Michael Kosta
Los Angeles, CA
Male, 30s
I'm Michael Kosta, stand-up comedian (yes, that's what I write on my tax returns). I've performed on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Conan, and Comedy Central, and I tour all over North America and Australia. Ask me anything about life as a stand-up.
If I write something that I think is too good to be true, too simple and obvious, I may quickly google the idea and see what comes up, but that doesn't happen very often. Very rarely do I write soemthing like that :) I'm not to concerned about my jokes being unique because if you write through your own personality, own point of view, they will be compltely unique and authentic to you. Even if someone gave me and you the same topic, call it "pay phones" we'd both probably write jokes that were very different and the ones that were the same, would be too obvious and not funny, most likely. The best solution is to write about YOURSELF. Just like our 1st grade teacher taught us, we are all special one of a kind snow flakes, so take advantage of that. Oh also, if you are performing a joke and 2 or 3 comedians come up to you and say "Yo, that joke is a lot like so and so's" joke... well then, you drop it. That's the deal.
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I defintely love what I do. Making people laugh is so fun and its a great feeling to see someone's face go from normal to laughing. I think I'll be happy as long as I am doing that, or trying to do that. Stand up is defintely one way to acheive that. The road is long and hard and can be a grind. I will always go on the road because I love to travel and meet new people and perform for new audiences, but I would like to have my own tv show or host a late night type talk show. Hosting is something I have always liked more than acting but I'll take whatever they will give me. You got any good leads?!?!
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Did I rip him? Oh well that's not good. I like to be positive. I believe what I said was "Jeff Dunam was the highest paid comedian a few years ago with $35 million. Yes, a guy who talks out of his side of the mouth with puppets made $35 million one year." Maybe there are comics who respect him, I certainly dont love his comedy, but guess what? I'm sure he sleeps just fine at night. Comics like 'pure" stand up comics. I'm not saying its right or wrong but comics like and respect comedians who don't use sound cues, props, gimmicks, etc. That being said, I have used all of those. Its probably because he made $35 million last year.
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Hell no! As long as I'm not hacky I'm very comfortable performing for high money :) One thing I do like to check a club or theaters website to see what other comics they are booking. If there is a lot of crap on there, then I don't get as excited to perform or I ask for more $. The clubs that book quality acts, as the ones that are usually the favorites of the comics and vice versa.
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Auto Mechanic
What car brands are most/least likely to end up in the shop?
Professional Poker Player
Are you worried that online poker is rigged?
Parcel Delivery Mailman
Are you a lot stronger and more fit because of your job?
Managers get 10%, Agents 10%, lawyers 5% I dont have a publicist but a lot of comics do and they would need to get paid also.
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how many questions are you asking? Is the last sentence a question? Are you drunk?
It can get monotonus doing the same jokes over and over again, but hearing them laugh doesnt. Older jokes are more polished and stronger. Newer jokes can be more fun to perform because they are newer and fresher ideas but often times they are unpredictable and lack polish or strength.
I try to mix it up but if the audience is tough or I feel like the new jokes aren't working I will go back to a bit that I've been doing a while.
As far as your last sentence, I don't know what that means. If you want to do comedy, do it. There is no age requirement. Its not a sport. Just sign up. Or don't. I don't give a shit.
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Ha! I hope not! Sometimes I'll run into people who were at my show and I can tell they want me to be funny , or they try to crack a lot of jokes to me, that is so fucking annoying. Lots of times, once I tell someone I am a comedian, they try to tell joke after joke. For whatever reason this happens at a lot of hotel front desks. I have to tell them why I am in town and then they start zinging jokes at me. The people that know me best know that I am not capable or nor do I want to be funny all the time. There is nothing worse than a comedian who is always "on".
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