Joel Kim Booster needs you to really feel related to him. The multi-hyphenate stand-up comedian, author, and actor is taking this yr to put the groundwork on his already blossoming profession—engaged on a ton of latest writing tasks, filming season two of Loot on Apple, and dealing on a brand new hour of stand-up—all with the intent of expressing himself creatively and constructing a stronger relationship with you, the viewers.
A part of what drives Booster’s success, self-admittedly, is the connection he’s in a position to foster together with his viewers. It’s a connection that persons are each in search of and want in at the moment’s period of comedy to really feel alive and a part of one thing.
For his half, Booster is an knowledgeable at making a familiarity together with his audiences, and over the course of our cellphone dialog, he particulars the significance of the comedic parasocial relationship, reveals his strategies for writing scripts and crafting jokes, and elaborates on why sativas are nice for overcoming author’s block.
Excessive Occasions Journal: Rising up in Illinois, did you all the time know you needed to pursue comedy?
Joel Kim Booster: For me, comedy was by no means one thing that I felt was open to me. I didn’t assume it was an choice. I all the time knew I favored consideration from a really younger age, and as quickly as I knew what performing was, I knew that’s what I needed to do. Like loads of youngsters within the ‘burbs, I used to be doing college performs and group theater, and that led me to check theater in school. And at that time, I thought-about myself to be a really critical actor/author. I needed to be in critical dramas and write for The Wire sometime.
I bear in mind I attempted out for the sketch staff and the improv staff at my school and I didn’t make it into both of them, and that form of solidified for me that I used to be simply not a humorous individual.
It wasn’t till I used to be in Chicago that comedy appeared slightly bit accessible. The group may be very small there and it’s an incredible place to start out stand-up. I used to be inspired by Beth Stelling—who I used to be engaged on a play with—to attempt stand-up, and I didn’t notice you would simply do it. I bear in mind a theater firm had a spread present fundraiser that we had been internet hosting they usually had an empty slot they usually had been like, “Right here’s 5 minutes, do no matter you need.” From that time on, I used to be form of hooked on stand-up.
That was the primary time I ever considered doing comedy, and for the subsequent couple of years after, I used to be pursuing comedy in Chicago largely as a artistic outlet. I by no means in 1,000,000 years thought it might flip into something critical. It simply was this enjoyable factor that was only for me that I might flex each my writing muscle tissues and efficiency muscle tissues on the identical time. I by no means severely thought anybody would ever take me severely as a stand-up comedian, so I by no means considered pursuing it professionally till a few years in.
So having “critical” performing aspirations allowed you to method stand-up with an “I’m simply going to have enjoyable with this” perspective.
For positive. And I believe as a result of I wasn’t placing strain on myself to “make it” as a stand-up—particularly at first. It was actually liberating for me to simply form of play, determine my voice, experiment a shit ton, after which the strain got here later.
What was the second if you realized stand-up was truly going to be your fundamental artistic automobile shifting ahead?
It was once I determined to maneuver to New York. I’d been sporting loads of completely different hats in Chicago—writing performs, performing, occurring business auditions and all of that shit, and performing stand-up. That’s form of the great thing about Chicago in that it means that you can put on all of these many hats on the identical time with out having to dedicate your self to at least one or the opposite.
I had visited New York as a stand-up and did one or two exhibits an evening there for per week, and I simply fell in love with that vitality. I got here again to Chicago and three months later moved to New York. After I made the choice to maneuver, I mentioned, “That is the place the place stand-up comedy lives. That is the place the place stand-up comics develop into good.” I knew if I needed to do it and be the perfect that I might be, New York was essentially the most pure place for me to go.
And was there an ensuing expertise that helped validate you’d made the precise choice?
It was undoubtedly entering into the Bridgetown Comedy Competition, which is a now defunct comedy pageant in Portland, Oregon. I bear in mind it was a reasonably arduous pageant to get into: You needed to submit a tape, it needed to be a great tape, and it was the primary form of “leveling-up” from being a primarily open-mic comedian to being a comic book whose title was on a poster. I simply felt like a giant deal amongst my cohort of comics. The day these emails went out was all the time a very large day in stand-up comedy in New York, and it was a very gratifying second to get in.
How do you assume your materials has advanced—when it comes to what impressed you—out of your early Chicago days up by way of the current?
For me, it feels very completely different, even from simply my Comedy Central half-hour to my Netflix special. The place I used to be writing these jokes from was so completely different. I used to be actually within the biographical for thus lengthy at first—actually being targeted on me, what was occurring to me, what was occurring about me—and it was actually an exploration of my id, my background, and the way I grew up, which I believe is a reasonably widespread place for a lot of stand-up comics to start out, no matter their id. However for me, it felt particularly wealthy and on the time it felt form of new and recent. I don’t essentially assume that’s the case at the moment, however on the time I used to be beginning, no one was speaking about their lives and the intersection of their identities as a lot as they’re now. It undoubtedly felt completely different again then.
I believe now—particularly post-Netflix particular—the fabric I’m engaged on is so all around the map and is goofier and weirder. I’ve jokes concerning the Electoral Faculty and I lastly have airline jokes [laughs]. It isn’t essentially all about what it was like being an adopted Korean in a white household—which is all the time going to be part of who I’m as an individual and can subsequently exist operating within the background of every little thing I do on stage—but it surely’s not on the forefront as a lot because it was at the start.
