The 10-day festival that begins April 17 features Sean Patton on April 24, Mia Jackson on April 25 and Todd Barry on April 26. All three headline shows are scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m. at the Starr Theater.
Patton is from New Orleans, Jackson is a Georgia native and Barry grew up in Florida. The nomadic nature of most professional comedians’ lives takes them all over the country and sometimes the world, and while it isn’t necessary to know a lot about the towns in which they perform, having basic frames of reference for regions can’t hurt.
In phone interviews, Patton and Jackson discussed their southern upbringings, what intrigues them about the North Carolina festival and more.
Interestingly enough, Patton and Jackson both performed at New York City’s famous Comedy Cellar the same day I interviewed Patton. They both were also dealing with a cough, and a few days later, I got sick. Good thing we all got that out of the way before the festival started.
Sean Patton
Tony Castleberry: We’ve talked about your love of Dead Crow Comedy Room (in Wilmington) before, and you performed at the PIT Chapel Hill on (March 24). You’re coming back for the N.C. Comedy Festival in Greensboro. Is it safe to say you enjoy spending time in North Carolina or is it strictly business?
Sean Patton: I do love North Carolina. In New York state, it’s all kind of gobbled up by New York City, and I’m from Louisiana where New Orleans is the city everybody knows. People from Baton Rouge and Lafayette would hate hearing me say that. [interviewer laughs]
North Carolina has Asheville, Wilmington, Charlotte, Greensboro, Raleigh, Winston-Salem and Durham, all these super cool, very unique cities just sprawled around, and I really enjoy coming down there. Unlike a lot of states in the south, it’s got four seasons it feels like. I appreciate that. Coming down there to do a festival in the spring in North Carolina, I’m really looking forward to that.
TC: For festival booking, do you initiate that conversation, like, “Hey, this festival looks fun. I’d like to do a show there,” or does an agent or manager or rep contact you first?
SP: Generally, the proprietor of the festival will contact your manager or agent.
Jennie Stencel, I met her years back when I did a show, I wanna say it was 2015, at the original Idiot Box. We just kind of remained in touch. She reached out to me about the festival and I put her in touch with my reps.
There are enough festivals out there that don’t have people, like Jennie, who understand and have their finger on the pulse of comedy. That’s really important. Jennie, she knows who’s funny, who’s out there making waves, who’s out there actually doing comedy. Other festival bookers, who — for the sake of professionalism I won’t name until I’m in Greensboro at the afterparty with a couple of drinks in me — just sort of guess. “Who should we get? Who’s a big name? Is Pauly Shore available?” OK, cool, go get that guy for reasons you can’t even tell me.
I feel like, on that end, it’s important to have someone in charge of a festival who understands comedy and not only does it themselves but is a fan.
TC: I’ve seen you live, I think, four times now, including (March 23) at Dead Crow. It seems to me like you’re at the top of your game. Do you think you’ll be doing that hour at the festival or will things change between now and then?
SP: Things will change. Knowing myself, I feel like my simultaneous strength and weakness is that I, for my own sanity, can’t do the same set in the exact order two times in a row. It just doesn’t work that way in my head. I start to feel like a fraud if I do that. I’m not saying that comedians that do that are at all. Like I said, that strength is also a weakness in the sense that I’ve probably missed out on making a lot of fans. They come to the second show (in one night) where I decide to take more risks, and it doesn’t pan out for them as well, so they leave going, “That guy was all over the place.”
However, it’s also the way I like it. I’ve made some fans who will come to the second show and will be like, “Oh man, this guy’s really going for it.”
The early Saturday show, I find, is the most in tune audience. Usually the crowd is a little older and a little more sophisticated. I prefer a slightly older audience in comedy. The idea that you want your entire audience to be 18 to 25 is insane to me. I get the idea that it’s a marketing thing, and the whole idea that the audience is gonna grow with you. I don’t believe that. I believe that your sense of humor evolves and whatever you find funny at 19 you’re not necessarily gonna find as funny when you’re 30.
TC: God, I hope not.
SP: Right? I don’t think that’s a dig on anyone. I’m just saying I prefer an audience of 30-year-olds, and I feel like at the Saturday early show, you’re gonna get a slightly older audience. They’re a little more sophisticated. They’re gonna listen. They’re gonna go with you on a journey. They don’t need immediate gratification of recognizable premises. An early Saturday show is where you do your more refined stuff whereas a late Saturday show is always the (expletive) show. It’s always the hellfire, which can be great if you know how to do it.
