Meet John Vargas

Today we’d like to introduce you to John Vargas.

Thanks for sharing your story with us John. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Watching Richard Pryor on stolen cable as a kid, I always felt I wanted to do comedy, but I lacked the bravery and creativity to try. Writing a joke seemed like the most amazing achievement to me as a ten years old, never mind getting in front of an audience to recite that joke.

So, I decided I’d be a filmmaker. Why that seemed more accessible, I’ll never know. Youth is all about vitriol and delusion. I spent the 90s realizing that I had little to no talent for making a cohesive film. Not even a short film.

Several years of floundering, and I decided I was crazy enough to attempt stand up comedy, after all, I had already made my television debut getting arrested live on the news protesting the evil Prop 187. With some success in stand up that plateaued around year 10, I got a few small roles on a some short-lived shows on Comedy Central and the even more short-lived SeeSo streaming service. Also, I have a supporting role in an indie feature, “The Prey.” Let’s hope it gets finished!

As of late, I have been concentrating on writing stories of my rather tumultuous youth (really, who’s youth wasn’t?). Currently, I am compiling and creating more content for a book that, let’s face it, will likely be self-published.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Any choice to do anything creative will create obstacles in its own way.

Making choices that would be more beneficial to your avocation than to your life always abound. Making rent with a job you hate, working for that elusive validation of laughter and applause and accolades.

As always, and as cliched as it sounds, I am my biggest obstacle, Finding the reason to create, the energy. Comparing your success (or lack thereof) against those whom you find not only less than you, but actually detrimental to the art form.

This obstacle is not new. Frankly, it’s old and boring.

But it is the one we all try to climb over.

We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
I am writer at present. I have been told that what sets me apart is the immediacy and accessibility of my work. In that many people can relate to what I have gone through.

I think also what has set me apart as a comic is my intensity. So much so, that some have misinterpreted it as some kind of misplaced anger. While the anger is indeed there, I know exactly where to aim it.

Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
The moment my neighbor let go of the bicycle I was learning to ride, and feeling the gliding effortlessness of flight as I alone controlled the bike, and where it went.

It was at once liberating and frightening.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://ihatejohnvargas.blogspot.com/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/commenace

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