We were lucky to catch up with Devin Keast recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Devin, thanks for joining us today. Do you wish you had waited to pursue your creative career or do you wish you had started sooner?
I don’t know if I could wish that I had started my creative career sooner or later. The fact is that I began regularly attending open mic nights after turning thirty because I had tried other things first. I played piano (briefly, as an understudy) at The Second City in Chicago, I called play-by-play for a college hockey team, and nothing felt right until I tried standup. Thirty might be considered late to be starting a career in standup, but there’s value in process and the experiences that lead us to where we’re meant to be.
Devin, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I am a kind standup comedian; often clean, always on time. I first began consistently attending open mic nights in Ann Arbor, Michigan before moving to New York. Today, I split my time between New York and Michigan where I host shows at the Traverse City Comedy Club.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
For me, the most rewarding aspect of being an artist or creative (or, more specifically, a standup comic) is the personal accomplishment. It’s getting through something that had been an obstacle; whether it’s the timing of a pause or the sequence of the words to a joke, it’s growth. Cracking that code by understanding what makes it work is progress.
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
I used to think that the mission was an obvious goal, waiting at a finish line, up ahead. And while those goals have importance, I’ve since found that, for me at least, what’s most important is being truly present in the work of this moment. Give this audience your best work. After all, this audience is the only audience that matters.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://devinkeast.com
- Instagram: @maybedevinkeast
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/devinkeast
Image Credits
JD Faunce