Today we’d like to introduce you to Max Kerwien.
Max, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
In 2014, about halfway through college, I transitioned from studying computer science to the arts and started writing poetry and fiction. This was a huge deal to my tech professional parents and completely irrelevant to the rest of the world. I also loved comedy, so I did the rounds of trying out for the local improv troupe and started working up the courage to try standup comedy.
I tried standup for the first time in 2015 at the Comedy Underground open mic in Seattle. I was terrified to go up and my dad also came to see me perform. I had no idea how low the stakes really were, waiting in the backroom of a basement at 10:30pm for someone to mispronounce my name. I ran through all my terrible jokes too quickly and still had a minute left on stage so I turned the spotlight on my father and guilted him into saying he was proud of me for the whole room. Everyone went “awwww”. I kept going to open mics around the Seattle area for the rest of my college years.
In 2016, I moved to Los Angeles to try and take this whole “entertainment” thing seriously, and I’ve been doing standup here and writing various things ever since.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
It has been an incredibly smooth ride, next question.
Just kidding, that was a joke! Aren’t I hilarious? Is now a good time to mention that you can get a discount on Squarespace if you use the promo code MaxIsFunny?
I found more success with poetry initially than with standup. I won a scholarship in college for a poem I wrote. I published a book of poetry a couple of years ago. The poetry community overall is small, subjective, and easily accessible. Anyone can submit to literary journals, you can self-publish your own material or chapbooks, and there are a lot of great small writing circles all around the world.
With standup comedy, there are so many steps to a never-ending ladder. Near the bottom are the basics, like being comfortable on stage, jokewriting, delivery, and some other technical aspects. Higher up on the ladder, it turns more into where you’ve performed, who you’ve performed with, who you know if an audience shows up to see you, and the quality of your comedy. These are the basic hurdles for every standup comic. You can be an unparalleled jokewriter and then the second you get on stage, you freeze up and stutter through your jokes.
For me personally, finding my voice was especially difficult (and something I am still doing to this day). What do I talk about? Am I providing something new and interesting or am I just another straight white guy? I found that the best way to get the audience’s attention was to talk about subjects and personal experiences that most people haven’t heard through the medium yet.
The main focus for the past couple of years has been me sharing what it’s like having Crohn’s Disease through jokes and stories. When I first started talking about it, I could feel the audience shift with curiosity. Most people don’t know much about Crohn’s Disease, and some have never heard of it. That gave me a chance to define it for them or shift their perception. It was a fresh subject for standup, and I was in control of the narrative, which gave me a golden opportunity to write new and interesting material.
We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
I’m known mostly for my standup comedy and my poetry. As far as my “style”, I think it’s a blend of personal experiences with dry and self-deprecating humor. I’m incredibly proud of the poetry that I’ve written and published, and each time I do standup and don’t bomb, I consider that a monumental achievement.
What sets me apart from other physically is my height, as I am a relatively short man at 5’5. You could quite easily pick me out of a lineup of average-sized males. Creatively, I feel that I am similar to most other artists. Nothing new here!
What were you like growing up?
I was very shy and nerdy. I played a lot of sports and video games. I had a friend group of, at the most, five other boys just like me? It was the standard nerdy kid’s childhood package. By the time I turned 18, I knew far too much about the maps in Halo 3 and not enough about how taxes work.
I was sick with Crohn’s Disease for much of my childhood, which did prevent me from doing a lot of things that other kids could do, like have a regular diet, be active, be social, things like that. I only really came out of my shell and started taking my health seriously in college.
Before I was sick, I would play competitive tennis around the country and I won a bunch of second-place trophies in minor tournaments, the highlight of my tennis career. If anyone needs a bunch of gold plastic tennis participation trophies for a short film or a bonfire, let me know.
Pricing:
- My book of comedic poetry “Poems to Ruin Dinner with” is $6 on Amazon. Link: https://www.amazon.com/Poems-Ruin-Dinner-Max-Kerwien/dp/1729478700#:~:text=On%20the%20other%20hand%2C%20Poems,and%20other%20points%20of%20conversation.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/maxkerwien
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kerwien/
Image Credit:
Flora Demirchyan and John Adams
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