Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Kyle Lucey. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Alright, so we’re so thrilled to have Kyle with us today – welcome and maybe we can jump right into it with a question about one of your qualities that we most admire. How did you develop your work ethic? Where do you think you get it from?
My father regularly made the impossible possible. We were a poor family. It was a regular occurrence to go home, flip a light switch then realize our electricity was shut off due to non-payment. Sometimes we would have no hot water to shower so we would go without regular bathing as well. We sold furniture for grocery money. It was bleak, but my father always told us to hold our heads high. I remember my dad’s van got repossessed so he was unable to commute to work. At this time, it was still several days till his next payday and money was scarce. Spending cash on public transit there and back for a week would mean somebody in the family of 6 would miss meals. This obstacle would have defeated most yet I watched my father tie his boots up tight and walk nearly 5 hours both ways to work in a city 13 miles away. Ironically, he worked for the TTC as a bus driver and was unable to afford the very service he provided for other people. After the third day, his toes were visible through the outside of his shoes. He was drenched in sweat when he came home. I couldn’t fathom how difficult it was for him to do this. By doing this, my father taught me if you pour enough hard work on any obstacle, you can change your reality to whatever you see fit.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I am a stand-up comedian, actor and content creator. Stand-up, however, occupies the majority of my heart and life. I first got on the mic when I was 12 years old. I bombed horribly and quit comedy for years. When I was 16, I started back up again and have been going strong for over a decade.
Like a musician, a stand-up has a particular voice or sound. A stand-up’s voice is found when they discover their truth. It took me years to find my truth because I hated what my truth was. I am deeply broken but what comes with that is being deeply human. I wanted to be cool so bad as a younger comedian but I now realize the power of vulnerability in art. The aspects of myself that I constantly ran from are now what connects me most to my audience.
My trajectory of my comedy voice changed when I got signed by the biggest talent agency in Canada for stand-up comedy – Yuk Yuks & Funny Business INC. This company has made me a better comedian, performer and businessman. To get signed, you must showcase for the founder of the company, Mark Breslin. It can take several showcases and years to get signed and is a career milestone for comedians everywhere in Canada. During a showcase, Mark saw that I had this broken person inside me but I was masking it. I was being a fraudulent version of myself afraid to fully be seen and in turn, judged. He took me aside that night and said to be fully myself. Don’t be afraid if it doesn’t work. “Take the hit” were his words. Eventually after nearly a year of bombing on stage with this new authentic style, I figured it out and the opportunities came pouring in.
This year has been especially exciting as I was hand picked to perform at the world famous Massey Hall on New Years Eve by Mark Breslin himself. That was a huge honor coming from someone who essentially started Canadian comedy and is a recipient of The Order of Canada. It was surreal playing a stage that Neil Young, The Weeknd and The Tragically Hip have all performed on. In addition to that, my debut comedy album, “Damaged Goods” got picked up by a Juno nominated recording label Cottage Country Digital and is now streaming on Sirius XM earning me monthly streaming income. To top it off, I am currently on my first national headline tour where I will be headlining every Yuk Yuks Comedy Club in Canada. It feels pretty cool to be living what I fantasized about when I first started stand-up.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
1. Stand-up isn’t just show business.
Sometimes comedy isn’t glamourous. My first 6 years of doing stand-up regularly, all I did was go out everyday and try to do 3 shows a night. It got me funny but I still felt frustrated with my career. I wasn’t headlining clubs or booking festivals. My calendar was empty. I soon realized that stand-up comedy is not just “show business” it’s “show” and “business”.
By creating a habit of performing multiple shows a night and writing every day I had the “show” up and running but severely lacked in the “business” aspect of comedy. It’s not glamourous to take a night off making hundreds of people laugh to organize receipts for your taxes. Nevertheless, the boring work of comedy is what made my funny visible to a eyes that mattered. My calendar was empty because the person whose job it is to fill it was out partying every night. Separating the show from the business allowed me to pour my heart out onstage like it was my job then go home and ensure I can keep doing my dream financially. Making money is important for a comedian otherwise a day job can take you away from writing, posting content, booking yourself on clubs. I realized if I wanted to make comedy my full time job I had to treat it as such. Besides, Brad Pitt doesn’t wait tables to act in movies.