When it comes to your more moderen tasks, you wrote, starred, and government produced Hulu’s movie Hearth Island. What went into it creatively and what was the driving pressure so that you can get it made?
I’ve all the time needed to make a film and I felt like I lastly had landed on a narrative that solely I might inform on this method, and Pleasure and Prejudice was form of the framework for that.
Certainly one of my favourite films so far is Clueless, and I grew up in an period the place each teen film was an adaptation of a Shakespeare play or a traditional work of literature. In order that’s simply in my blood and I believe it was a sticky sufficient promote for my first film as properly.
It’s not straightforward getting folks to concentrate to your work and I believe you want sure issues—whether or not it’s a reputation hooked up to your film or, in my case, this hooky adaptation piece. After throwing 1,000,000 issues on the wall, attempting to promote 1,000,000 TV exhibits, promoting a few them, creating 1,000,000 issues without delay, [Fire Island] was the one that actually caught and stood out amongst every little thing else I used to be pitching on the time.
For each scripts and stand-up, what function does hashish play in these artistic journeys?
I’m a agency believer in hashish. I imply, I’m excessive proper now.
When I’ve author’s block, the very first thing I do is smoke a joint as a result of it opens up components of my mind. I’ve such dangerous imposter syndrome and such low vanity as a author typically that it’s paralyzing. I sit at my pc and I say, “That is silly, that is dumb.” Each thought—even earlier than it’s in a position to get out of my physique—I decide and critique and it makes it so I’m not writing in any respect. I discover with weed, it actually shuts down that voice in a very useful method for me.
Pay attention, not every little thing I’ve ever written on medication is wonderful—it’s truly most likely extra 50/50. However, I’m in a position to get it out. Having the ability to see it in its rawest kind is definitely 10 instances as useful as letting it circle round in your mind for 1,000,000 years whilst you decide it and attempt to determine what’s incorrect with it earlier than you even get it on paper.
Any explicit pressure that helps you sidestep that interior critic?
I’m a sativa man however I’m not too choosy. Inside that realm I prefer to pattern as many alternative strains as doable.
I discover sativas very energizing. There’s this concept that weed makes you sluggish and makes you lazy—and I’ve definitely had sluggish and lazy days in my life whereas I’ve been smoking weed—however I wrote most of Hearth Island after a gram of Tremendous Lemon Haze.
Would you say weed is brisker for you than espresso?
Extra of a lateral transfer [compared] to caffeine, which is my primary dependancy in life. Generally it feels slightly bit extra like an Adderall. It focuses me, zeroes me in and creates this cone of consideration on no matter I’m doing in a second. It’s not constant sufficient to depend on within the day-to-day as a result of—like each different stoner, I’m going down my Wikipedia rabbit holes—however when it hits proper, it hits proper and you will get loads of shit performed.
When it comes to getting shit performed, what would you say has been the driving pressure behind your success?
I believe for me the key sauce has all the time been honesty. I believe the cornerstone of my act for thus lengthy has been the concept of radical transparency and intimacy. And whether or not or not that’s actual, the magic trick of my stand-up is convincing those who they’re seeing seven layers deep into my soul and there’s nothing I wouldn’t inform them, nothing I wouldn’t share with them, and nothing I wouldn’t disclose to them. Getting [the audience] invested in that concept has actually been the largest a part of my success I believe.
Now, are they actually seeing seven layers deep? I don’t know. There’s nonetheless loads of stuff that I believe is for me and me alone and I’m a really completely different individual off stage than I’m on stage. I believe the trick of it’s to get everybody to assume they’re getting all of me.
Does which have a consequence off the stage as properly?
For positive. I believe that individuals have loads of concepts about who I’m as an individual—how loud I’m, how assured I’m, how obnoxious I’m. I believe they’re additionally dissatisfied after they meet me in individual as a result of I’m not this large, boisterous, fancy homosexual man. I’m a reasonably lowkey regular dude who shouldn’t be the star of each interplay—and I don’t wish to be, and I don’t assume folks need me to be.
The opposite aspect of that coin too… the variety of instances I’ve been felt up at meet-and-greets—and I believe it’s as a result of I speak about intercourse with such openness in my set—however the variety of instances my ass has been grabbed or simply uncomfortable touching occurs at a meet-and-greet is incalculable at this level. I believe folks really feel snug doing that as a result of I’m very open about my intercourse life and I’m a really sexual individual. I’m open about that on stage and I believe that individuals assume that offers them license to do this form of stuff with me with none consequence.
Does the fabric in your set make folks really feel so snug with you that they really feel snug crossing that boundary?
It’s troublesome as a result of that is the form of comic that I’m and I don’t wish to shut folks out and I don’t wish to develop into a joke robotic with no standpoint. My standpoint will all the time be rooted in who I’m as an individual and issues that I’ve skilled, and I would like that to proceed to shine by way of and be out there for folks to entry. It’s about placing a stability.
This interview was initially Up to date within the Might 2023 concern of Excessive Occasions Journal.