A master of Twitter puns and a peddler of extra-dry wit, Myq Kaplan is a clever and endearing person, and I'm glad his comedy exists. He also claims to enjoy doing interviews via email, so I asked him a bunch of questions in advance of his show tonight at Revolution Hall. Here's what he told me about aspirational pun-inventers, sounding like himself, and playing Scrabble for money.
MERCURY: You seem to really like puns. Or I guess you call 'em "cute jokes"? Who are your greatest pun influences?
MYQ KAPLAN: What if I told you I can't stand most puns and am only tweeting them in the hopes that it will get them out of my head for good, each time hoping that it will be the last, but it never is...
(That is not what I'll tell you.)
In truth, playing with the shapes and sounds of words and letters has just always been the way my brain works. So I would say I am my own greatest wordplay influence. If that's not allowed, I'll also point to one of my best friends and favorite comedian/rappers/tweeters (modern show biz triple threat), Zach Sherwin, whose Twitter account he refers to as his "pun dumpster." He and it are wonderful.
You have a podcast! Why did you start your podcast? Why does any comedian? So many comedians have podcasts I can't keep up my list of subscriptions.
I've had conversations like this with comic friends who don't have podcasts who say "So many comedians have one, so why should I?" And I say "So many comedians do comedy as well (almost all of them) so why are you doing that?" If you're not going to do something because other people are doing it, you won't be able to do much. Eating, breathing, sleeping... All the good stuff is taken. Start teleporting.
Sincerely, I just love hanging out with comedians, fun friends, and other creative people, all while being able to consider it work or an accomplishment of some kind. So, to answer your question the most directly, I started my podcast because I like hanging out with people, which is why I called it "Hang Out With Me."
Your comedy is so delightful, in part because it doesn't hew to clichéd "hi I'm a guy" material—no crazy ex-girlfriends, just hilarious jokes that sometimes ride on wordplay alone. Neat! As a person who sees comedy for part of my living, that's such a nice change of pace. Have you always been a word dude? Do you play Scrabble?
Thank you! Your interviewing style is delightful as well. I'm happy that you enjoy me being myself, or versions thereof. I do my best to present ideas and jokes and philosophies and sounds and thoughts that I care about and think about in ways that make me have fun and hope/intend for others to appreciate similarly.
Oh, and I have played Scrabble as long as I can remember. My grandmother taught me and we played for money since I was very young.
You're very dry in your delivery. Do people ever think you're just being serious? If so, how do you respond?
Are you being serious? (A dry joke. I know you are!)
When I'm on stage as a comedian at a comedy show, I believe most audience members have the appropriate context to presume that I'm not JUST being serious (though sincerely, a lot of what I discuss on stage does come from my true thoughts and feelings and experiences), but I do understand your question, and am sure that in life, yes, there have likely been times that I have been interpreted as serious when I am being fun. I am frequently fun. Sometimes it is a dry fun, but there will be some wet fun as well, soaky-dokey? (DISCLAIMER: NOT ALL MY COMEDY IS LIKE THIS. OTHER DISCLAIMER: NOT ALL MY COMEDY ISN'T LIKE THIS. I AM AN ENIGMA.)
