Inside With: Andy Ross, Writer, Artist, and Comedian
Andy Ross is a Chicago writer, artist, and stand-up comedian. He performs at the Lincoln Lodge, Chicago Underground Comedy, Funny Ha-Ha, and other shows. You can see his comedy clips on YouTube, and enjoy his sharp and clever writing in shows like A Demon That Never Appeared. He's not afraid to declare his love for P.G. Wodehouse, but don't try to describe him as "whip-smart," because he'll see right through you.
Have you always been interested in comedy? Was there a "Rosebud" in your childhood that serves as a touchstone for your desire to create comedy? When did you first start thinking that comedy was a viable thing to pursue?
My dad told a lot of dirty jokes. Now he gets his material from horribly disposable email forwards, but back then they were time-tested and memorized. Old Swiss farmers would come into his law offices with some naughty newlyweds yarn that had been around since vaudeville. And, I ate them up. But, when did I start thinking comedy was a viable option? Is it a viable option?
What brought you to Chicago? Not enough comedy opportunities in the wilds of Wisconsin?
Actually, Madison is kind of an incubator for comedy. The Onion was founded there; Ben Karlin, executive producer of the Daily Show was part of that; the guys from MST3000 went to school at the UW; Chris Farley was from Madison. I'm not trying to list myself as their peer or anything, but there is an atmosphere there that you don't have to be from L.A. or Harvard to write comedy.
You worked your way through the Second City Writing Program. What do you value most about what you learned there?
My film professor, David Bordwell, once told me that SCTV did classic narrative structure better than anyone else. He was right, and the training center beats you over the head with it until it's second nature. I also learned to approach comedy writing as a craft. You need to grind away at it, not just toss deconstructive snark back and forth with your friends.
What's a typical weekly comedy schedule like for you?
Mondays I watch Studio 60. Tuesdays used to be Gilmore Girls, but now it's Friday Night Lights and How I met Your Mother. Wednesday is 30 Rock, America's Next Top Model, and Lost. Thursday is My Name is Earl and The Office. Sundays are Everybody Hates Chris. And I do some standup some days.
You're part of the Demon Who Never Appeared crew, which requires weekly writing of new scripts. What's your part in that, and what about Demon do you enjoy most?
I help brainstorm plots. Then, Kumail and I split up the show to write two acts each. We give notes on each other's stuff. We rewrite. Jared gives notes and sometimes does full rewrites. Josh and Hannah give notes during rehearsal. Some of the notes give notes. We all scramble for props. The props give notes. I enjoy working with those guys, because they really push it to be the best writing and rehearsal we can do, and for a midnight show, it's really damn professional.
Tell us about your part in the Wendy's Comedy Challenge. Did you get free Frosty coupons or a free trip to Vegas out of it?
It made me write a joke about Wendy's, which goes like this: [miming spooning] This Wendy's oatmeal tastes kinda funny. What? It's chili? Well, then it's delicious! [excessive mugging] I don't tell that joke a lot, because I use the word "delicious" in the punch line of a much better joke.
We've seen you charm a roomful of people with little more than a paper mustache and a silly accent at Funny Ha-Ha at the Hideout. Do events like Funny Ha-Ha give you an opportunity to do different kinds of things than you can at, say, the Lincoln Lodge, or Chicago Underground Comedy?
First, that's a lie; you were late to that show and didn't see me. Second, all three of the shows you mentioned are really open to trying more writerly comedy, but the audience expectations are different at a show like Funny Ha Ha. They have a lot of patience. The audience at the Lincoln Lodge might have enjoyed my monologue, but they didn't laugh. At the same time, they've been an amazing audience when I've shown my comics there, which are even more Wonky McNerdsville. Thinking about it now, I guess I didn't have the moustache at the Lodge, which is like 100% of the comedy.
You seem very well-rounded creatively. You drew comics and had a column in your college paper, the Daily Cardinal (at the University of Wisconsin-Madison). You've done a lot of zippy writing for publications
like Flak Magazine, and rumor has it you do some pretty cool mural design and painting during the daylight hours. Can you tell us about these things, and are there other artistic skills you're interested in developing?
Yeah, I drew a daily comic for three years, which got me in the habit of creating a lot of content every day--drawing and writing-wise. When I moved here, that split into my day job of painting murals for Trader Joe's and writing standup at night. It sounds like a cool job, and it is, but it also gets kind of back breaking and exhausting. I spent two months in a U-Store-It space painting banners to hang around the Minneapolis store. And now, I'm frantically finishing the murals for the new store near Michigan Avenue. It's hard switching gears. When I should be writing standup routines, I'm wondering if I mixed cadmium red medium or cadmium red light yesterday in case I need to match it tomorrow. Hardest life.
You're going to be married this month. Your bride-to-be is a lovely and bright young woman. Does she know what she's getting herself into?
Yup, she's seen the crying.
You aspire to sitcom writing. What kinds of sitcoms are your favorites, and what would be your dream project in terms of comedy writing?
I pretty much like the critically acclaimed stuff you would guess. You know the big three -- Arrested Development, The Office, Freaks and Geeks. That last one stretches the definition of sitcom, I guess, but I'd also count the Masterpiece Theatre Jeeves and Wooster series as a sitcom, which is another favorite. Man, if I could just sit in on a writing meeting for the American Office, I'd poop my pants. I just finished the first draft of a sitcom that'll go on the Jared Logan and Kumail. Mark Geary and Steve Delahoyde will be filming it this winter. That's pretty much my dream project in the short term, because all those guys will make sure it's a side splitter.
If your epitaph were five adjectives, what would you like for them to be?
That's a good closing question. Super final-sounding and ominous. It's like you're pointing a gun at me. Or maybe you're the sphinx. Stop yelling at me.
