By Michelle Lynn
“Who wants me now?” is the question Tommy Savitt asks throughout his fast-paced, non-stop laughter-filled shows. Comedy club bookers in the US and Canada have answered in droves since Savitt won the grand prizes at the Seattle International Comedy Competition in 2008 and the Boston Comedy Festival in 2007. Savitt, a favorite guest on the Bob and Tom Show, can be heard daily on XM/Sirius Satellite Radio and performs regularly for US troops at military bases overseas in Afghanistan, Guantanamo Bay, Germany, Belgium, Japan, South Korea, and the Netherlands. We recently caught up with the attorney-turned-stand-up comic while he was traveling to Kirkland, WA to talk about his back-to-back contest victories and how to write jokes packed with the most punch.
What did you do for a living before you became a comedian?
I was a real estate attorney and had my own office in Flushing,Queens. I catered mostly to Asian clientele and even had a male secretary that communicated on my behalf in Cantonese and Mandarin. I knew I had a problem when Roger Paul (a booker) would call me for a gig to do in Elmira, NY for $200, and I would close up shop early afternoon so I could make it to the show on time. I knew then that my days as a lawyer were numbered and I was going to pursue my passion full thrust.
What made you decide to try comedy?
After my first year of law school, I was discontented. I realized I was not like the other students for I genuinely had no interest in the subject matter. So to shake things up, I enlisted in the Marine Corps convinced that if I were to become a Judge Advocate General things would get more exciting. It was during boot camp in Paris Island, South Carolina that I discovered I had the uncanny ability not only to make my fellow recruits laugh, but also the stoic drill instructors that were there to train me.
After much laughter and antics, the administration felt is was best that we part ways in an amiable manner and the last parting words of my drill instructor was for me to become a comedian, not a lawyer. That was the exact impetus I needed to pursue comedy for surely, if you can make drill instructors laugh, then you can make anyone laugh.
When and where did you do your first show?
I performed on a Sunday of the first week of February in 1994 at a 7pm pre-show at Caroline’s on Broadway. It was magic.The laughter was thunderous. Over 70 of my fellow law school students came to see this spectacle. I was soon to learn later that it’s a little more difficult to be funny when your friends are not in the audience to support you.
Who were your biggest influences in comedy?
Old school rocks! Without a shadow of a doubt, all the original cats from Sid Caesar to Steve Martin and from Jackie Vernon to Rodney Dangerfield were and still the very best that ever existed. They were pioneers and had “chutzpah.” Our current generation of comedians as a whole, certainly pale in comparison in content and in style. Hopefully, we’ll produce a better batch of comedians with our future children. Greatness sometimes skips a generation.
What was your experience competing in the Boston Comedy Festival?
I almost dropped out of the competition. It was raining hard that day and I was real low on cash as I rented a car for my drive from Newark to Boston. My friends on my cell phone advised me to turn around and save my money, because I’ll never win one of these competitions anyway. So I pulled over to the side of the highway to listen to what my “heart” had to say…and it said nothing. So I trudged on anyway because that’s what I do. The crazy thing is I was very close to turning this ship around to hang out with my friends never knowing that I would wind up winning this thing.
How did you feel when you heard your name announced as the winner?
I was numb. I was actually in the restroom when they called my name and had to rush up the stairs. I thought I came in last place because usually they call names from last place to first. And when I asked on stage what place I came in Jim McCue told me I won. It was surreal. It was definitely one of the best things that ever happened to me and one of my most fondest memories.
What did you win ?
I won five grand.
How have things changed since winning the Boston Comedy Festival?
It has definitely improved my lot in life. It has opened and still continues to open up many doors for me. Not only has it enabled me to work with a higher echelon of people in the entertainment industry, it has also led to better paying and higher quality gigs.
You also won the Seattle International Comedy Competition. What are your thoughts on winning two competitions in a little over a year?
It is definitely my proudest achievement up to date. It has also garnered respect amongst my peers and discounts any thoughts that my Boston win was a fluke.
What do you like about competing ?
I actually don’t enjoy the aspect of competing against other artists; however, I do enjoy the exposure you get from it. I also enjoy the discoveries you make within yourself and your act in these do-or-die scenarios. It really helps me improve and hone my craft.
What advice can you give to comics who would like to participate in comedy competitions?
Believe me, I really haven’t figured out a formula to winning. There are those out there that have likened me to a pool hustler that has uncovered a code in regard to these contests, and that is simply not the case. The only thing I can say is go out and play. Have fun!
What do you enjoy most about performing for our troops?
There is nothing more satisfying to me than 500 servicemen coming up after a show in a war zone like Bagram, Afghanistan and shaking your hand in appreciation. As a comedian, you really can make a difference. It truly is a morale booster for our troops, even if it’s only a temporary reprieve.
What are the easiest and hardest things about getting on stage?
Even though getting on stage has become second nature to me, I had to learn how to deal with bouts of “nerves.” When a performer becomes nervous, it can stifle one’s performance and really hurt or stilt one’s career especially, if you are showcasing or competing. And the best thing I can come up with to remedy this is to take several deep long breathes starting from your nostrils all the way through your solar plexus. Look at me, I have just become a holistic guru.
Being on the road all the time can be difficult. How do you manage your hectic schedule?
Listen, whether you commute on a train or a bus for your 9-5 work day or you are an entertainer flying off somewhere to a gig, it’s all the same. It’s just you choose your poison and then you get used to it. I’m just grateful I have a job to go to.
One of the challenges comics often face is writing new material. What sparks your creativity and how do you write it so it will pack the most punch?
I find the easiest way to come up with material is to fish around what’s bugging you inside. For example, let’s say I’m frustrated that I couldn’t pick up girls at a function. I would use that disappointment and convert it into material. For instance, here would be a joke born from that rough outing: Why can’t a woman approach me and ask me out? Make the first phone call. Put something in my drink. And to make the punch powerful, I use misdirection. If the audience can’t see it coming the more powerful the laugh you’ll get.
Do you have any suggestions about dealing with hecklers?
Hecklers can be controlled as long as they are sober. If they are not sober, they do not respond to insults. Drunks don’t respond to anything other than being escorted out the door. And if the collective group is drunk, don’t fight them. Join them. What the hell? No one is going to remember anything the next day anyway.
Do you have any secrets to landing paid gigs outside of the bringer shows and working on the road?
If you are starting out in comedy, doing bringer shows is an easy way to get stage time in front of a real audience as opposed to open mikes where it is a room filled with jaded comedians. If you run out of friends, you may consider producing your own shows and that will get you in the loop with the particular club you’re trying to get into.
As for getting road work, the three methods that worked for me:
- Getting another headliner to refer you
- Sending a DVD, bio and press kit to a particular club
- Doing a guest spot at a club you’d like to get into
If you’re able to do all these three things, you’re in good shape.
What advice would you give someone just starting out in comedy?
Petals of flowers will be strewn beneath your feet. Streets of gold will be paved before you as you go. Comedy is easy. Persistence isn’t.
What do you think are the keys to success in comedy?
To truly relish one’s own obscurity. Because if you’re happy at what you do, you are truly successful. I could of been a thriving attorney, but I would of been an unfulfilled, miserable, pot-bellied, chain-smoking, divorced father of two only to be dead of a heart attack by my mid-thirties. Now, I’m only pot-bellied. You see success!
Michelle Lynn is a comedian-writer based in Boston, MA.
