Dan Cummins Interview

I arrived at the Cullinan Hotel in Cape Town and as I walked closer to the door I started getting flash backs to a night outside Tiger Tiger where I was shown away for not having a collar. I went in and was greeted by a big round table which I wondered if it would have been big enough for King Arthur. I waited around for a bit for the PR. When she arrived, she introduced me to Dan Cummins and we went to sit next to the pool. I was nervous as this was my first interview and I had fears of something going wrong. I pushed record on my voice recorder, opened my piece of paper with my lists of questions and fired away with my first one.

(RJ)What did you enjoy most about visiting South Africa and performing here?

(DC)I guess it’s exciting to come and just test the waters so to speak, you know, see if a English speaking country, but a country clear across the globe, north south and east west , like whether my humour will translate. You assume it will, but you don’t know for sure? So that was my favourite part, just, yeah trying something really new. I’ve been pretty much everywhere in the States, like North America, so it’s a good change.

"A panda killed my family"

(RJ)And did you find that your comedy did translate?

(DC)Yeah, especially like more and more each week you get more comfortable. But I noticed Cape Town, I don’t think it’s more of a… I don’t know, have you seen any of my standup before?

(RJ)I watched your DVD last night, I bought it at the show.

(DC)Oh so that’s right, you were at the show. So like, Cape Town seems to be like a college kinda town, liberal. That type of city just seems to serve me best. So, Cape Town is like the easiest to translate, but I mean Johannesburg and Durban were fine too, Just, I feel like I could get a little more experimental here. You know like, know before it was more just stick to punch lines and move on to the next thing. But yeah, I’ve had fun. I’ve noticed the big difference between South Africa and the States, I mean, in the States a lot of guys are, like you’re based in San Francisco, you’re based in Austin, you definitely develop your Austin material. But comics tend to focus more on universal themes. They could work anywhere in the world. You might have a couple of jokes about Austin, but then you quickly move into just stuff like random observations, family, opinions on larger social matters. Where here I’ve noticed the scene is very colloquial, you know like, um, like South Africa has really changed their set up quite a bit from Durban to Johannesburg. And the sets they do literally wouldn’t work anywhere else in the world. It just would appeal to South Africans because it’s all about Afrikaans and culture, apartheid and Mandela and various things unique just to the city. And that just reminds me that it’s a newer scene and just different. In the States if you want to make money and have a career as a touring comic you have to appeal to the whole country, really more in a way. It’s been interesting. I kinda indulged, I don’t usually talk so much about where I am. It’s been kind of fun though, change of base.

(RJ)So, would you come back and do your one man show here?

(DC)I’d love to. If they can promote it and get a venue, yeah. It’d be nice to. I feel in this 15 minute set I do five, ten minutes of local, do some universal and then time’s up. But I have loads of material. I have a couple of specials back home and then a new hour of unrecorded stuff, so it would be fun to come here and do a proper long show.

(RJ)It would be good to have you.

At this moment I thought what if the voice recorder was too far away and it didn’t record anything coherent. I moved it closer to Dan and asked my next question.

(RJ)So, how’s the response been from South African audiences?

Dan moved his head closer to recorder and answered…

(DC)I think uh * laughs *

He sat back and continued.

(DC)Good actually, really good! It’s been better than American audiences in some ways. I think a lot of the clubs in the States  - there’s a big culture of celebrity and it’s like audiences come out and if they haven’t already heard of you, it’s more just this kind of like “Mah, what’s this guy?”  It’s more of this attitude of, “Well he can’t be very good because he’s not famous.” And it’s funny, a lot of the clubs, they’ve started booking just comedic actors, like Pauly Shore, or Screech, the guy who played Screech on Saved by the Bell, Justin Diamond, Stiffler’s Mom on American Pie, I can’t remember what her name is. I haven’t even watched a lot of there acts and then there’s a bunch of others, but people come out because they’ve seen them in a movie, but they’re shit -  they’re not comics. They’re just people who were funny in a movie. It’s weird, people get more excited, they want to have their picture taken… I wish there was more people in the States that really appreciated the art of standup, and there are some, there definitely are some, but a lot of times as a comedy club you get a mix of a few of them and then a lot of people who just randomly decided to go out or happened to get free tickets or something and so you learn how to win ’em over but they’re not as.. * snaps finger *  Like the crowds here have been really hot. Like it’s a big theatre show, it’s an international festival. But even when I did Parkers club in Johannesburg, just a couple of warm-up sets, they were like really appreciative you know.

(RJ)So would you say, in America, when someone doesn’t recognize your name they wouldn’t give you the time of day?