2. Don’t ever give someone another reason not to book you.
A friend and mentor told me this once. Comedy is hard. A joke that wins over an audience can be posted online out of context and get you cancelled by another audience. Posting clips of comedy can sometimes feel like Russian roulette. Further, unlike music where a band can play the classics, in comedy, you must always come up with new material. It needs to be quality and quantity.
With so much stacked against a comedian, it’s in their best interest to not add unnecessary resistance. A comedian should always act professional. Even if the gig is in a dingy bar with poor lighting and no amp. The booker of that show may open a eminent comedy club 5 years from now. When I started to show up early/on time. Check in with the booker upon arrival, shake their hand and thank them for the stage time. Buy something from the bar and tip well. Do my very best to bring the house down with my performance. Shake the bookers hand upon departure and thank them once more. Now, when dozens or even hundreds of names are in the inbox for said booker asking for work, they will much likely book the comedian they had positive interaction with over the comedian who left without paying their tab – even if that person is funny.
3. Know when to hit a bullseye.
There’s a time and place for messing around on stage. I regularly improvise entire performances. If I riff 5 jokes maybe 3 work and 2 don’t but I leave that show having 3 new jokes that I never would have obtained had I not put myself in that state of free association. However, a comedian needs to have the ability to hit a bullseye when needed so they are seen as a reliable product.
If a millionaire comedian walks in the room while I’m being called to the stage and there’s a chance I can do such a great job they bring me on tour and change my life. I need to go on stage and perform the hell out of my best jokes. If a comedy club I have been dying to get into finally books me to headline, I’m not going to do any jokes I am unsure of. Again, I’m going on that stage and nailing my performance with the jokes I know get the hardest and loudest laughs. By knowing when to mess around to grow as an artist and going on stage and hitting a bullseye, a comedian will benefit both creatively and vocationally.
4. Advice: carve your own path.
The struggle towards your success is necessary. Your need for problem solving skills never ceases in comedy as being a professional artist is entrepreneurial in nature. Picture several comedians in a thick dense forest and each comic has a machete. Everyone is required to carve their own path in order to survive. If you walk other people’s paths you will be limited to go only where they previously went and wanted to go. You will never be fully realized. The actual act of carving your own path gives you the tools to gain unique perspective and success. In summary, if you want to be in the drivers seat of your life – probably best to learn how to drive.
What’s been one of your main areas of growth this year?
Apart from stand-up I have also dedicated myself to acting, social media and content creation. I have a deep love for expression. Comedy is a way to express my inner truth however only through the medium of funny. I very much enjoy dramatic acting for I can paint with many more colours so to speak. In the last year, I have dedicated myself to weekly lessons with an acting coach and as a result I have booked several commercials, a TV show, and lead roles in a TV pilot, a short film and a movie.
Content creation is another form of expression I have recently fallen in love with. It has never been easier for artists to be discovered. Simply by posting videos on my Instagram, I have secured dozens of reels that have exceeded millions of views. This is a must for comedians today. While my following is a modest 43k on Instagram I am starting to see people buy tickets exclusively for me when I am on tour. It may only be a table of 15 here and there right now but the fact that they knew who I was, went on my website and bought tickets to see me still blows my mind. . My next goal is to be a draw and be able to sell out comedy clubs with my fans. Similar to comedy, content creation needs to be treated like a full-time job. Since I started taking it seriously, I have seen concrete results. I’m proud of myself for being able to learn new things and ultimately grow as an artist. I am 12 years deep into stand-up. and it’s exciting to think about what my life will look like when acting and content creation hits the 12 year mark.
Contact Info:
- Website: kylelucey.com
- Instagram: kyleluceycomedy
- Facebook: kyleluceycomedy
- Twitter: kyleluceycomedy
- Youtube: kyleluceycomedy
- Other: tik tok: kylelucycomedy
