Director's Cut

>> I play a caricature of myself. Um, I guess it would be an exaggerated version of myself. It's what I would want to be in real life. >> So, I'd definitely say when I started it was much more, "This is the character of stand-up Alan Talaga." And I realized that it has to be an authentic dialogue with an audience for it to be great stand-up. >> It's different when you're the same person on-stage as you are off-stage. A lot of comics aren't. Although, our comedy scene here, almost all of them are the same on the stage, as they are off. >> So, we are here. Welcome to Director's Cut. I'm Pete Schwaba. That was a clip from Isthmus of Misfits, a documentary about the Madison comedy scene, which is probably bigger than you think. I'm joined today by the film's director, Andrew Butts. Welcome to Director's Cut, Andrew. >> Thank you, Pete. >> So, tell us a little bit about your film. You're not a stand-up comic, but you made a film about stand-up comedy. How does that happen? >> So, I did comedy a couple of times. First at a local bar, and then at the Club. And through that, I met several comedians, and although I didn't really take to the comedy aspect of it, I was in school for film at the time, and that's kind of what got the ball rolling. >> Okay. And you're obviously a fan of stand-up comedy. >> Yes. >> Enough to want to go through the filmmaking process. >> At least, I had said, local. So, I'd been attending the open mics on Wednesdays at the Club, and that's... What I really liked is you had 20 to 30 comedians going up for three to four minutes, each kind of usually talking about very personal aspects of their life, what happened in their day. >> Right. >> And that's sort of, like, always asking myself where did that joke come from? Like, what happened to trigger that and always kind of wanting to know. It's not topical humor as much. >> Okay. >> But what's going on in their life. >> Yeah. >> That drove me. >> Well, you have quite an assortment of comics in this. You have a lot of open mikers. And then you have some more seasoned comics. As a comic myself, I should say I haven't done it as much in recent years, but what do you think, like I found myself trying to remember, was that what it was like when I was an open miker? What's the difference you saw, as a filmmaker, between open mikers and a guy like maybe Stefan Davis, who's one of the more-- the guys who's working now professionally? Was there a difference in how they talked about stand-up? >> I mean, I could see, I mean I started interviewing Stefan when he was just an open miker, and eventually he left and then he came back. I mean, I think you see comedians find their own voice more and kind of be more confident. And I think you see the way he approaches the interviews. >> Yeah. >> Between those two times, he's much more confident in kind of how he speaks about what it's like on the road, what the difference audiences are like, and stuff like that. >> Okay. >> But I don't think that there is, I mean, there's sometimes a bit of people look down at certain group like road comics, but some people get found within three, four, five years. Some people spend 20 years doing comedy, and it doesn't really matter where you are in that. >> Right. >> Some people don't even end up doing stand-up comedy but are working towards writing or working towards radio or working towards something else. >> It's a process, right? >> Yeah. >> You have to go through various stages, definitely. >> Yeah. >> Well, let's see another clip from Isthmus of Misfits. >> I don't always feel like I'm necessarily that hilarious, but I shoot for sincerity. Sincerity, like I'm going to give you, like I'm going to try to give you something real. >> My goal is that I'm trying to become a more authentic comedian. I'm trying to become more of this is Nate on stage and if a person sees me on stage, they can feel like, "Oh, I'm getting to know Nate." And then afterward, they can be like, "Okay, I feel like I know you now." >> I think stand-up does that, and people get to know the artist through, it's not just their jokes, it's where they're coming from in their jokes. The character they developed. The writing style they chose to present it. The way they presented it, the physical style. All that stuff impresses you in a way that you go, "That guy reminds me of my cousin," "He reminds me of my brother," and they feel like they know you. >> What always attracts me to comedians and watching comedy is the openness of comedians. They just welcome anybody. Like, they welcome you as a misfit, and I came in and started watching at a time when I had kind of, I had lost connection with all my friends. I was going through a divorce, so I was like just kind of starting over and on my own and trying to figure myself out. And it was a group that you can go into and do that because they're totally okay with whoever you are. >> That's a part of the craft, too,is to get to who you really are up there on that stage. Whatever that character is going to be, whatever that development is going to be that you've worked so hard for so many years, once that guys is confident up there, that's when people start connecting because there's something in that human bond. >> We're back with Andrew Butts, director of Isthmus of Misfits. Carl LaBove, you know, it's interesting because I've worked with a ton of comics over the years who have always claimed to be part of the outlaws of comedy. And they were probably around it, but there's really only a handful of guys that technically were. He really was. Talk about talking to him and getting to know him a little bit. >> Yeah, so, at the outset with the documentary, I was just focusing on the local guys, but in interviewing them and asking them about is comedy sustainable? What's it like, you know, spending kind of your life as like a road comic, etc? They'd talk about how some comics have been doing it so long they're kind of miserable and they hate doing it and they're burnt out and they just keep doing the same thing over and over. But then there are some who have done it for years and years, been doing it since the '70s or '80s. >> Right. >> And they love it, they love doing it, they love being around the people, and one of the names that got mentioned was Carl LaBove. People kind of talked about him as like this sort of underground legend. >> Yeah. >> That isn't a household name. >> Right. >> But in the comedy world, you know... >> Got a lot of street cred. >> Yeah. And so I was actually done with filming the documentary when I had noticed on Facebook or something that Carl LaBove was coming to the Comedy Club. And so I ended up just Facebook messaging him, and I actually knew nothing about him before I messaged him. Reached out and, yeah, he's just like, "Yeah, bring your camera, bring a backdrop," (which I did not do.)

