How to go
Who: Bobcat Goldthwait
Where: Wiley’s Comedy Joint, 101 Pine St., Dayton
When: 7:30 and 9:45 p.m. Friday and Saturday
Cost: $15 Friday and $18 Saturday
More info: 937-224-5653 or www.wileyscomedy.com
Bobcat Goldthwait is a busy man.
He currently spends his weekdays in New York directing TruTV’s sketch comedy program “Friends of the People.” Many of his weekends are spent attending film festivals with his award-winning documentary, “Call Me Lucky.”
Through it all he still finds time for stand-up comedy, which brings him to Wiley’s Comedy Joint, where he’s performing through Saturday.
Goldthwait recently answered some questions about his hectic life.
Q. How is “Call Me Lucky” being received?
A. “It’s been overwhelming. It’s nice because the movie has been fairly well received. I have a problem talking about it, because it has more to do with Barry Crimmins, the subject, than it does with me. It’s going over real well. It’s received a bunch of awards, which is very nice. We’ll be doing that for most of the summer and then, hopefully, we’ll have news about a theatrical release.”
Q. When you were doing stand-up in your early 20s, was directing a goal?
A. “No, I realized as someone in movies what little say you have in the outcome of the product. Tom Kenny says I started making movies when I could no longer freak people out on stage. He’s probably right, but even if you’re a comedian who tells one-liner jokes, it’s still storytelling, so directing is a natural progression. It’s just another form of storytelling.”
Q. How do you fit stand-up in with your workload?
A. “It’s the cliche of the instant feedback. That’s always fun. It also prevents me from isolating myself. I go out and do gigs a few times a month, but while I’m here in New York I’ve been going on stage … . I try to keep my stand-up in check so I’m not too rusty when I do go out and do a show.”
Q. What’s the trick to balancing different projects and staying focused on the task at hand?
A. “It’s a little crazy-making, but for me to complain about it would be saying my diamond shoes are too tight. I’m pretty lucky to be 52 years old and still gainfully employed in show business after all these years. I got on ‘Letterman’ when I was 20, so it’s been a long run. What I find fulfilling is being creative. For me, the key is just to keep making stuff. It wasn’t necessarily with the intention of reinventing myself. I’ve always been making stuff, because that’s what makes me happy. The byproduct is it has given me a second career.”
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