We recently connected with Matt Storrs and have shared our conversation below.

Matt, appreciate you joining us today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

When I was in middle school, I listed “comedian” as my dream job. Little did I know that the barrier to entry for that job was showing up to an open mic and signing up.

While that might be an oversimplification, my childhood idea of what a comedian was was very limited. I was babysat by Comedy Central watching Sinbad stand-up specials and Kids In the Hall episodes each day after school. My frame of reference was quite narrow thinking of sketch and stand-up as the be-all and end-all of comedy opportunity.

I began cultivating impressions and ideas in notebooks and trying to perform any chance I could during extra-credit presentation opportunities. I wrote a paper and gave a presentation on the concept of humor, making my class laugh as I described how an unexpected fashion choice could facilitate humor.

I pulled pink suspenders from the waistband of my school uniform khakis and snapped them over my shoulders. Despite violating the school’s uniform policy, my bravado and willingness to demonstrate the idea got me a disciplinary reprieve from the teacher.

That first laugh, tied to explanation and education, made me fall in love with comedy. It also let me see that it might be something more than what I was seeing when I went home from school.

Matt, 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’m a comedian and storyteller in NYC. I started performing in Phoenix Arizona while I was studying to become a lawyer after second-guessing that life choice.

I started performing jokes that were described as “metropolitan.” This included jokes that were based on idioms and wordplay mixed with odd experiences from my youth. As I started performing more and got interested in storytelling, I expanded those experiences from my youth into full sets in themselves. I started seeing each joke as a little vignette into how I interpreted the world and chose to interact with it.

With the onset of videos online, I took those small stories and started sharing them with people. I have been guilty of overthinking and wanting things to be perfect, but trying to articulate why something was funny or odd right away allowed me to break down that perfectionist mentality enough to see that things could develop and grow if I let them.

I realized that quite a few were connected thematically. After some testing and writing, I wrote my first solo show about growing up queer and religious and attending a conservative religious school.

I took that show to multiple fringe festivals including the Edinburgh Fringe.

That show helped me see that there was so much more to mine. My stories and jokes could be built together into something greater than just one individual part.

I’ve written and performed my second solo show “Jurassic Heartbreak” about my lifelong love of dinosaurs and how they helped me get over failed relationships and toxic coping mechanisms.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

Beyond having a hook or compelling story, you want your personality to come through. When I was first trying to record and post each day, I would start each video like I start my sets: “Oh hi everybody.”

I started using this simple phrase in storytelling and stand-up to put me in the headspace to talk more conversationally. I was bringing people in, as if I was just telling them a story at a party or talking to them in my living room.

As time progressed, I started cutting that phrase from my videos. But I still started the recording with that phrase because it clued me to the tone and candor I wanted.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

I think the best thing people can do is find their local community of performers. Whatever you’re into, music, comedy, storytelling, poetry, puppetry, theater, find a local group that does it.
Then support them. If they have a place you can donate each month, do that. If they have shows coming up, buy tickets EARLY. That early ticket purchase lets the venue and the performer know that people are interested.

Then tell people about what you saw or what you plan to see. Make a night of it and invite your friends. If you can afford it, and they agree, buy their tickets. Then next month someone else picks an event and you all go to that.

Try new things, tell people when you like them, and return to support.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://storrscomedy.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mtstorrs/
• Twitter: https://bsky.app/profile/mattstorrs.bsky.social
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@mtstorrs?lang=en

Image Credits

First photo – JT Anderson.

Yellow Jacket. Not sure.

All Others – Mindy Tucker