Up-and-coming comic Brian Frange has learned there are big differences between the Bay Area and New York comedy scenes.
Most people, it seems, are tangentially connected to at least one famous person. For me, it is my ex-boyfriend. Or it will be, when he gets famous. I met Brian Frange in my college improv group at Indiana University, where we dated for three years before parting ways. Now he lives in New York and does comedy full-time. He has featured for Amy Schumer, John Mulaney and Eugene Mirman, appeared in comedy festivals across the country, and once won Time Out New York’s Joke of the Week. Last weekend, I caught up with him while he visited Santa Cruz. He also performed stand-up and sketch comedy at San Francisco’s Sketchfest, where I loudly told everyone who I could make eye contact with that I know him. Now I’m telling you.
GEORGIA PERRY: My first question for you is, how does the style of comedy here in the Bay Area differ from what you’re used to in New York?
BRIAN FRANGE: The audiences were the main difference. The audiences in San Francisco are smart, savvy audiences. Dave Chapelle says that in the beginning of his hour filmed at the Fillmore.
GP: How can you tell if an audience is savvy? They just laugh at the right things?
BF: They laugh at the right things, and with my set here I felt like no joke went over their heads. There was nothing that was too confusing or too complicated for them. It also feels like there’s a sense of ownership over the comedy scene here that the audiences have, they want good comedians to come out of here, out of the Bay Area.
GP: Oh yeah, like a local pride thing?
BF: Yeah, where in New York there’s just so much stuff going on that people don’t care. In New York you rarely hear someone be like, “Oh yeah, I’m really proud of Woody Allen ’cause he came from Brooklyn.” It’s just like, “everyone’s here. There’s no one that’s not here.”
GP: I was once at the weekly open mic in Santa Cruz at the Blue Lagoon, this bar downtown, and one of the guys claimed to be in a YouTube video that had a lot of views. But it turned out it wasn’t a comedy video, it was just this time he went on The Price is Right on mushrooms.
BF: Oh. I think I’ve seen that.
GP: Yeah. A lot of people have seen that! And he talked about it, and I remember me and my friend both were like, “Ooh! He’s famous!” It was exciting.
BF: Yeah. In New York that’s not a good enough story. It’s like, “Oh, I saw Chris Rock and Dave Chappelle do a set together at the Comedy Cellar.” People don’t care. People don’t care at all.
GP: So if you could say something to yourself from back then when we first met at Indiana University, what would you say?
BF: I would tell the 20-year-old me not to wear a blazer when you start out.
GP: Oh yeah, you had the blazer period.
BF: Don’t wear the blazer. And you can’t force it. It just takes time. Just keep writing stuff that you like. And over time it’ll develop into something that’s good.
GP: I remember back then you talking about—“I need to have, like, a shtick, and everyone’s Jewish already, so I don’t know if I should play up the Jewish thing.”
BF: Yeah. I think now the best way to do it is just to do what you think is funny. I have to remind myself of that still in New York these days. It’s so saturated and there’s so many people and everyone’s really good. That’s why I felt the pressure to be a specific thing, ’cause you gotta stick out. But you know what? You stick out by being funny. You just be the funniest person. That doesn’t mean you should be a “complainy Jew,” or be a stoner. No. Just be funny.
The San Francisco Sketchfest runs through Feb. 9 with multiple sketch comedy and stand-up shows daily featuring both up-and-coming and big name acts alike. See the schedule at sfsketchfest.com.
