Phil Murphy

Today I am interviewing Phil Murphy, a comedian born in Danbury, CT who has been doing comedy for two and a half years. To find out more about Phil, visit his website.

Why did you start doing stand-up comedy?

I moved to NYC in 2005 after college to be an actor even though I never had any acting experience. I think saying that you want to be an actor is pretty much code for "I don't know what I want to do." After a couple years of acting classes I was getting bored with it and i felt like I had to get out and do something related to performing as well as get comfortable being in front of people other than my fellow acting students. I figured comedy would be fun because I always made my friends laugh and appreciated comedy, so I took some improv classes and started going to comedy open mics but at first I was only doing it to complement my acting class. I knew nothing about stand up comedy or joke writing and never imagined myself being a comedian but I really started enjoying it more than the acting and improv and found myself getting pretty good at it so I ditched the acting and the improv and just focused solely on stand up. I think what I loved and will always love about stand up is that it is just you up there. No scene partners or fellow actors. I have yet to find something more rewarding than the feeling of being on a stage By Yourself making a room full of people laugh.

What do you think about the future of stand-up comedy?

I really like how stand up is starting to work its way out of the comedy clubs. For example, the Bonnaroo Music Festival which is a big jam band festival in Tennessee now has a comedy tent and the lineups seem to be growing. Not to mention all the other music festivals which are incorporating stand up into their lineups. I think that is great and I think the future of stand up comedy exists outside of the comedy clubs. Not that I dislike comedy clubs, but I feel like the most popular shows, esp. in NYC are in bars, cafes, bookstores, etc. Its awesome. Now if only we could find a way to get those types of shows to pay.

What is the meaning of life?

The meaning of life is to not think too hard when trying to answer the question "What is the meaning of life?"