Ari Shaffir

People get mad at bad comedy. Way more mad than at bad novels. ”

Early on, I had a girlfriend come see me, and she was like, ‘Yeah, it was good, but you were funny at a dining hall at the University of Maryland.' That's when I realized I was contrived. I was reciting jokes. So I really worked on - no matter what - sounding like I was just talking to the people." ”

I worked for the Comedy Store as an employee trying to become a paid regular. I had this dream of achieving a half hour special on TV. ”

Sometimes I start off shows by explaining to people that it's just a bunch of stories - I always say 'It's like standup, just less funny.' ”

The Comedy Store is my home! ”

My CD, my first release, was at the Comedy Works in Denver, one of the best clubs in the country. ”

One thing I hate in ethnic comedy is giving the audience the opportunity to laugh in a racist way at a thing. A lot of times dwarf comedians will do that, Arab comics, and gay comics will do it; everyone is laughing, but they're not laughing at the joke, they're laughing at this crazy character. ”

Laughs, just laughs. It's the only motivation of a comic. ”

The biggest thing I lost when I left religion was that sense of community and the culture. It was an unexpected kind of free-falling. When I was in it, I didn't understand how much the community was a part of my life. ”

I'm like an overgrown child! I don't know how to do anything! ”