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>> Well, why break precedent?

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Yeah, he's one of those guys, Bill Hicks, Kinison, all those guys... I mean, I made a movie years ago called The Godfather of Green Bay, and I had a little tribute to Bill Hicks in there because I had the opportunity to work with him. And the things you learn from guys like that. And I don't know, was he popular with the other Madison comics? Did they want to learn from him or talk to him? >> Yeah. I think he was a, you know, I think a lot of the open mic guys, they come out on nights where you have comedians especially like Carl LaBove, where they just kind of want to huddle around and just kind of like bask in the glow. >> Yeah. >> And try and learn something from the craft and pick up whatever they can. >> Right. And it's guys like that, I've always found, I think he's been doing it over 30 years probably at least, that are so down to Earth again. >> Oh, yeah. >> You have your ups and your downs and you've seen it all, now you're just a regular guy, you know, and you really appreciate what you do. Is there a healthy competition? There's competition in all walks of life, obviously, all careers, but comics too, when they're starting out, can get a little territorial and a little, develop these rivalries. What's that like here in Madison? Is it a competition? Is it a friendly rivalry, would you say? >> I think it's fairly friendly I think, I mean, there are definitely cliquey aspects that don't... >> Yeah. >> There's maybe some mention of it a little bit, but I try to kind of remove that from the film itself because the bigger trend is that people here do get a long because people are looking to get found from here. They're looking to get better. So you've got lots of workshops, you know. Before the Wednesday open mic, comedians get together, they write jokes with one another. If you've got a half written thing, they help each other out. And so there's personality clashes, but I think in terms of just the comedy itself, I think everyone's pretty supportive of one another. >> You don't have guys purposely giving other guys bad tags just so they'll fail. >> No. I think it's the competition with yourself that is really the driver here. Or just seeing the humor that everyone else brings. That drives you to kind of continually improve on what you're doing, not necessarily improve on what others are doing. >> Well, let's see another clip from Isthmus of Misfits. >> This competition means that I get to go on-stage for three minutes, maybe more. Stage time. >> I do it because I like the stage time. >>

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Money, cash money. >> I think I'm funny, but I want other people to think I'm funny. And I want to know that they think I'm funny. And this is a good way for me-- >> I think you're funny. >> Oh, thank you very much. I appreciate it. >> It means a reason for me to keep writing more. It keeps me on my toes. It keeps me excited. >> And it also, it makes me reexamine jokes that I've always been like "Oh, that's my joke that's always good, that's always whatever." It's like, "No, this time let's really look at it. Let's really deconstruct it. What really works about that joke? Why does it work?" And looking at ways I used to tell the joke and see why the joke evolved and whether or not the evolution of the joke was for the best, if I needed to regress and try something else. >> Even with getting bumped in the very first round, I went up there and I had the crowd going pretty good. Two hundred people. Like for three minutes I was the center of attention and the crowd loved me, and, "Yeah, I guess that's what comedy is all about." Like, even if it's for three minutes and even if they don't really vote for you in the end, like, you know, whatever. >> It gets people here. It spreads the word about Madison comedy, which, I mean, it's a good comedy town. I think at last count, we had 58 comics signed up for this in a town of 200,000 people. That's kind of ridiculous, you know? >> They see the talent that we have at the open mic, and it becomes like a normal show. Some people like the open mic better than our normal shows, which is ridiculous. >> Okay, I have to ask you, obviously most of your budget did not go towards set decoration. Describe the choice, cinematic or non-cinematic, or using that couch for just about every comic and the angle. Talk about that consistency within that. >> So, I mean, originally this wasn't supposed to be a feature-length film. >> Okay. >> It was supposed to be a short film project that I was doing on the side. I couldn't get into classes I wanted to, so that was part of the low