We were lucky to catch up with Andy Beningo recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Andy, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

I was always obsessed with funny people. I was always amazed at people in movies like Robin Williams and Steve Martin, and wondered how anyone could be that funny. My mom is one of 10 kids, and my dad is one of 5 kids, so we just had a huge family and it just seemed like everyone was funny. Uncles, Aunts, Cousins- we just spent a lot of time laughing. I loved watching reruns of Saturday Night Live, and loved watching the old Comedy Central Presents Stand Up specials. When I was a kid, I was in a play in high school and remember doing something sort of off the cuff and funny and it made the entire audience laugh. I just loved that sound, and that feeling of making other people happy.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I’m a stand up comedian that has performed in all 50 states, in Canada as part of the Date Night Tour, and overseas on cruise ships in the Caribbean and in Europe. I was named “Best Comedian” by both the Detroit Metro Times and Detroit Hour magazine, and one of the 40 Best Up and Coming comedians in the country. I’ve had appearances on AXS Gotham Comedy Live, CMT’s Next Big Comic- and my Drybar Comedy special has accumulated millions of views on social media. I am a regular guest on the nationally syndicated Bob and Tom radio show, and was a special guest on Larry the Cable Guy’s “Weekly Round Up on Xm Sirius radio. I am primarily known for working clean as my act focuses on my wife, kids, short lived career as a middle school teacher, and my aging parents dealing with technology.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

When you’re starting off, it’s very difficult. It’s hard developing your material and sometimes it can be really hard just finding opportunities to get on stage. I use to sometimes skip my college night classes and drive 5 hours round trip to do 3 minutes of stage time. I got to network with the other comedians and learn from watching- and got to slowly build my act. The clubs would eventually give you more time as you got better, but definitely spent a lot of time in my car. I think if you want to become a comedian, you really have to be obsessed with it. You have to be obsessed with writing material and trying it on stage, and really have to be patient.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

For me, it’s all about getting the laugh. I think,especially right now, times are tough. If I am able to get on stage and make an audience laugh and forget about their problems for a little while- I’ve done my job. I think it’s a great thing to be able to provide people with that escape from life for a little while. Some of the best comments after shows are from people who just say things like, ” I really needed that, thank you.” Being able to bring some joy in to people’s lives and make them laugh is sort of what drives me.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.andybeningo.com
• Instagram: www.instragram.com/bingocomedy
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/bingocomedy
• Youtube: www.youtube.com/@andybeningo
• TikTok: @Andy.Beningo

Image Credits
Jenn Birchmeier