We recently connected with Vincent Acevedo and have shared our conversation below.

Vincent , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

There were so many hints as time went by, I had always loved laughing but I truly enjoyed being able to make friends and family laugh even more so. It was always very addictive to hear laughs and want them to keep going. It wasn’t until I was finally forced to perform at an open mic that I truly realized what it was like to get complete strangers to laugh. Having a moment to know that it was just you, the microphone and the crowd meant there was no one to protect you. It was a small room with about 15-20 people there to just listen to new comedians and to be able to get laughs from people that didn’t know you was the moment I became hooked into the business. After that there weren’t any professions I could see myself doing with the same passion as doing stand up comedy. Its been 18 years since that day and I wouldn’t change a single thing about it.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is Vince Acevedo. My grandparents are originally from Puerto Rico but I was born and raised in Chicago. I absolutely love this city, it has always been a big melting pot for me with different cultures, music and food. Luckily I feel this really helped to shape my appreciation for a lot of things that most people wouldn’t since I was exposed to it all at a young age. On a personal level I am a total nerd for certain things. Star Wars is my all time favorite entertainment when it comes to movies, shows and video games. My favorite band is Jamiroquai because they are the best!!!

I started out in the industry like most other people do, you go to an open mic, get some laughs and than do it all over again the next day. Its a process because you have to mingle and meet new people in order to gain more opportunities. Like any business though there are definitely ups and downs. The highs and lows of the entertainment industry is messy. There are politics involved, “gatekeepers,” and like anything else, TIMING is a huge factor. Being at the right place at the right time is absolutely a true statement because you never know who you’ll run into and what opportunities may come because of it.

The discipline behind doing stand up is very tricky. There truly is no one way of being successful. Some comedians like storytelling, ranting, crowd work or traditional material. But for every style of telling jokes there are also different types of crowds who enjoy different types of comedic performances. The best discipline is to make sure that you never give up or not fall into the trap of being unable to enjoy performing on stage.

I have been a stand up comedian now for 18 years. It has giving me the chance to travel all over the world and experience things and places I could have never imagined. I’ve worked comedy clubs, festivals, tv shows and cruise lines as well.

Having the ability to perform for all different types of demographics and ages has really helped to consistently keep me booked. It’s not just about if you can do clean material or dirty for that matter but more so can it be universal to the point where everyone is laughing at the same time.

I am most proud of knowing that in the times I wanted to give up performing I never allowed myself to. Believing in myself has helped to get me to where I am today. When I am on stage I developed a different way of enjoying myself. I like to weave the crowd into my standup so they feel involved in the show. It makes the show more interactive and also allows the crowd to feel like they are apart of something unique and not so much of a repetitive set. It’s about having fun not just the business. You can’t have one without the other,

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

Yeah my first real pivot came pretty early in my career. I was really hung up on wanting everyone to like me or try to come off as one of the “in-crowd” and by doing so it wasn’t very endearing. Instead of being liked it, was viewed as being arrogant or cocky so there was a point where I needed to do a full reset and actually show people who I really was and not what I thought everyone wanted me to be. You will never be at a point where everyone loves you but at least those who do, know the type of person you really are.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

The one thing nobody understands is the struggle of being alone in this journey. Even with family and friends it is very hard to express how difficult things can be. You miss tons of birthdays, holidays and get togethers just to do your job which can really be a drag since you are missing out on crucial memories. But for every memory you miss, you end up making memories for the people that come to watch you perform.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @vinceacevedo
• Facebook: @vinceacevedocomedy @vinceacevedo
• Twitter: @vinceacevedo
• Youtube: @vinceacevedo
• Other: IG: @vinceacevedo

Image Credits
@paulledesmaininstagram