We were lucky to catch up with Steve Vanderploeg recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Steve, thanks for joining us today. Can you recount a story of an unexpected problem you’ve faced along the way?

One of the most unexpected problems that I faced was success as a producer. When I decided I wanted to start performing stand-up comedy, I knew exactly what my motivations were, the biggest being that I just wanted to make people laugh. As time went on, the opportunities to create a career out of a hobby became more and more attainable, but I still wasn’t getting the stage time or attention from comedy clubs that I wanted. I began producing my own stand-up comedy shows to guarantee some extra cash, and even more valuable was consistent stage time in front of attentive audiences. I had the idea to create a stand-up comedy show that traveled from brewery to brewery called Rotating Tap Comedy a couple years after I began producing comedy. At the time of the idea, I still had a day job that was taking up about 50 hours a week. Almost every comedian has to learn to balance their day job with their passion. A few years later, I interviewed for a big promotion, and even though I felt like I was the most qualified candidate, I did not get the job. Luckily, comedy is REALLY good at teaching rejection, so I got up, brushed the dirt off my shoulders and began pursuing the idea of Rotating Tap that I had in my back pocket for so long.

One of the biggest issues I faced was starting the company. All i ever wanted to do was tell jokes into a microphone, but in order to really make that a possibility, I had to learn so many other (truly valuable) skill sets. I had to learn how to start an LLC, manage budgets, brand management, time management and of course learn marketing. These we’re things I didn’t think would be so important to my comedy career, and I am still learning, but its been necessary to learn the dark side of the business. Ultimately, I have to deal with the government way more than I ever intended on, but I am now guaranteed to get on stage and make people laugh multiple nights a week.

Steve, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I began performing at comedy open mics in summer of 2012. If you’ve never been to open mic comedy before, its pretty important to understand in the process of a comedian becoming successful. Every comedian starts out at open mics, and while every open mic is different across the US, you can pretty much rely on a few things: waiting hours, sometimes until 2 AM, through bombed set after bombed set to get your chance at telling 4 minutes of jokes to a half-attentive audience. Through time, those that improve start seeing some better spots.

I reached a point where i was getting pretty good at stand-up, but the clubs were not paying attention to me, and the grind of waiting hours on hours to get on stage every night was wearing me down. I thought to myself, if I could start building stage time for myself outside of open mics, I could do a lot more. Its easier to test new material and really relax during sets when you have more stage time. So I began building Rotating Tap Comedy, giving me a chance to get more sets, longer sets, and perform more frequently in front of people that actually wanted to laugh. I thought of Rotating Tap because I love beer, and most breweries love events. The shows are aimed as much as craft beer lovers as they are comedy fans, so I aimed to unite the two realms and create something new, that so many people can enjoy.

I am happy to say that I was promoted to a professional comic at the World Famous Comedy Works in Denver in summer of 2022. I can only imagine its because of the increase of stage time I created for myself, as well as more consist chances for me to get on stage.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

I had to unlearn entitlement. I suppose it was just engrained in me growing up, but in the creative world, a lot of people believe that they deserve more than what they have. I was absolutely guilty of this for a long time until I realized how toxic of a mentality it was. I think it’s common in all forms of art, that artists believe they have earned something they don’t have yet, but the truth is, if you REALLY deserved something, you will get it. Entitlement creates distractions from goals, jealousy of friends and peers, and overall just makes artists overvalue themselves and the things they create when in reality, there are hundreds, if not thousands, of people that can do what most artists do. I’ve found myself and my friends to have much more success in putting their heads down, focusing on the work, and being happy with what you earn.

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

The biggest resource I wish I had used earlier were the professional comedians around when I started performing. I thought to myself that some of these older people in the game were out of touch, and didn’t understand what I was going to do with comedy. Truthfully, it was a game they had already figured out. I’ve met so many comedians who have been doing this professionally since the 1980’s and they’re chalked full of knowledge, experience and for the most part gratitude. The majority of them want to help with advice, and teach younger comics to be better performers, professionals and in general comedians. Unfortunately I waited until some of these mentors were nearing the end of their life before I started even considering what they had to say about the industry. Now, I listen to anybody who has been performing for more than 3 decades. I don’t have to like them, and I can take anything they say with a grain of salt, but its almost guaranteed that they know something I don’t that I want to learn.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.ploegcomedy.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/slumdogchillionaire
• Facebook: facebook.com/stevevanderploeg
• Twitter: twitter.com/stevevanderploeg
• Youtube: youtube.com/stevevanderploeg
• Other: www.rotatingtapcomedy.com

Image Credits
First Photo: Nick Holmby None of the rest are credited