Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Curtis Chase. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Curtis, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. I’m sure there have been days where the challenges of being an artist or creative force you to think about what it would be like to just have a regular job. When’s the last time you felt that way? Did you have any insights from the experience?

This is a great question. Interesting enough, I recently had a call with two close friends from high school and they live more traditional lives. One owns a home in Iowa and is married, while the other works as a Mechanical Engineer in San Francisco. They both make great salaries and right now, I’m pretty much paycheck to paycheck living in LA.

After this call, I began to wonder what it’d be like if I had chosen a more regular path. Would I own a home right now too? Would I be able to take PTO and travel with my partner? Would I genuinely be happier? It sounds cliché but I started wondering, is this really how I want to spend my one wild and precious life? Oh yeah, I went full Maya Angelou on it.

Once I came down from my spiral, I realized that the light I have while performing I don’t feel doing anything else. So yeah, that feeling alone makes this entire path worth it. Every ecstatic high and painful low is worth it for those moments of pure happiness. Sure, my path isn’t traditional and some may wonder what I’m doing with my life. But for me, I’d rather be in pursuit of this thing that fills me up. Anytime I have a killer set or someone says they had a great time at my show, there is a deep feeling of joy.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Hello there! My name’s Curtis Chase and I started performing in kindergarten when I sang a rendition of “Yu-Gi-Oh’s Theme Song” at the school talent show. Yeah, I’ve always been that cool. Since that star debut, I attended Boston University where I got a BFA in Acting and shortly moved to Los Angeles after.

Living in LA, I’ve shifted from only being focused on acting and I’m now a comedian, writer, and content creator too.

As a comedian, I started in the past year and I’ve performed at The Comedy Store, Hollywood Improv, Edinburgh Fringe Festival, The Elysian and at shows in LA, Prague, and NY (humble brag). Most recently, I completed the 3rd sold out run of my solo comedy show, Organized Chaos, at The Brooklyn Comedy Collective. Also, keep a look out because I’ll be bringing the 4th version to LA at the end of this year!

As a writer, I’m currently in development on an original short film and am planning to submit it to allll the film festivals next year. Currently the idea is a mockumentary style short about a comedian named Curtis who’s putting on a solo show in LA (hey, they say write what you know!)

As a content creator, I’m still building my brand and this is the part that’s in the most transition. From 2021-2022 I was posting frequently and had a handful of videos do well. However, I took a break to really hone in on my online brand and this week I’ve actually re-entered the online scene.

Originally I was doing a lot of different character style content and now I’m creating all from the perspective of one character. The idea here is so my onstage and online persona can meld into one. Check me out @curtisgoesviral on Insta, YouTube, or TikTok to see what this looks like hehe.

Acting will always be my first love and I’m still actively pursuing acting. My hope is that all of these endeavors will build on top of each-other and one day a casting director or producer will see a live show or video of mine and go there he is! Let’s get him on this project!!

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

Naomi Watts once said, “I’m an overnight success… 15 years in the making.” I love this quote because as a culture, we see these people blow up but have no idea the effort it took to get there. I think what I’d like to say is hold space for your creative friends to be in development. It’s a long road to achieving that “commercial success” and many of us are still in the figuring shit out phase.

A question I have is how can we be more supportive and encouraging of those who aren’t “successful” yet but are on the way? It’s a question I’m still trying to answer myself. It’s easy to be supportive and happy for someone whose already proven their value, but what about the person whose still trying to prove it? Just remember, it’s embarrassing, painful, and scary when you’re starting out. If you have a friend or know someone like this, it doesn’t hurt to say, “Hey I see you! Keep going, you got this.” You never know how much that could mean to someone.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

Listen, times are tough. We’re all addicted to technology and depression is higher than ever. So I’d say the most rewarding part of being a comedian is the ability to make a room full of people laugh. There’s absolutely nothing like sharing joy as a collective. Each show is special and I try to view each audience as such. They deserve my all and I know the material isn’t always going to land. But when it does, oh man is it a fulfulling experience for both of us.

Image Credits
Rowan Bennetti Ben French Photography Zhen Qin Poster Design by Alvin Valendra