go.
But yeah Aziz really did great things for Habib-Americans (anyone in America who would get called a "terrorist," whether they are Southeast Asian or Persian; Arab or Turkish). It was also great seeing Kumail Nanjiani on Colbert Report playing Colbert's secret prisoner. A decade ago they would've given that role to Fisher Stevens with chocolate pudding on his face.

How do you write a joke?

An idea comes to me and I work on it on Monday, my writing day. Then I try it onstage, and if it doesn't work I whine and ask my girlfriend why the joke didn't work over and over again, even when we're having a romantic interlude.

How do you make sure you don't forget your material on stage?

Depends on the situation. Usually I try to link joke titles with images and try to link those images according to the order they are in. For example if the set list is MAYONNAISE/SATANISM/PARROT/IPOD, I imagine mayonnaise being spread on a sacrifice for a Satanic ritual; then a Satanic parrot; then a parrot with an iPod (skateboard optional).

If I just stop by to watch the show and the producer puts me up at the last minute, however, I write the joke titles on my hand.

Can you share one joke?

Imagine KISS painted abstract art on their faces? "I was the Fire Breathing Demon; now I am the Haunting Specter of Unrealized Potential."