Spencer King chooses to write his comedy material onstage.
His observational humor started growing while he attended Utah Valley University eight years ago. He always had a desire to be an entertainer and just needed to find his angle.
"I wanted to be a comedy writer and I had read somewhere that stand-up was the basis for all comedy writing," said King, in a phone interview in advance of his headline show next weekend at Wiseguys Comedy Cafe in Ogden.
At the time, King focused on acting and theater -- he has appeared in the LDS films "Church Ball" in 2006 and "Passage to Zarahemla" in 2007. But he discovered after he performed at an open mic eight years ago that stand-up comedy was his niche.
"I love that immediate response," King said. "I love knowing exactly how the audience feels right as they see it."
He found that observation provides the best laughs for him. So he sets out to find intriguing ideas -- such as body bags being sold in surplus stores and odd zoo exhibits.
"Usually if something strikes me as funny, I write it down or I try to examine it in a little more detail about why I find it funny," King said.
"My act is basically things that I find funny. That's why I like open mics, because sometimes I find things that are funny -- it doesn't necessarily mean that other people do as well."
With an idea in his head, he will set out to find an open mic to use as a testing ground.
"I love to go up with a premise and kind of see what happens. Then refine it, refine it, refine it until I have it the way I want it," King said.
King treats his act as a process. Currently, he is close to finishing up a new hour of material for an album.
The new show has been under construction for a year and a half. King said he figures another few months are left before he has perfected the whole set.
Getting personal
King's material has recently changed focus onstage. He wants to be more personal about his life.
"My newer stuff is more biographical," King said. "I am trying to kind of share with the audience a little more about myself. With this set that I am doing now, I focus a lot on my relationship with myself.
"I talk about some of the struggles I have had with depression and where I am at in my life right now and how I feel about that."
It's about creating a stronger bond between him and the audience.
"I just felt like I wanted to get a better connection with the audience," King said. "This personal stuff makes me a little more vulnerable because I am sharing such personal stuff. But at the same time, I think people can relate to some of the stuff."
He discovered it's also a benefit to him as an entertainer.
"It's very fun to do that kind of thing," King said, "to open myself up like that and share that with other people."
Watch Spencer King in action:
Comments