Q&A: Alingon
Mitra
Comedian Alingon Mitra is living proof that the “nice guys
finish last” maxim is wrong. The 27-year-old from Worcester , Massachusetts Harvard
University
Q: At what point did comedy become your full-time
job?
A: After performing on Last Comic Standing, there was
enough in the pipeline to make it work.
Q: Do you feel that comedy is a craft or an inborn
talent?
A: Probably like in music or sports, people have an
inborn talent that leads them to have a certain proficiency with it, but like
anything else, you have to build on what talents you have to make sure you have
all the tools in your belt when you’re performing.
Q: How did you pick up the tools you use?
A: Whenever I’m watching stand-up, I try to find the
stand-ups that are doing well or that I appreciate and try to decipher what
elements they are using to generate laughs. If there’s some way to learn those
skills, I try to do that. At that point, it becomes a trial-and-error process.
Q: What is your favorite thing happening in popular
culture right now?
A: I’m not really big into pop culture; when things
strike me, that’s when they turn into material. I guess the big thing going on
right now is the North Korea
leaks and “The Interview.”
Q: What are your thoughts on censorship in comedy?
A: If there are pre-determined rules when you’re
going into a show, as a professional, you should abide by them, but what
normally dictates what you should say as a comedian is: Are you getting laughs
from what you’re saying? As long as you’re getting laughs and they aren’t coming
from a place of malice, you shouldn’t be prevented from saying those things.
Q: Tell me about a time that a joke bombed.
A: I try to forget the jokes that I bombed. I’m sure
if I go through my joke book, I’ll find one, I just can’t remember one off the
top of my head.
Q: How do you use social media in your comedy?
A: I wasn’t big on it for a while. I felt it was
important to develop the material before trying to get a fan base, but on “Last
Comic Standing” two semi-finalists who weren’t chosen to be in the finals were
picked to be in an online contest where people were voting on Twitter. That’s
how I started making use of Twitter. You could see online who was voting for
you. I tried to connect with everybody who voted for me by thanking them. Since
then, I’ve tried to make a little bit of a presence on the Twitter.
Q: Have you had any blowback on Twitter?
A: Not really. I’m not saying anything that generates
hate. I joke about, like, Disney movies, so it’s hard for people to come after
me on that. For the most part, I just try to connect with the people who are
positive and ignore the negativity.
Q: Do you ever get hecklers at your shows?
A: My style isn’t really that abrasive or
confrontational. Normally, I’m not dealing with hecklers in the ways other
comics deal with it. I don’t get people talking trash, I just get drunk people
who, if you say something that connects with them and they have something to
add and they’re too drunk to realize that’s not what you’re supposed to do in
that setting, start talking about it with you and you have to explain that
we’re not here for a conversation.
Q: What are your resolutions for 2015?
A: The usual stuff. Eat fruits and vegetables. Not
eat cookies for breakfast.
