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shows and comedy clubs.
So, I’d been looking at this
newspaper forever and I’d
spend every weekend just
circling the comedy clubs.
I just had to wait until I was
old enough to actually go
and perform in them. And
I really wasn’t old enough,
(when I finally went to the
clubs), I was still under 21,
but man, yes, Lyon’s Den
was the first place I went
to, on Chicago’s Northwest
Side. I was just talking to
some friends about that
place because it created a
lot of dope comedians you
see out here now, actually.
MADE: And let’s fast
forward to today. You have
gone far beyond being just
a dope comedian; you’re
a TV and movie star! You
keep coming back to standup comedy, though. Why?
What’s the draw?
LR: Stand up is therapeutic.
It’s what opened all of the
doors for all of the things
that I’m able to do now.
That’s the one place you
can go to on that stage, by
yourself and create and say
whatever you want. And
there isn’t a script. I can go
up there and do whatever
I want. It’s more therapy
than anything. There’s
nothing like going on stage
and telling your truth.
MADE: And now, you’re
teaming up with MTV for a
new stand-up comedy series,
“Acting Out.” How did that
partnership come to be?
LR: MTV was already
interested in doing
something with me. I had
a chance to meet the execs
at an MTV awards show
and we had a really good
conversation. And I was
telling them that if we do
something together, I would
love to host something on
the network. They said
that my name had come
up for a project and that
project was “Acting Out.”
My name had come up
to just be featured on the
show, though. And I knew
the producers because I’d
done Last Comic Standing.
So when the first host,
turned the show down,
they’d called me to just be
featured on the show, and
I told my manager “well
before we say ‘yes’ to me
doing the show, can you
tell them I want to host?”
And my manager took that
back to the executives.
They (the executives) had a
meeting and said: “oh, this
would be the perfect show
for Rel.” And it happened
that fast. It became my
show.
MADE: Wow. Talk about
making your own luck!
Now, tell me more about
“Acting Out.” You all are
doing something very
innovative with standup
comedy, correct?
LR: You know something;
it’s amazing to watch
these jokes come to
life. And that’s so fun to
watch to me! People who
love standup comedy in
general and love watching
comedians know that the
comedian is usually good
at painting the picture.
On this show, though,
you don’t have to paint
a picture in your mind.
We’re actually showing you
the painting. Viewers will
be able to actually see the
jokes come to life. That’s
what’s so amazing about
this show and that’s the
funniest thing about it so
far.
MADE: You’ve credited
the show “In Living Color
Reboot” with giving you
your “big” break. You’re
going to be giving a lot of
fresh faces the chance to
shine on this show. What
does it mean to you to be
able to give other comics
the same sort of “big” break
someone gave you?
LR: It means a lot to me,
actually. With this show,
I was able to get a lot of
the talented comics on this
show and also get them
acting in this show. And
that feels great. I’ve always
done that. I still come
back to Chicago and I
have showcases I do all of
the time for comedians to
actually perform in front of
big management or agents
or producers and that’s
only going to get bigger. I
LOVE helping out, I love
giving back, I love opening
doors. And this is just the
beginning for me.
*Acting Out airs on MTV
on Thursday nights, 10:30
EST/9:30 C
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