David Rodriguez: Stand-up Comedian And Owner Of The Comedy Fort
Have you ever wondered what goes through a comedian’s mind when they’re telling a joke that does not work? Well, a lot I must say. David Rodriguez came on my podcast and had some interesting things to share about starting out in stand-up comedy and how his dedication to the craft paid off.
For those who don’t know David Rodriguez, he is a comedian based in Fort Collins, Colorado, and he just recently opened his own comedy club called The Comedy Fort. Speaking on what made him decide to open a comedy club, he disclosed that besides the increasing demand, getting paid for just the shows didn’t feel enough for him. “ I needed an adult-sized portion of the effort that I’m putting, then I was running a monthly theatre show as well and it bugs me not having every aspect of the production under my control,” He says.
Six years after doing his first open mic, David is now set to open his new comedy club, located where he had done his first comedy set. Despite the initial challenge he encountered setting up during COVID, things eventually got into shape. For David, getting into comedy was like having a light bulb moment, He recalls “ I tried it and with the first laughs I was like, this is what I was supposed to do with my whole life”.
Davids shares further insight into what stand-up comedy is all about, “The general perception of stand-up is it’s just for the most famous comedians, that’s really mainstream…but then you go to an open mic for the first time and literally anybody is allowed to try stand-up comedy…I used to think stand-up comedy was art but then you come to an open mic and realize, oh no, it’s just a man with an undiagnosed mental illness and a microphone”.
As a club owner, David’s perspective hasn’t entirely changed, he hopes to continue to build the club until it gets the reputation it deserves. He’s open to all kinds of comedy and is eager to run things the right way, constantly getting different feedback from everyone which has helped him in sculpting out the club in a unique way. He’s having some interesting names come on his shows like Sean Shane Torres, Sean Patton, Taylor Tomlinson, Pepitone, and more but his ultimate goal is hosting a show at the Lincoln center.
For someone who doesn’t like to take risks, David is surely doing a good job. Two and a half years ago, he had posted a selfie on Facebook asking his followers if they wanted to help him buy the building where he had been running comedy shows with a restaurant and it was about to get closed. He got his seed from there and he had never looked back ever since.
When asked what advice he had for himself 3-5 years ago? He replied, “ be willing to accept help from people, be open to that and when people offer help, ask for specific things and it’s all possible because the community supports it”. He adds “Don’t take networking lightly, because comedy at pretty much all levels is. You need people to have your back. If people don’t support what you’re doing or know about it, then there’s no way you can succeed, so definitely relationships are so important”.
The Comedy Fort is a comedy theatre featuring Fort Collins‘ most seasoned stand-up comedians, it’s a fast, hysterical, and highly interactive show that has been proven to be the most fun, you can check them online @ The Comedy Fort.
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Another great guest I suggest was Mary Kate Wiles.
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