TC: Can’t wait to have you back in North Carolina. You’re always welcome here as far as I’m concerned.
SP: Thank you, and I’m looking forward to the festival. North Carolina is my (expletive) hits the fan state because you’ve got the mountains to the west and the beach to east, and that’s all you need.
Mia Jackson
Tony Castleberry: Have you done any shows in North Carolina or will the festival shows be your first ones here?
Mia Jackson: No, I’ve been to North Carolina a few times. I don’t know if I’m allowed to mention [whispers] other festivals.
TC: [laughs] Of course. It’s fine.
MJ: Now that I’m in my twilight years, let me think. [interviewer laughs] I am also being dramatic but I wanna say it was either the first or second year of the Asheville Comedy Festival. I did the early years of that festival a few times. I hung out in Asheville, and over the years I’ve done shows in, is it Winston-Salem? That’s North Carolina, right?
TC: Oh yeah, that’s where I was born.
MJ: Cool, yeah, I was there. I will never forget the show I did there because I remember buying what I thought was a cute, khaki jumpsuit. I thought, I’m gonna wear this to the show. I sent a picture to my sister and she was like, “Oh wow, are you an airplane mechanic?” [interviewer, Jackson laugh] That may have been the first and last time I ever wore it publicly anywhere. I did that show. I was at the Greensboro Comedy Zone a couple times. I’ve performed in Charlotte so yeah, I’ve been around North Carolina.
TC: Are there any specific things you like about comedy festivals?
MJ: My favorite thing about the festivals is that, generally, across the board, any festival feels like summer camp in a way. Doing stand-up, you’re by yourself a lot. You’re traveling to the gigs alone. If you’re doing a traditional comedy club weekend where there’s an emcee, feature and headliner, depending on where your role is in that show, you’re probably gonna be working with people you’ve never worked with before. You might or might not hang out with those people that weekend. It can be very lonely on the road. The fun part of the festival to me is just having a bunch of comics in one place at one time. Here are a bunch of people who are just as crazy as I am in one place who have all chosen to pursue comedy as their job.
It’s also a cool way to meet people. It might be someone you’ve followed online, and you’re like, “Oh, this is my first time getting to actually see you in person.” Now I’ve got a friend in, say, Houston who does comedy so if I go to Houston, I know somebody there. (Festivals) are good for that.
Just doing a bunch of shows and getting to see different styles of comedians from all over the place in one place is always good.
TC: Was it a little daunting performing on shows with Amy Schumer or were you eager to play those venues in front of thousands of people?
MJ: It’s a little bit of both. It’s, “Hey, I’m excited!” and “Oh my God, what have I gotten myself into?” It’s also, “She asked me to open for her in front her fans and I want to do a good job.” There’s that part, and then there’s the other part where I’m like, “Wait a minute, she asked me to open for her so she must think it’s fine. OK.” That’s how I looked at it.
There’s nothing that beats performing in a club because you have that close connection. You can see people’s faces. If something crazy happens, you can comment on it right there. In a theater, you obviously don’t have that because, more often than not, no one’s eating. They usually don’t have drinks, so you don’t have to worry about that type of stuff, those types of distractions.
I think theaters also make people behave a little differently. They’re usually a little bit more well behaved. You have that and then you also have people who are like, “Hey, I paid a lot of money to come see this person that I love. I’m paying this money because I came to see Amy Schumer.” You get an audience of people that are like, “I’m here for the comedy. I didn’t just accidentally end up here because this is where I drink on Thursdays and watch the game.”
TC: [laughs] That’s so true. I’ve been to a lot of places where the audience is surprised by the comedy show. The theater setting is obviously a little bit different. What do you feel like you learned doing those theater shows with Amy?
MJ: I ended up performing bigger (on bigger stages). I was a lot more animated. I didn’t even really notice it until one of my managers came to one of the shows, and she was like, “Oh, look at you!” I didn’t even realize I was doing that. It was really cool to go, “Oh, I can take this same type of performance (to smaller venues.)” I don’t have to be so buttoned up in an intimate venue. I’m obviously not gonna be running across the stage and bouncing off the lights and stuff, but just go perform and feel like I can do a lot of those things in this club space.
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