Life as a Comedian

Our staff writer Stephanie Deitrich got a chance to sit down with Kelly Taylor and find out what being a comedian on the road is all about

By Stephanie Deitrich
Staff Writer
Posted 3-4-09

You’ve heard of a starving artist, but what about a starving comedian?  Although it didn’t pay well at first, Kelly Taylor is a comedian who has made a career out of his comedy.  Taylor, 31, is from Canada and just recently visited UWS campus.  He performed in the snack bar area of RSC for a modest but good natured crowd of students.

Taylor says he always wanted to be a comedian.  “The thing of being in front of people never scared me.”  He says when he first started out he didn’t get paid a cent.  Instead he and some fellow comedians were paid in a more unconventional way.  “The first place I started out, they emptied the bottom of the keg for us and they gave us a big picture.  So we’d drink the bottoms of kegs for free.  That’s how I got paid when I first started.” 

Now six years later, Taylor says comedy is his only source of income and he enjoys it.  “People are always like, ‘how much do you make?’  November and December tend to be great months.  Its Christmas party time and you can charge more. So you can have these great months and then I get like a summer month and they’re like, ‘what did you make?’ And Im like, ‘oh nothing really.’  It varies very much.  Its fun that way cause then I don’t know what I can spend or anything.  It makes life fun.” 

Taylor tours in the U.S. and in Canada.  Traveling is a big part of his job but he says it doesn’t bother him.  “I like it.  It depends how you let it get to you. Like today.  I had to be at the air port at four thirty in the morning; then fly to Minneapolis. Then my flight got delayed but I knew I’d have enough time to get here.  That’s the only stress is, am I going to get there on time?”  Taylor says there is one piece of advice he can give to comedians who are starting out. “The best things is just stage time.  No matter what.  The person who actually gets the most stage time usually bills the most.” 

Taylor says he definitely recommends pursuing a career as a comedian.  “Yeah there are shows you can do where you have a great set where you get like a buzz and a rush after.  You feel great.  What a job I have.”