The whole thing with comedy is that you are always in control. Writer, director, actor, producer, and sometimes bouncer. And you are just a piece of their puzzle.
It's a great time to be a comedian because you've got so much more control. You can say what you want to. I think in the old days with the studio system the performer was a bit of an afterthought. You can be a wildcard on the internet. But if you put something on the internet once it's out there it's out there for life.
Bureaucrats shouldn't be in charge of comedy.
With stand-up, I can have an idea, go down the street to a comedy club and work on it, flesh it out, book a venue, people will come, then film it. I do all that myself; I never have to answer to anybody.
Stand-up comedy is mine: it's my entity; it's my brand; I own it. I do it when I want to do it.
I'm particularly bad at breaking if something's funny. I'm not professional, so I do often laugh, but less at what I do and more often at what other people do.
A good stand-up, you lead the audience. You don't kowtow to the audience. Sometimes the audience is wrong. I always think the audience is wrong.
Comedy is very controlling - you are making people laugh.
With comedies, I like to be a producer, because comedies can get corny and go off track real fast.
Stand-up is an amazing art form, I think, because it's all about you having complete control of the situation, but absolutely none.
You do what you're supposed to do, but you have to be honest about what they're doing. When you do a comedy show on a network the problem is there are going to be a bunch of people who aren't comedians that are going to tell you what's funny.
The decision as to what's funny and what is not funny shall rest solely with Mr. Freberg.
