The Collegiate Q & A Quick Wit Q&A WITH COMEDIAN CHRIS COLLINS ’10 Q: What first sparked your interest in comedy? Was there a specific moment, person or experience that sparked your interest in comedy? A: Funny enough, I was giving a toast at my best friend’s wedding - Joél Collins, fellow class of 2010! And after being college roommates together, let’s just say I had some solid ammo. I practiced it a bit and rather than read from my iPhone, I just sort of trusted myself and aimed to make everyone laugh. The jokes landed big time! Afterward, everyone congratulated me on a great speech. I honestly wanted to chase that feeling again! Q: Who are your biggest comedic influences? A: There are people in the standup community here in Santa Monica and L.A. that are so, SO funny and the world may never see them. A lot of those folks inspire me. Also, self-deprecating comedy is my favorite. Ben Stiller, Ricky Gervais, Bo Burnham. I could go on and on, but let’s not waste paper here. Q: If you could go back and perform a stand-up set at St. Joe’s, what’s one joke you’d tell? A: I had such a rogue time at St Joe’s; it was truly different back then than it is today. I’d probably talk about skipping first period to “go to the orthodontist,” stealing chocolate milk from Marauders for a Day or how I played football only freshman and senior year. Bookended it. The coach didn’t even know my name. But now? I tell people I was QB. MVP. The whole nine. Q: What advice would you give to students who love comedy but aren’t sure how to pursue it? A: Just try it! And try it a few times. There are open mics all around Buffalo. Write jokes about things you know - your family, your life, your friends. Everyone has takes on airplane food and politics. But you can escape competition and “hack” material by being authentic to yourself. That thing your dad said to you at dinner might be the funniest thing anyone’s ever heard.
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Q: How do you balance comedy with real life—do you ever turn it off or is everything material? A: This is a great question - applause break for the interviewer. I turn it off personally because I have a day job and do other things like auditions, but going to a lot of open mics and writing often turns it back on. You can never write too much. Q: We love our Buffalo Bills at St. Joe’s. How does it feel to have Josh Allen follow you on Instagram? A: You mean the reigning NFL MVP? Oh. Uhhhh I don’t know, amazing? Incredible? The first thing I look at every morning when I open my eyes? My greatest accomplishment to date? Screenshot it and engrave it on my tombstone? Sure, yeah, it’s okay. Maybe. Josh is the man; he’s such a humble, normal guy. I think he muted me a while ago, but I don’t blame him. Josh for President. Josh would be such a St. Joe’s guy. (Aaron Rodgers is Canisius). Q: Are there any projects you’re working on now that we should keep an eye out for? A: I did a horror movie with Lou Ferrigno called The Hermit, it will be out this fall I believe. I play a park ranger with a mustache. Might’ve peaked. Might win the Oscar. Might be on Tubi. Anything is possible. I have been ripping a new mini-show on my page called Santa Monica Crisis Response. It’s like Reno911! meets something worse than Reno911!. But that’s my sketch thing right now. Go check it out on Instagram @chrisco11ins. And GO JOE’S! =)
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