He hopes he Kipps you entertainedby Scott Saffran Staff Interviewer Before his stand-up show this past Friday night, I got the chance to sit down with my friend Stephen Kipp to talk about his life as a comedian and our mutual love of comedy. Stephen is from Chicago and is a junior majoring in English. He performs regular stand-up shows on campus, as well as in Manhattan. {For this interview, Scott will be represented by S, and Stephen will be represented by K} S: What clubs or activities do you participate in here on campus? K: On campus I am on Fordham Stand-Up and Fordham’s improve team, Stranded In Pittsburgh. Yeah, those are the two things that I do. No other things on campus, really. S: So, for anyone interested in those clubs, will there be another time this year to audition? I know there were auditions in the fall, are you holding more in the spring? K: Yes, we have them at the beginning of every semester. Apparently we’re not very good at advertising because people who don’t have friends in the club don’t know about the club. We advertise on social media…I don’t even know if we use OrgSync, but who looks at OrgSync? S: Not a soul. K: [Laughs] Yeah…so the first week of every semester we do auditions for improv, stand-up, sketch comedy, and spoken-word poetry. So many people are like “Oh, that’s a thing? I’d love to do that!”, so getting the word out would be solid. It’s always so low-key, I feel like everyone is just having fun…it’s a lot less pressure.
S: A lot of people know you from your opening set for Aidy Bryant at this past Spring Weekend. How did you feel stepping on stage and doing that set? K: That was the most fun thing I did last year, for sure. It was one of those things where I stepped out on stage and the next thing I know I was off the stage. It was such an ideal crowd, a college crowd…my school crowd, and everyone was excited because Aidy Bryant was coming out. I was so glad that went over well, especially since it was a nice outlet because I have a decent amount of Catholic jokes and that was a big room that I knew would, for the most part, get it. S: This is a bit of a different question, but when did you realize that you didn’t want a real job? K: [Laughs] Oh lord…I guess there were stages. I don’t know when I consciously decided that. I’ve only this year actually hyped myself up enough to be, like, ‘Alright I want to actually do this.’ My whole life until now has been, ‘I’m never gonna be an adult, ‘cause that’s too far away’. I usually cite my first spark of interest from watching Jack Black in School of Rock. I was like, ‘I want to do what he’s doing’. Jack is ridiculous. I don’t do any acting, really, but him just being such a hilarious character… S: Well, don’t sell yourself short on acting. I remember Camp Winola…that was a great show. K: First semester freshman year, yeah. I had like one scene…it was absolutely absurd. James, who wrote it, told me ‘Yeah this scene is for you. Just go out there…the crowd might hate it, but it’s fine’. It was just so purposely awkward and I felt so perfect for that as an awkward freshman. The Black Box audience is like the ideal audience, because they want you to do well. Everyone is there to see their friends, or their friends’ friends. It’s so ideal. S: So Jack Black and School of Rock was a great inspiration for you, but what comedian, or comedy show/movie, just doesn’t do it for you? K: Stuff I don’t like? I think, I don’t know if it was conditioned into me by my dad, but if there was ever anything raunchy, I’d have to change the channel. So, I’ve always had a kind of distaste for raunchy comedy. I feel like it limits who you can do comedy for. I do like plenty of raunchy comics like Louis C.K. and Bill Burr. But Jim Gaffigan, I was so relieved because I could put him on whenever and just watch the full hour. I’m amazed by how he talks about like two things, but he’s also done years of different material about food. Some people give him crap because he’s just ‘the food comic’. But, he’s producing different hour long specials, like four of them about that one topic. S: As you’re very well versed in comedy and the comedic world, please explain the popularity and career longevity of Adam Sandler, ‘cause I don’t know how he’s still making movies. K: [Laughs] God…at this point he seems like just a kids’ movie guy. I could see, as a kid, he’s just the guy with the weird voice, and they just stick him into stuff now. Each of his characters…he had a character where it was just a guy with a pickle for a mustache. It’s either genius, where he flips comedy on his head, or it’s the most simple, stupid comedy you’ve ever seen. Part of me wants to respect that he’s hitting some niche audience who thinks it’s genius. But, Adam Sandler just seems to be a mostly hated person. S: Alright, so I’ve got a handful of quick response questions here…pretty light, short…just say the first thing that comes to mind: Trump’s 2020 opponent? K: Oh, boy…I heard Bernie’s running, but [laughs] it’ll be very…a decrepit Bernie. After each quote he gives, there’ll be ‘Oh…my back!’ S: LOTR spirit character? K: I identify with the dwarves heavily. S: Most underrated comedian? K: Ooh…I’ll say…Brian Regan. No doubt. He makes me laugh harder than anyone, but he’s not that mainstream. S: Favorite Marx brother? K: Groucho S: [Laughs] I don’t really think that’s a discussion for anybody. If you wanted to say Karl, I’d understand. K: [Laughs] I should’ve. S: TV show that should be immediately cancelled? K: Huh…I don’t watch too much television…there are plenty of dumb, ridiculous shows like Jersey Shore that aren’t good, but like it’s funny. It’s become a genre. Stuff like that’s not helping anyone. Or any show where Tim Allen’s a dad. Like…again? S: [Laughs] We’ll qualify that as an answer. S: Do the Cubs repeat, or achieve comparable success in the coming year? K: I think they’re going to be good for the next five years. They look awesome. S: SNL is...? K: In need of help. It needs…it’s got a lot of good people. But it’s got terrible PR. If you ask anyone, they’re just like ‘Nah, it’s stupid’. They did the 40th Anniversary thing…I think people just need to give it a chance. S: Now it’s shameless plug time, give us whatever people ought to come out to see. K: Next weekend [weekend of 11/18], Nate Crawford wrote a play that will be put on in the Black Box. Our stand-up is going to Providence next Saturday, but we are gonna do a Christmas stand-up show, I think, the second weekend of December. It’s almost like one big sketch, people play characters and we improvise a bit. It’s so, so much fun.
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