Ten Questions with Mike Hanley // Featured Comedian: October 2012
(1) Your personal definition of comedian.
Simply put – someone who can stand up in front of a group of people and make them forget about the world. For that time you are up there, the goal is to let everyone escape from their worries of life in general and just laugh and enjoy themselves.
(2) What got you into comedy?
I have always wanted to jump on a stage ever since I was young. I would watch stand-up on television all the time and knew some day, I wanted a microphone in my hand. Actually, when I was little I had a television in my bedroom and I would watch Letterman all the time in the middle of the night. To prevent my parents from seeing the light under the door I would literally watch Letterman with a blanket over the TV and myself. So fast forward to college, I see a poster for a comedy contest and decide this was my chance. I wasn’t sure what I was going to talk about but I knew I had to enter and begin my journey of trying to be a comedian.
(3) Tell us about your very first show.
First show – University of Connecticut Funniest Person on Campus Stand-Up Contest. I invited every single friend I had, I got up there and was HORRIBLE. Actually there isn’t a font big enough to write the word horrible. Nothing like inviting all of your friends to come see you and completely embarrass yourself. A year goes by and I see the poster for the same contest and I tell a friend that I am going to enter it again. His reply was classic: “That’s like driving 300 miles per hour in a car, hitting a wall, somehow getting out of the car safely, and you want to do it again?” I just smiled and said, “Yup I have to.” It was only my second time on stage and I went on to win the contest.
Mike Hanley (l) with Jim Breuer
(4) Most memorable moment (good or bad) in comedy so far.
I have had so many memorable nights on stage, it is hard to pick just one. I am going to break the rules and share two. After my initial run at comedy in the 90s, I took 11 years “off” to get married and have three beautiful daughters. Talk about material!!! I may have been off the stage but once comedy gets in your blood, it is always there. Last month I had the opportunity to perform with one of my comedy idols Jim Breuer. There I am on stage performing in front of over 500 people. As one of my stories gets a solid laugh I turn and Jim is standing on the side laughing along. I didn’t think it could get any more amazing than that moment. But I was wrong – I got asked to headline a weekend for Comix at Foxwoods last month and on October 21/22 I get to headline a weekend at the RI Comedy Connection. Moments that I had only dreamt about – now a reality.
(5) Best part about doing stand-up.
The absolute best part of being on stage is right after the host calls your name. You hear the applause, grab the mic and begin. Every smile and every laugh after that introduction you have to earn. That challenge is absolutely fantastic.
(6) Worst part about doing stand-up.
Wow, this is tough. Nothing honestly jumps out at me. Even when a show doesn’t go the way you originally thought, it always makes for a great story. I once did a show where I walked in and there was only one person in the crowd. Picture a lot of tables with a candle in the middle of each one of them and way in the back one guy sitting there. I turned to the promoter and was like – are we doing this? He says – he paid so we are doing it. I still remember being halfway through a story and the crowd (the guy) got up and went to the bathroom. I just stood there and waited. He sat back down and I continued. If you just read that and felt uncomfortable double that in real life. Nights like that always make for a great story!
(7) New guy comes up to you and says, “Golly, Mr. Hanley, I’d like to do what you do. How do I get started?” And you say…
This was one is easy to answer….get to every open mic you can find. Tape every time you go up – study it – analyze it – get up again. Set realistic goals and stay humble. Play everywhere you possibly can perform. You have to have a mindset that you can perform anywhere and not be intimidated by the crowd or the surroundings. I have done many shows where nobody is listening in a bar, did a set in a mall with people shopping, told jokes standing in a washing machine and dryer section of a department store, and even told jokes in a locked down state mental health institution. Sidenote after the mental health show: a guy came up to me and said “You are crazy!” – can you get a better compliment at that venue I don’t think so! To sum up – be original, be yourself and have fun.
(8) Things you wish you knew then that you know now.
I wish I knew not to take it so seriously when I first started out. As you can imagine it can be a rollercoaster of emotions when you tell a joke or a story and it doesn’t hit exactly like you thought it would. This would crush me for days after. I know now that developing a concept on stage is so important and takes time.
(9) Your one-sentence philosophy on comedy.
“Don’t suck.”
(10) The question (about comedy) you’ve been dying for someone to ask you – plus the answer.
I guess the question that I would love to get asked is, “Does the third week in November work to be on Letterman?” My answer would be, “Um, yes, that works… as well as any other week.”