budget thing. And then, additionally, I just picked up film as a second major, and so I've never really come from, I've come from business and math and sciences. So I've always been more on the analytical side of things. >> Thus, the couch. >> So I think, yeah, my first... >> Therapeutic. >> Yeah, my first approach to this sort of is, well, we had the green room, and then, for me, is if we could make this kind of like a laboratory-like setting where everyone's in the same spot and just repeat that, to me kind of felt like then we can just focus on what they're saying, what they're about and not have any distractions. >> Kind of like a stage typically is always the same backdrop. >> Yeah. Exactly. >> Okay. >> I mean, when they're on-stage, you've got that bricks or whatever. >> Right. >> And all they use to entertain you for up to two hours is their words and gestures. >> Okay. >> And so, why can't we do the same thing in movie? >> Does that couch sag? Is it in the credits? You should have put the couch in the credits. >> Yeah. I did take like just shots of the couch just so I could have it empty. I was thinking about maybe using that as the cover or something. >> So, you guys talk about a lot in the film this competition here in Madison, not between the comics, but a big comedy competition. I've done those in the past too, and I always felt strange about them because I feel like it's so subjective. It's like movies, I guess. So talk about the competition. Do these comics enjoy the competition, or do they kind of think it's silly but you do it for exposure? >> I think everyone kind of comes at it differently. A lot of it's about what's in your head. I think it makes a lot of them pretty, almost emotionally volatile, where one minute you're like yeah I'm in and I'm going to win and I'm going to do this. >> Right. >> And the next it's just like, oh, why did I sign up for this? Why am I putting myself through this? >> Right. >> And so I think you have that sort of, you feel like you have to, and you don't necessarily know why, but you do it anyways. >> Yeah. You kind of have to. >> Yeah. >> Because then it's like, well, why aren't you doing the competition? So you talk about, as a filmmaker, the budget. Like I said, this is the first film I said this really could be no budget because you got the same set, your Handycam, whatever it was you used. Talk about your budget and how hard was it to get it together. >> Yeah, so the film started with me just going to Helen C. White and picking up a camera there, talking to one of my professors and borrowing one of his microphones, and then walk into the club and I would stop at Walgreens along the way, buy some Werther's, Andes mints. >> That was your catering? >> That was my catering for the comedians. Here's some candy. >> Have a mint. >> Yeah. Talk to the camera. >> Well, let's see another clip from Isthmus of Misfits. >> It's always kind of clich to say, but I always felt different, and like I never felt like, a sense of belonging. Even at like a family function, it was always just like, "Oh, I don't belong here. Why am I not like anybody else on the planet?" And then I started getting high, and I just suddenly felt more comfortable. Just like, "All right, okay, I belong here." It went from recreation to maintenance, and just, like, "I need this to survive." And I did drugs for nine years, and then I got sober. And when you saw me last, I was through sobriety, and I wasn't dealing with life in the best way. I was very angry, frustrated. I was working two jobs that I hated at the time, and I couldn't do comedy. That persistent voice in your head that, "It's, like, it's okay to get high." I stopped going to meetings. I just dropped off the face of the Earth, and I disconnected. And the thing about making yourself an island is it's very easy to get washed away. Like when you put yourself away from the mainland, you get washed way, and then you get so far out, you're just like, "Can anybody see me anymore? Can anybody help me?" And so I relapsed, and it was a lot of pain. My therapist always asks, she's very fascinated by the whole sobriety thing. It's not necessarily that she's new to it, but she's new to the approach she's learning, I guess. And she always asks, "What makes people want to change?" And the only answer I've ever had is, "Pain." Like when pain gets so great that it's just like, "Ah, I can't." When you see pain in somebody else's eyes and it's your fault and they have nothing to do with it, it's, ah... Son of a #####. I got cut. >> We now welcome to the show comedian Ian John and star of the film. Ian, welcome to Director's Cut. >> Hello. Thank you for having me. >> That must have been one important text you go there. >> Yeah.

