I interviewed Scott Mitchell who is a comedian by night. Humor is one of the hardest things to master – probably more so than sex. Why does he do what he do?

1. Tell us more about yourself.
By day I am a Husband and father of 4 wonderful children. By night I am a stand-up comedian.

As well as performing, I am a founding partner of Comedy Hub Singapore. We like to offer an opportunity for everyone to get on stage and give comedy a try.

People don’t seem to mind the husband/Dad information but the stand-up comedian part sometimes puts people off their stride. Instantly they are on the back foot thinking I will try to make fun of them or they themselves spin it round and ask me to be funny – neither of those things are usually happening. Once people get to know me they learn that I’m just a normal person trying to get on with my day like everyone else. The person on stage is not the same as the day time version of me.

2. Why do you do what you do?

I love to make people laugh. This is a selfish addiction of wanting  to stand in front of a room of strangers and make them laugh out loud – one of the most honest reactions a human can make.  It is a great feeling for me as a performer when it happens.

My biggest gig was to 1,500 people at the indoor stadium as they waited for the beginning of a sports tournament. Keeping the attention of such a large room (who were not there to see me) felt amazing and most importantly – they laughed and had a good time. Intimate gigs and corporate events are really fun too – when you can see the whites of your audiences eyes it can often work out be a great shared experience rather than just some bloke standing in a spotlight with a microphone.  When a room comes together and gets on board with what you are trying to do it is a real buzz.

On the admin side of the business I enjoy setting up events and providing a platform for Singaporean and locally based expats to perform. Comedy Hub Singapore runs two regular nights a week – Monday for new comedians and debut acts, and old comedians with new jokes. Thursday’s are for the stronger comedians who are progressing and want to take things a little more seriously. Seriously funny.

Stand-Up comedy in Singapore (and the whole of South East Asia) is getting more and more popular. It is a great scene to be a part of and it is an honour to have some excellent talent use our shows to perform their craft.

3. What are the common issues people come to you for?
For the audience, they want to have fun.  The feedback we receive is that people are looking for an outlet from the stress of their daily lives to kick back and be entertained.

For our comedians, they want to have fun too. Some come with a message or an angle that they want/need to express and have no other outlet for it. Ultimately though, it’s about getting those laughs.

4. What are your future plans?

As the new year approaches I am taking a step back from the day to day running of the Hub to concentrate on my own performance. The Hub will be left in the capable hands of my fellow comedians Stephanie Chan, Oli Bear and Dan McGrath.

I will be performing in Fringeworld, Perth in Jan/ Feb and I want to dedicate some time to finish writing my first 1 hour solo show. It’s almost done, just needs a critical editing eye to make sure it is up to scratch.  It will be called “Scott Mitchell, the secret diary of an expat Dad age 39 3/4.

Once I’m satisfied it is ready I will take it to the Edinburgh Festival – the largest arts and comedy festival in the world.

5) What is your advice for entrepreneurs or helping professionals?

Ask for forgiveness, not permission. One trait of many successful entrepreneurs is that they just get on with – they have their goal and they work towards it. Unfortunately that sometimes give the impression that you need to be selfish or unkind to achieve your goal(s) but I don’t believe that.

You can be nice on the way up (and on the way down) so just get on with it, leave the excuses behind and make it happen.

Visit the below links to find out more about Scott

Faceboook https://www.facebook.com/comedianscottmitchell/

Comedy Hub http://www.comedyhubsingapore.com/

and https://www.facebook.com/comedyhubsingapore/

Note: I have not vested interest or benefit from interviewing Scott. I am doing so in the pure intention to help promote his good work.