#stephen agyei

[ifyoubuilditcomedyla]

11/12/18

Maria Bamford Alice Wetterlund Mike Hanford Charla Lauriston Stephen Agyei Alex Hooper

[npr]

Midway through college, Stephen Agyei quit the track and field team, signed up for a stand-up competition, got on stage and did his first set. He knew immediately that he was going to do whatever it takes to make it in comedy.

"I would watch my stand-up in comparison to other comics," he says. "I would go do a five-minute set one night, I would put it on the TV and right next I'd put a DVD of Chris Rock in. And I'd watch a minute of mine and then 10, 15 minutes of his. I'm like, 'How did he get all them damn laughs, and I got one laugh?' "

Today, Stephen is a fixture on the comedy scene in Denver, where he lives. He's opened for well-known comics like Roseanne Barr and Dave Chappelle, and he's thinking about the next step. He still has a day job, and he's worried about giving up that security to do comedy full time.

To help figure out his next move, he spoke with Roy Wood Jr., a veteran comic probably best known as one of the fake news correspondents on The Daily Show.

Roy encouraged Stephen to take the plunge and move to Los Angeles or New York.

"You gotta keep living in an uncomfortable zone," Roy says.

To Make It In Comedy You Have To Bet On Yourself

Photo: Jeffrey Nicholson/Courtesy of Stephen Agyei; Mindy Tucker/Courtesy of Roy Wood Jr.