Student Blogs

This week we're talking to Dave Upcraft from Chichester University.

What's your best joke?

Well, it’s sort of the old tired cliche in that I see my self as more of an observationalist comedian. I try and make my comedy out of what’s going on around me. I use the audience and things that happen to me on a daily basis. Still, I have the odd joke in my arsenal. My favourite has to be this...

Bob was in trouble. He forgot his wedding anniversary. His wife was really pissed.

She told him "Tomorrow morning, I expect to find a gift in the driveway that goes from 0 to 200 in 6 seconds AND IT BETTER BE THERE !!"

The next morning he got up early and left for work. When his wife woke up, she looked out the window and sure enough there was a box gift-wrapped in the middle of the driveway.

Confused, the wife put on her robe and ran out to the driveway, brought the box back in the house.

She opened it and found a brand new bathroom scale.

Bob has been missing since Friday.

What made you choose performing arts at Chichester?

I chose Chichester because it's a really open course. We go across all aspects of the board, performing, creating, directing, producing etc. Plus, the big winner for me is that I don’t have any written exam! Just performances and coursework. What else could you ask for!?!

How's the course going?

So far, pretty well! I’m only in my first year and just 4 months in. Had a few performances and so on and have essays to write. Still, as all students are aware, Christmas is here and I am living off bread and Iceland frozen foods! Still, 2 weeks of food for £25, that’s why STUDENTS go to Iceland!

How's your comedy performing?

At the moment, I’m looking for the opportunities to perform at uni. Paramount come down once or twice a month and put on a bit of a show with some of the already signed comedy acts. Usually really good but just waiting for the open mic nights and chances to arise after chatting with the SU presidents. Also, starting in January on Friday nights, at Bognor Regis campus of the uni, I’ll be taking part in our very own version of Whose Line Is It Anyway.

Favourite comic performers and why?

I grew up watching Lee Evans and therefore he’s had a huge impact on the way that I perform and my comic background. He’s
just a fantastic physical performer and his imagination is sometimes outstanding. Seeing him next year on his Big UK tour as well!

Also love comics like Bill Bailey, Jimmy Carr, Russell Howard,
Ed Byrne and Omid Djalili because they are all ingenious performers!

Do you see any future comedy stars among your fellow students?

I think that among those who I’m working alongside, there are quite a few people that have a huge potential! There are some people that always have me in stitches and will relish a chance as much as me!!

Today we speak to Roddy McInnes from Edinburgh’s Comedy & That.

1) Give me a little background about you

I'm 20, from the West End of Glasgow. I'm the son of two artists and I subsequently decided to fuck their hopes of producing the next Picasso by studying Neuroscience at Edinburgh. I'm 5ft10, 13 stone and to my great shame I have grade 8 in flute. I'm also in charge of the Edinburgh student group Comedy & That.

2) How are things going at Comedy & That this year? New students that have impressed at your shows and why? Plans for 2008?

Comedy & That has been going really well this year. We've been doing our show every three weeks in our regular place, The Canons Gait, on the royal mile to a large regular following. We had a really good fringe run there with our show 'Headlights' at Peter Buckley Hill's Free Fringe and we've just come back from University College Cork's comedy festival where we robbed them of their silverware.

We're a strange group of folk in terms of comedy in that if something is to be performed at a show, either a sketch or a 7-minute stand up act, it has to be completely new to the show and we hardly ever repeat things outside of the Fringe and competitions. This is always the thing that catches out prospective stand ups but there have been quite a few new students that have impressed us all this year. At the start we had an influx of folk wanting to do stand up, quite a few of which dropped off as time continued but those who managed to hang on, like Jon Scarth and Calumn Hamilton, have been coming on leaps and bounds. Our most impressive new stand up would have to be Mike Walsh. He's only done about 10 gigs but the quantity and quality of the material he produces as well as his natural ability to use his God given Irish craic makes me think him to be the bastard son of Ed Byrne.

The majority of what we do is sketch comedy and we've picked up some talented new folk in that respect as well. We acquired Mickey Anderson at the start of the year from Southampton (he's already listed on your website) who has been writing a lot of new funny stuff on his own and in conjunction with our head writer Ben Verth. Mickey has also been doing stand up about as long as I have and is a great addition in that respect as well. Charlie Byles has also impressed us all as a new actor in the group.

Our plans for 2008 include a trip to the Cat's Laugh Festival in Kilkenny, another Fringe show with PBH in August and hosting the second leg of the recent UCC festival sometime next September or October.

3) Tell us your best joke?

I'm one of these arsehole comedians that doesn't actually tell jokes and tends to defensively say "I'm more observational sort of stuff" but my favourite joke of all time is one that my girlfriend's four year old sister always tells me whenever I see her;

Eilidh: What's green and invisible?

Me: What?

Eilidh: (holds up an empty hand) THIS CABBAGE!

At which point she haemorrages laughing.

4) What made you pluck up the courage to expose the public to your jokes?

Naievity.

I saw someone die on their arse at the Stand in Glasgow and thought that it couldn't be THAT hard. I've had some (thankfully rare) horrific moments doing stand up and being involved in comedy and some hugely rewarding buzzes from when it all goes to plan. I didn't know what I was letting myself in for right at the start but now that I've got a fair grasp of it I understand that it's a bipolar abusive lover that you can't give up.

5) Who are your comic heroes and why?

Peter Cook, Spike Milligan, the Pythons, Chris Morris. A Scottish comic called Joe Heenan because he's the first headliner I ever saw and has always remained my favourite working comic. He's just a fiery ball of comedy energy and a really nice guy!

I'd also class Jim Hobbit as one of my comedy anti-heroes because he reminds me that you are never too old or too mentally ill to do stand up.

6) Are you looking forward to spending the best years of your life playing dodgy pubs, striving for the big break, or do you have a plan B?

If was given an absolute certainty of being able to feed myself by being involved in comedy and doing stand up I'd happily work 365 days a year at it. Alternatively I'll stay at uni for another 6 years, become a brain surgeon and buy my own comedy club.