(DC)Yeah they’re just a very like … it’s weird, they equate success with celebrity. Like if you’re famous you’re successful, if you’re not famous you’re unsuccessful. So you like, you’ll have a great show in front of somebody who has seen you on a comedy show but you’re not on a sitcom, you’re not in a movie, but they’ve seen you on Comedy Central or something, and then like, I can’t tell you how many times they’ll be like “Hey man, I hope you make it, good luck.” And it’s like what the fuck d’you want from me? You know, like how is that not enough? You know like I made you laugh for an hour. But still they’re like it’s a hobby. Like all comics are just practicing for a sitcom. No, it’s an art form in and of itself. It’s just the least respected entertainment art form I think

"Peanut butter is the answer"

(RJ)So what keeps you motivated, what drives you?

(DC)I like creative expression. I’m working on material but really lately it’s just... I always thought there’d be this great job where if you could get a little bit of a fan base whether it be through film, web-based programming, stand up, television show or whatever, you could get that solid base that’s gonna go see you wherever you go, they give you this great job where you could work like ten nights a month. Bryan Reagan has this perfect job in the States. He does like two weekends a month and that’s it, the rest of the time is his. And he can work on stuff at his leisure, writing projects and stuff, but he only HAS to be somewhere two weekends a month. That’s what keeps me ahead, is that carrot dangling there. I’m like, if I could make it to that… best job ever!

(RJ)What made you decide to become a comedian? I’ve read on Wikipedia some of your history – that you come from a very small town and you got your degree in psychology and then standup, it just seems a bit strange to me…

(DC)Yeah, it was pretty random, I mean I didn’t plan it out. Like I didn’t watch stand up much growing up, in college not at all, just wasn’t interested. Even when I started doing stand up the first couple of years I thought it was going to be very temporary and I only later got more into the art form, I’d say about three or four years in. But, it was just random. My ex wife, we were dating at the time, she heard about an amateur night open mic and thought I should try it, so I totally did it on a whim . I have a weird relationship with standup, different than most comics  - I really like it, but if a different creative opportunity that was fulfilling came along tomorrow I could walk away from it and not miss it. I love it but I don’t need it. So, I just like being creative, whether it be writing, and music is what I did before standup. And like, one of these days if I’ve got a big chunk of time to myself, I really wanna paint. I just like creating.

Dan has a scetch in his routine about how Pandas should really be left alone to die out already. He even goes so far as to say we should put them in cages with tigers and see who would come out on top.

(RJ)I just need to know, what is it with pandas? Why do you hate them so much?

(DC)*laughs* You know, it’s funny. I really don’t hate the creature itself, it’s a symbol to me of thoughtless liberalism. I hate extremes right or left. And what kills me about pandas is it really is, I mean, it’s a cool creature, but it’s outlived its welcome. Like its time has passed. Like it really is this artifact from a previous time where there just isn’t the eco system for it anymore. And yeah let’s try and keep it alive, but let’s not give hundreds of millions of dollars when there’s, well like in your country for example where there’s two and half million people living a shanty town , you know. I’m a humans first person, like let’s fix our own shit, lets try and get a harness on this and then do novelties, like pandas. They’re just a little lower on my priority list. I just love poking fun at that. They’re a symbol of that thought to me. … And a panda killed my family. So it’s a little personal.

(RJ)So what’s next for you? I know you’ve got another show in the works, what else are you working on?

(DC)A lot of writing projects. I do a radio show back home so we’re going to launch a pod cast off of the radio show, it’s called Naked and Fearless. Which I think is going to be a little different pod cast, it’s very .. it’s not just surface stuff, not just quick jokes it’s like real deep, we really explore issues a lot more personally. And them I‘m hoping one of these writing things take off. I’m constantly auditioning and hoping that one of these things takes. There’s a screenplay I’m working on and a couple of sitcom pilots that I’ve written. Hopefully I’ll get someone to sign me a cheque over for one of them,

(RJ)Lastly, if you could take one thing back to America from South Africa, like anything what would it be – only one thing.

(DC)Only one? What one thing would I take back from South Africa? A really poor, really attractive black woman… I just feel like she’d be appreciative.

We both start laughing and Dan continues…

"Imagine what I filter"

(DC)If I could take one thing… maybe a uh? This is a tough one for a serious answer… I don’t have to be serious? I feel like the last answer is probably going to get me in trouble.

It probably would, only…

(RJ)You’ll be in America…

(DC)Yeah that’s right, I’ll escape it. One thing… trying to think of some weird animal that I could take back… maybe a lion cub. Take a live lion cub back.

I ended the interview and Dan gave me his personal email address. We chatted a bit about his stand up show and my love for comedy. We are basically best friends now. But, don’t ask him that…

Thanks to Hunta Live for arranging the interview and a big thanks to Dan Cummins for giving me 15 minutes of his time. I suggest we all mail Hunta Live and tell them to bring him back for a solo show.