We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Chris a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Chris, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?
My most meaningful project is a stand-up comedy special called ‘Swimmingly’. It was the first special I self-produced and led me to make my full-length special, ‘Gonna Wanna’.
Nobody asked for these specials. HBO, Netflix, and THE INDUSTRY were not sending me DMs to collaborate, and with that, I also had no creative restrictions. The freedom of being unknown has its advantages.
I always loved it when a comic would dive deep into a single subject. Uncovering every rock for every laugh, or I guess worms, it’s worms and a nice roly-poly that live under rocks. Anyhow, I admire the writing challenge of this style plus the unapologetic stance required to deliver it. I as an audience member would marvel at a comic taking on such a task, for the attempt as much as the functionality, not unlike the world’s largest cuckoo clock in Sugarcreek, OH.
‘Swimmingly’ represented my effort to do the longest set possible related to a single topic, in this case, swimming.
Clocking in at just over 17 minutes long, it is a mini special that we shot in my backyard during COVID lockdowns. Given that lonely backdrop, Swimmingly also represented a spirit of perseverance. The audience is three fans, a camera tech, and a director. I often find myself isolating to write and perform stand-up comedy as a solo act. Working with friends and colleagues was both productive and creatively fulfilling.
Of course, authenticity is a major requirement in my artform. When I make something that is visibly offbeat, then in some way, I have verified to myself that that thing is, if nothing else, original.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I got into stand-up comedy because my mother told me I was special and I believed her. Turns out, this is an eternally-challenging pursuit and now I can’t get out of it.
To get an idea for my style of comedy, you can come see me live!
I am a stand-up comedian based in Mars, PA. The first Friday of every month at Cafe Conmigo, I run a show called Home by Nine with Chris Nakis and Friends. If you are reading this, come to a show, your decaf latte is on me.
Or watch me on YouTube!
My latest special, ‘Gonna Wanna’ is an example of who I am as a comic right now. I do some family jokes, but in a new way where I include my wife’s perspective. Similarly, I have some political jokes, but no agenda.
‘Gonna Wanna’ also includes a few personal stories that I planned to weave together, but at the same time, we kept in the spontaneous moments of the taping in the final edit.
Or read my writings!
I have written for a few internet publications. None more fun than the punk satire site The Hard Times.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
Getting to call myself an ‘artist or creative’.
That is the coolest.
I am not cool.
I have a wife and kids, two loving parents, and a day job. I don’t have a sense of fashion. I can’t draw or paint. I part my hair the same way my mom first did when I was four years old. I like golfing, archery, trail running, church, and loose leaf tea.
When you do comedy, like any other creative pursuit, you have to look at life. When you look at life, it is either beautiful, or sad, or absurd or some combination of all three. When I am backstage at a show, I sometimes peek out at the crowd in astonishment. A group of humans left their homes, got together in one place, and chose to let one person talk with the understanding that this person will try to make everyone laugh. To be that person is wild. I am genuinely thankful if I can remember to soak it in.
Plus, along the way, you learn so much in the ‘everything else’ category. Meeting a diverse group of people and traveling to different places is beautiful. Comedy has forced me to grow as an individual. I’ve learned how bitterness, resentment, and jealousy evaporate when you pursue your own calling and help others along the way.
I learned that because I have harbored bitterness, resentment, and jealousy as I sat idle with my selfishness.
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
The Sovereign Lord has given me a well-instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary.
That is from the book of Isaiah.
Am I comparing my quips about breakfast cereal to a prophet who foretold the coming of the Messiah?
Yes.
That is the goal even if I fail at it most of the time.
Years ago, a friend had the idea of making a grand public welcome-home at the airport to his wife after she went on a business trip. He got her a gift, and he even hired a musician.
Now, the gift… was an engagement ring. In fact, it was the engagement ring he gave her five years earlier because they were already married, and she wore a fake diamond when she traveled. The musician… was me.
She gets to baggage claim and there we are. My friend presents his wife with a dozen roses. I have a children’s keyboard, and I am banging out chords as I start straight into the bridge of “I Want to Know what Love Is” by Foreigner. He gets down on one knee, presenting the ring he brought from home as I sing/wail the chorus for them and the few dozen strangers who can hear us amid the rattling of the suitcase conveyor. Some applaud the stunt, most are busy or indifferent, my friend’s wife is exhausted from travel, and is in no state for a fake engagement. She shakes her head, and we start to go home.
As we are walking, a woman approaches us. She says, “I’m traveling with my friend, her mother recently died, and this is the first time I have seen her smile in two weeks.”
So, do I bring joy into people’s lives? Yes. Is it always as-planned? No.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://chrisnakis.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chris_nakis/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@chris_nakis
Image Credits
www.chrisnakis.com
www.thehardtimes.net