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I think comedy is no different now than it was at other points. It takes a long time to get good and know how to distill what makes you funny beyond the realm of standup, which is what I'm trying to do with 'Teachers Lounge.'

Ted Alexandro

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Ted Alexandro
Age: 55
Born: 1969
Born: January 26
Comedian
Bellerose
Queens
Different
Points
Trying
Teachers
Long
Beyond
Good
Teacher
Time
Comedy
Distill
Think
Takes
Lounge
Thinking
Funny
Realm
Makes
Realms

More quotes by Ted Alexandro

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Comedians have varying levels of training. It can range from classically trained actors (like Robin Williams) to people who took comedy classes to folks who just started doing it. That's the beauty of comedy: it's close to a pure meritocracy.
Ted Alexandro
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Your stage persona is usually a version of yourself, to varying degrees. Some folks do a full-on character, so that's different. But most comics do some version of themselves.
Ted Alexandro
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I'm just looking for a little mystery in life... like things you can't explain. Like, you go to Mexico, they tell you don't drink the water. You go to any diner here, who brings you the water? It's a mystery.
Ted Alexandro
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Like once we picked Jim Norton as the head of security, the writing flows pretty easily.
Ted Alexandro
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In terms of my own work ethic, I've always been a determined person. When I'm focused on something, I try to see it through.
Ted Alexandro
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Comedy takes all of life and puts it through a lens of acceptance, just by the mere act of talking about it on stage in a communal setting. It's very primal and ritualistic in that sense.
Ted Alexandro
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Dave Chappelle is about as gifted as it gets, as a performer and comedian. [...] It's always great to watch him work. He started around fourteen and he's in his forties now, so he's probably been doing it for close to thirty years. He's brilliant.
Ted Alexandro
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I learned so many things from Louis C.K., but the most impactful thing was witnessing his work ethic. He works harder than anyone I've ever been around in comedy. And he takes risks and doesn't dwell on what might be perceived as failures.
Ted Alexandro
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A crowd is the only way to know if something works. Telling a friend or two doesn't matter. A crowd is what tells you what works or doesn't, so I'd rather go in front of them cold and see.
Ted Alexandro
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Comedians are thinkers. The best ones are akin to philosophers, in my opinion.
Ted Alexandro
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Comedy clubs are arguably one of the last bastions of uncensored, public free speech.
Ted Alexandro
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Ultimately, an audience wants to laugh. That's who they like, the comedian who makes them laugh.
Ted Alexandro
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Comics can definitely be subversive on the whole, but it's a stylistic thing.
Ted Alexandro
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Sometimes crowds start out not liking someone but then they shift and love them. Or vice versa. It can shift on a dime.
Ted Alexandro
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I also do a certain amount of talking through material on stage, to see what happens and allow interesting ideas to manifest.
Ted Alexandro
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It's a constant process of bouncing ideas off of one another and intuitively arriving at the right decision in the moment.
Ted Alexandro
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People don't come to a comedy club simply to hear someone's thoughts, no matter how profound.
Ted Alexandro
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Listening to your own sets and listening to the audience as you perform. It's a conversation of sorts. There is an exchange.
Ted Alexandro
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I belong to a gym now... well, let me rephrase that: I don't belong there at all, but I go.
Ted Alexandro
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I often think about my future wife and how lax she's been about getting in touch with me.
Ted Alexandro