By Tony Castleberry, Out and About contributor
RALEIGH, N.C. — If 2018 was great and you want to celebrate, or if the year has taken its toll and you want to turn your attention to 2019, there are few places better than Goodnights Comedy Club in Raleigh on New Year’s Eve.
Andy Woodhull is headlining two shows Monday at Goodnights, marking the fourth consecutive year Woodhull has performed during the holidays at the iconic Raleigh establishment.
During his time in the Raleigh comedy scene, Woodhull has not only become a yearly holiday fixture at Goodnights, but also helped fellow area comics by helping get a comedy writing group off the ground and taking local comedians on the road to open for him.
In a Wednesday afternoon phone interview, Woodhull and I discussed the New Year’s Eve shows, who will open for him at Goodnights, why jerks don’t usually make it in comedy and more.
Enjoy the interview, follow Woodhull on Twitter and don’t forget The Best Tweet I Can Find in Five Minutes at the end.
Tony Castleberry: What is your plan for the New Year’s Eve show? Will you be on stage helping count down to 2019?
Andy Woodhull: I think that’s the plan. That’s usually how it goes. We’ll do a countdown at midnight and probably celebrate with a champagne toast. It’s gonna be fun.
TC: You took Raleigh comedian Sam Mazany out on the road with you for shows in 2018. What prompted you to do that?
AW: While I was living in Raleigh, me and (Raleigh-area comedian) Adam Cohen kind of started this comedian writing group. The cast of characters that came was always a little different, but Sam and (2016 NC’s Funniest winner) Mark Brady were two of the regulars at the thing.
For New Year’s Eve, when they asked me who I wanted the opening acts to be, I said the regulars from my writing group. Mark did some stuff with me on the road this year too, and we’re trying to get (Goodnights general manager) Brandy Brown on stage. She was a part of the group too.
TC: I’ve seen Sam, Mark and Brandy do stand-up and enjoyed them very much. On Facebook the other day, I saw a person who had just started doing stand-up ask for advice. A lot of comedians responded with helpful things to do, but I’m wondering about the other side of it. What would you tell a new comedian to avoid doing?
AW: Good question. I guess, just don’t be a jerk. [interviewer laughs] Try to be respectful to people.
TC: Do you find that people are sometimes jerks in the comedy scene?
AW: No, because I think people that aren’t kind get weeded out. It’s very competitive. You have to work hard, and you have to be really funny and also, you have to be likable. I’ve been doing stand-up for almost 16 years and it’s the best people who become comedians, I think. Very few unkind people are able to make it because people have to like you for you to be successful.
TC: Sixteen years seems like a long time to do anything. Does it feel like a long time to you?
AW: No. It feels like I just started. With anything, probably with you and writing, you compare yourself to the people you started with. I’m doing OK.
TC: You’ve become a holiday staple at Goodnights. Do you hope to continue doing shows here at Christmas or New Year’s?
AW: Yeah. This will be my fourth year. The last three years I did Christmas weekend, but with the way Christmas fell this week, it was one or the other and I chose New Year’s Eve. I’m doing two shows instead of five, like you do for a weekend, so my hope is that people who’ve become my fans in Raleigh will all come to those two shows. It’ll be really fun.
Here it is, The Best Tweet I Can Find in Five Minutes:
• Credits
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