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>> Take it during the shoot. That's great. So, I wanted to ask you, when I was working the road years ago it seems like a lot of the guys I worked with either no longer drank, sometimes by state order, or drank way too much. So, it's an issue in stand-up, and talk a little bit about the stuff you've had to battle and how that affects your comedy. >> I don't know how much it affects my comedy. But you're right, when I got out of rehab the first time, I was like, "Well, there's no way I can do comedy anymore." And then I did a show with Julian McCullough, and he'd been sober for two years and I was like, "Oh," and then I found out like 80% of them are recovering something. >> Yeah. >> Like, I don't know, that's probably a high number. >> But a lot of guys turn that into material. And when I said has it affected, I meant like positively or negatively. Has it benefited you in any way from an artist standpoint? >> Oh, for sure. Yeah, yeah. >> Okay. Is a lot of your material about dealing with the addiction? >> Um, yes. A lot of it is, yeah. I try to get away from it, but I always-- it's my life. It's what I know. So you can't... >> Can't get away from it. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. Talk a little bit about being a comic in Madison. I mean, is it the kind of thing where, what's a challenge you face trying to get seen here? Is that what your goal is? I would assume it's what your goal is. >> To get seen here? The only goal I've had in Madison comedy for like the last three years is just to get better >> Yeah. >> And there's a fairly decent amount of opportunities for that here as far as the amount of people we have and then the amount of open mics and shows we have. We have quite a few. >> Yeah. Do you have aspirations to, say you want to get better, I assume that means you want to go somewhere else? >> Yeah, yeah. >> Take it to the next step. What's your plan for stand-up? >> I'm going to move to Kentucky and blow up. No, I don't have a plan yet. >> As long as you've got an end game, I guess. >> Yeah. I've heard Kentucky is where comedy happens. Anywhere in Kentucky. >> Exactly. >> Doesn't matter. >> It's moving there gradually. You could be on the ground floor. How much material did these guys give you? How much material did these guys give you as a filmmaker to work with? I mean, we see an hour and a half film here, but are you talking hours and hours and hundreds of hours? >> So, I shot 49 hours of footage. About 16 of it was interviews. So, by the time I got to the process where I realized I didn't... Like, I chopped up all of these jokes, had them all, "Oh, this will be useful, this will be useful," and then eventually I was just like, "Why am I wasting screen time with jokes?" People can go to the club and see jokes whenever or wherever. >> Right. >> I'd rather just hear more about their life and their process. >> Which, I have to say, was kind of a gutsy choice as a filmmaker. And you guys, as comics, know sometimes it's hard just to sit through a comic when he's trying to be funny. They're not even doing their act in your film. They're just talking, which I think is more of a challenge. So, Ian, what was your reaction when Andrew approached you about being in this film? >> Who is this guy?

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Because I was-- When he first started shooting it, I was not back into Madison comedy yet. And then we met, you saw me do comedy, and you were like "He has to be in this." And I was like,"Of course I do." And then we shot for probably... >> Three and a half hours. >> Three and a half hours one night, and it was really cool. >> Wow. >> Because were coming in and out of the room. And somebody, I'm not pointing fingers, but somebody didn't turn the mic on. >> Oh, no. >> Yeah, so we lost three and a half hours of footage. And then we had to do it again. So what you see in the documentary, some of it is me and him attempting to recreate the moments that we had. >> That's great. >> He took notes on it. >> Well, we're happy to give you guys a different couch here to sit on. >> Yeah. >> Let's see another clip from Isthmus of Misfits. >> Yeah, I didn't want to leave the party early, but we blew out the candles and daddy left. I left before the presents got opened. It sucks, but I have to. You can't half-ass something, and that's what sucks is you have to be selfish and you have to hope that your family realizes that what you're doing is worth it in the long run and you have to make sure it's worth it in the long run. You can't be missing birthday parties and you can't be switching weekends with your baby mama as of when you have the kid, if you're half-assing it out there on stage. I can't afford to not succeed. I can't afford not to, every time I go out there, to put on the best show I ever put on. If I fail, I've got a little kid that knows I failed. And also, like, if I do good, she has something to be proud of her dad about. Like, I'm a landscaper. I'm not going to compete with the doctors and lawyers on career day. Like, what do you do? Ah, kill weeds. But if I go up there on career day, "What do you do?" "I'm a comedian and I'm damn good at it." You don't have to use those same words. They're little kids. But still, that adds a little bit more credit to what you're doing. >> I'd like to welcome now father, landscaper, and Madison comedian Jackson Jones to the set. Welcome, Jackson. >> Thank you for having me. >> Great job in the film. Tell us a little bit about your experience with Isthmus of Misfits. >> With the film, kind of like what Ian said, too, "I didn't really know Andrew." I saw a kid walking around the Comedy Club with a