How to go
Who: Steve Gillespie
Where: Wiley’s Comedy Niteclub, 101 Pine St., Dayton
When: 9 p.m. Friday and 8 and 10:30 p.m. Saturday
Cost: $12 Friday and $15 Saturday
More info: (937) 224-JOKE (5653) or www.wileyscomedyclub.com
Artist info: www.gillespiecomedy.com
Steve Gillespie, performing at Wiley’s Comedy Niteclub in Dayton through Saturday, left his Wisconsin home a decade ago to attend graduate school at the University of Minnesota. While his advanced degree in economics landed him a day-job with Wells Fargo, he was more enamored by his adopted city’s vibrant comedy scene.
“I got out of grad school, got a real job and I hated it,” Gillespie said. “I started doing open mics kind of a whim as a hobby. There is a very strong stand-up community in Minneapolis. There are four full-time clubs here so there’s a lot of opportunity to get on stage and I took advantage of it.
“I was lucky enough to get hired at Acme Comedy Company in Minneapolis,” he continued. “It was recently named one of the top five clubs in the country. That’s the main reason I’ve stayed in Minneapolis this long. Instead of moving to L.A. or New York, I took advantage of all the contacts and people you could meet through that club. Eventually it grew into a career.”
Gillespie, who recently celebrated eight years as a comedian, didn’t rush to quit Wells Fargo.
“I kept my day job for the first three or four years I was doing stand-up for money,” he said. “I did both of them as long as I could, you know, for the money but it got to the point where I was booked more than I could be around to work. They were like, ‘You’ve gotta be here if we’re gonna pay you,’ so I had to dump the day job.”
Gillespie, who plans on relocating to Los Angeles before the end of the year, spent three summers in L.A. taking acting classes during the day and hitting the clubs at night.
“There are a lot of skills you learn in acting that transfer over to being on stage and doing stand-up,” he said. “It really helped me learn to be in the moment and be aware. If you don’t get caught up in your material and can be improvisational you can pretty much go with anything that comes your way.
“Acting is great and fun, but stand-up is my first love,” Gillespie said. “Comedy is what I really want to do, but I’d like to supplement it with some acting and other things. If I get on a show or something, that will build my stand-up following more and I can do bigger venues, make more money and the whole thing.”
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