Ted Alexandro Quotes - Page 2

I learned so many things from Louis C.K., but the most impactful thing was witnessing his work ethic. He works harder than anyone I've ever been around in comedy. And he takes risks and doesn't dwell on what might be perceived as failures.

Opening for Louis C.K. during his "Hilarious" tour was a great experience for me. He is the generation just ahead of me, because he started so young.

Opening for Louis C.K. during his "Hilarious" tour was a great experience for me. He is the generation just ahead of me, because he started so young. So it's like he's sort of a senior and I'm a junior, in terms of the business. He's done so much - from writing on Conan and Chris Rock to writing and directing movies, having his own HBO show, "Lucky Louie," and now having "Louie" on FX.

Like once we picked Jim Norton as the head of security, the writing flows pretty easily.

That heightened dynamic can produce interesting, funny ideas that are phrased in ways that surprise even you, as the performer.

I also do a certain amount of talking through material on stage, to see what happens and allow interesting ideas to manifest.

It's a constant process of bouncing ideas off of one another and intuitively arriving at the right decision in the moment.

I wasn't in the drama department, but I auditioned anyway and he not only cast me but also included a few sketches that I wrote, which really sparked my pursuit of comedy.

'Teachers Lounge' is a web series I co-created with Hollis James. We intentionally left the apostrophe out to turn 'Lounge' into a verb. The show is about teachers lounging around, wasting time.

Your stage persona is usually a version of yourself, to varying degrees. Some folks do a full-on character, so that's different. But most comics do some version of themselves.

The blues is a hopeful music. It helps you process something rather than avoid it. It's like mourning, in essence.

I think comedy is no different now than it was at other points. It takes a long time to get good and know how to distill what makes you funny beyond the realm of standup, which is what I'm trying to do with 'Teachers Lounge.'

Comedians act every night on stage, so they have great performing chops. They especially know how to play themselves, which is how we set 'Teachers Lounge' up.

Comedy clubs are arguably one of the last bastions of uncensored, public free speech.

Comics definitely embody the importance of practicing free speech.

Comedians can articulate some important and profound ideas that address a lot of the hypocrisy we're inundated with (in the media).

The more you perform, the more adept you get at the nuances of navigating that communal conversation.

Listening to your own sets and listening to the audience as you perform. It's a conversation of sorts. There is an exchange.

Laughing at something is a form of accepting it or at list making peace with it.

Comedians have varying levels of training. It can range from classically trained actors (like Robin Williams) to people who took comedy classes to folks who just started doing it. That's the beauty of comedy: it's close to a pure meritocracy.

I don't do the mirror thing; maybe once or twice when I first started out.

A crowd is the only way to know if something works. Telling a friend or two doesn't matter. A crowd is what tells you what works or doesn't, so I'd rather go in front of them cold and see.

TV is a different animal. It's not a club set. As you said, you do short sets on TV - about five minutes. So you have to get that rhythm down and also be aware of the camera so you're connecting with the viewers at home as well as the studio audience. It's a different muscle to develop.

Ultimately, an audience wants to laugh. That's who they like, the comedian who makes them laugh.

It always comes down to what the crowd buys coming out of your mouth, which differs from one comic to the next.