camera. >> Yeah. >> And as a new comic, I wanted to get in front of it. I was like, "I'm not sure what it is." >> I don't care what this is. >> I'm not sure what it is you're doing here, but I want to be involved in it. I want people to see my face. So, he said, "We're doing interviews about comedy." I was like, "Yeah, I'll jump right in." And I was fairly new. I'd only been doing comedy for about seven months at the time. >> Wow. >> When I did it, so I was jumping at the opportunity to be on film on something. >> You talked about the pressure. You have a child. >> Yes, I do. >> And you talked about the pressure of making every show great. >> Yep. >> Has that changed at all since you've been doing it seven months to now? >> Of course it is. Every time that I go out and I do a show, I want it to be a great show. >> Yeah. >> When you perform somewhere, you want to do as good as you can because you want them to bring you back. The whole goal is to have fun, but really it's to make money. You don't get out of bed unless it's to make money in the morning. If you are, that's for the wrong reason. I want to enjoy what I'm doing, but I don't want to go somewhere and work for pennies, and I don't want to continue being an open miker when I can work my way up and make some money doing it. >> Right. >> Especially when you have a family to feed. >> Definitely. Talk a little bit about the pressure of doing stand-up and having a family because I'm sure you run into other comics that have no responsibilities. I've always had them, and I found that to be stressful. You have to find a balance. >> Yeah. >> Do you find that as being a boyfriend, husband, father? >> Absolutely. You have other responsibilities you have to do. You have comics that are 22-23 years old and just graduated college. They have no responsibilities at all. >> Right. >> I'm 35. They can go down to Laughing Skull down in North Carolina or Atlanta for two or three days, sleep in their car, lose the money from their job, and not have any big deal. >> Right. >> I don't work two or three days, if I don't have a vacation day to pay that, somebody ain't eating that day. >> Right. >> Or someone ain't getting shoes or I'm eating potatoes again for a week. Because I am paycheck to paycheck. I live and I work. Things are different now than they were when I started doing comedy, thankfully. >> That's good. >> You know. >> It keeps you going at least. >> Absolutely. Absolutely. I got a small smidgeon of success, so I don't have to worry so much about it. And someone gives me vacation days so I can go do things. >> Right. >> But I can't leave for long periods of time like other comics can. I couldn't go on the road. >> Right. >> It's just not something that's possible for me to do. >> So you really need the scene here in Madison to get better. >> Absolutely. >> So what was your reaction when Andrew approached you about being in the film as one of the misfits? >> Hell yes! Yeah. Well, I've got a story to tell. >> Yeah. >> That's one of the things that I do with my comedy is I try to tell stories on stage. You're going to get more of a, captivate the audience than going up there and just telling on-liners and one-offs. If you have a little bit of a story, when he told me he was interviewing comics and wanted to know why it is we did stand-up comedy, what drew us into doing stand-up comedy, I was really about that because stand-up comedy kind of saved me from my life of nothingness. I was just spinning in circles. 30 years old, living with my parents, I was delivering pizzas and doing landscaping, and I had a seven-year-old daughter. I was just spinning my wheels, you know? I wasn't doing anything. And comedy gave me, oddly, which is weird to say, "Finally got his stuff together when he started telling jokes at night when he was drunk." But it gave me direction. >> So, we just have a few seconds left. What's your game plan? Stay here and get as good as you can? Do you have plans to make a move? >> Things changed. I was really, really fortunate and able to turn the minimal success I had in comedy into a radio career. So I have a fairly successful radio show for now. As you know working in TV, that can change at any point and I could not have a fairly successful radio show. >> Absolutely. >> But, you know, my plan right now is to continue doing comedy because comedy helps my doing radio, and it helps me stay funny and stuff like that. So, I'm going to continue to do comedy, but since I have a nine-to-five where I'm here somewhere in the morning every day, I'm not really, I'm not going anywhere any time soon. >> All I want to do is do nails, and I'm hoping, someday, this gig leads to that. So thanks, you guys, for being here. >> Open a salon. >> I appreciate your time and welcome, thanks for being here. And thank you for watching Director's Cut. For information on Isthmus of Misfits, please go to

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and click on Director's Cut. While you're there, send us an email or find out how to submit a film. Also, don't forget to "like" WPT on Facebook or follow us on Twitter. I'm Pete Schwaba. Thank you for not heckling, and please remember to tip your waitresses. We'll see you next time on Director's Cut. >> They're my friends. They're the ones that are there for me on my birthday. They're the ones that are there when something bad happens. They're the ones that I want to go hang out with when something good is happening for them or be there for them. And I guess if you want to put comedy as a big bubble, I 100% agree with you. You lose some friends, but you gain so many more. I guess it'd be that way with any interest, but why would you want to hang out with your friends that aren't funny?