Today we’d like to introduce you to Aaron Gold

Hi Aaron, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.

Growing up a weird kid with next to no friends has it’s benefits. For starters, you can develop a deep sense of empathy from pretty early on. I took heart to treating people the way I wanted to be treated, which ended up influencing much of my art later in life. I had been telling jokes since I learned how to talk, but they didn’t get funny until I turned 16, when I started firing back against my verbally abusive stepfather. I pin the highlight of this when he and I were in the kitchen, and apropos of nothing he said, “You know Aaron, if you were my real son I’d kill myself.” To which I replied, “…can we pretend?” That and the day in high school drama class when Mr. P-L said, “today, we’re going to do improv games” really opened my eyes to many things. First of all, that the TV shows that had made my childhood loneliness less painful, like Kids in the Hall and Whose Line Is It Anyway? were attainable goals. Secondly, that the more you focussed on making others look good, the better you became. That mentality followed me into adulthood, and helped to start “You Are Not Alone: An Uplifting Show About Depression”. YANA features storytellers, poets, and standup comics–all dealing with mental health issues–who share their experiences, which then inspires improv from our cast. The show has partnered with the National Alliance on Mental Illness for multiple benefit shows, and has enjoyed a nearly 10 year ongoing run at NYC’s Magnet Theater.
Another lesson that has largely helped shape my life is approaching as many opinions as I can with the idea that I may be wrong. This lead to the creation of my podcast-turned-television show, Don’t Mind If I Don’t, where fans and experts of things I don’t like convince me why I’m wrong. Both of these shows encapsulate an empathy forward form of entertainment that I hope enriches people without ever coming across too saccharine.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?

I’m happy for the trials and rejections I’ve faced, since they proved to be great teachers. My ex-stepdad showed me a lot of who not to be. Not having friends showed me how to treat ones well when I got them. And I am positive I never would’ve booked roles on an upcoming Marvel TV show or Netflix series had I not whiffed oh so many auditions in the past.
The most impactful struggle of my adult life was losing my biggest supporter as I watched my mother fall to her nearly 20 year battle with breast cancer. Something like that teaches you what really matters in life, and that a lot of things don’t. It got easier for me to say no to things I wasn’t interested in, and made it easier to advocate for myself in all aspects of life. It’s a painful process, but it undoubtably made me a stronger and more well rounded person.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?

I had such a great time creating Don’t Mind If I Don’t when it was a podcast, but between the scheduling, interviewing, booking, promoting, and editing on a weekly basis, it all just became too much for one person. So when Tom Dunn (director) and Christine Stoddard (artist/journalist/writer) approached me individually about bringing DMIID back as a TV show, I was instantly over the moon to have a team. We are creating the thing I am most proud of (alongside You Are Not Alone, but I’ve already talked about that a bit), as it allows me to be fully me, while still pushing my comfort boundaries and encouraging me to grow. We’ve found a way to turn expanding my horizons into something that’s entertaining for all. And if we trick you into learning something, well that’s a delightful little bonus.
Between my shows and my acting, I feel like I specialize in being authentic while still being silly. People are weird, and I’ve never been good at hiding my own oddities, so why not embrace them?

Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?

I feel the trend of self-produced content will only increase, as many big budget studios seek to spend less and save more, I feel like artists will see less need for middle management. I believe the onset of AI art will end up shooting those studios in the foot, as art without soul is pretty glaringly bad. But I fear it’ll get worse before it gets better, so strap in for a lot more AI generated scripts on Netflix.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://heyitsaarongold.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heyitsaarongold
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aaronmgold
• Twitter: https://x.com/heyitsaarongold
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@DontMindTheShow
• Other: https://magnettheater.com/show/56063/

Image Credits

On stage photos by Christine Stoddard