Ep. 31 - Cancer Ft. Matt Levy

We've all dealt with cancer in one way or another. Whether you've had it, you know someone who had/has it, or you are one, we each cope in our own way. 

New York comedian, producer, and mash-up maker Matt Levy lived through testicular cancer and worked it into a bit so well, he became known as "the cancer guy." Or maybe that's not such a good thing. Matt reveals how he found the funny in this life-changing experience and created a narrative that connects with audiences, not through joking about the cancer itself, but about other people's reactions, from his doctor, to his dad, to the girlfriend who cheated on him.

Also in this episode:

-Celebrities who also do stand-up

-Comedians who do the same material year after year

-Singing in comedy - do it or avoid at all costs?

-Getting rejected from a club audition for doing a cancer bit after having cancer

-Getting onstage right after experiencing something traumatic

-The moment your best joke bombs

-Being known for one thing as a performer

-Appreciating when other people give you the honest, unfiltered truth

-Tig Notaro's groundbreaking "Hello, I Have Cancer" clip, and the term "Tigging"

-The dangers of navel gazing

-Is Dale Carnegie's "How To Win Friends and Influence People" sociopathic?

-How there IS a time and place for cancer jokes, based off of the Eugene Mirman documentary "It Started As A Joke"

Produced by Golden Ox Studio | Music: Producedbyzip