Stage Talk with Rick Koster
Where every show has something to say.
BORED TEACHERS INTERVIEW:
DEVIN SIEBOLD
Your homework assignment: LAUGH!
In 2021, after 13 years teaching school at the elementary, middle- and high school levels, Devin Siebold had had enough!
“I can’t take it anymore!” he said. “l need a career that’s calming and sane — like standup comedy!”
Actually, Siebold didn’t say that.
It’s true that he did teach all manners of subjects for a baker’s dozen years in Florida, and it’s true he retired to become a comic and public speaker. But Siebold loved teaching — it’s just that a side interest in making people laugh became so successful he had to select between the two.
For those of us who fervently believe that humor is a valuable commodity in these dark times, Siebold absolutely made the right choice. See, hear and laugh for yourself when he headlines Is It Friday Yet?! — The Bored Teachers Comedy Tour coming to the Garde Arts Center at 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 15.
Along with Siebold are three other former or current school instructors who’ve turned their classroom experiences into broad swaths of PG-rated humor with concerts, podcasts and special event appearances that have racked up over a billion social media views and sold-out venues on three continents.
Joining Siebold onstage will be KC Mack, Jess Merrill (Miss Smith) and Andrea Caspari. Be there and enjoy yourself and do not worry! At the end of the show, you will not be required to write an essay on Schopenhauer’s belief that humor arises when we suddenly notice the incongruity between a concept and a perception!
Last week, I spoke with Siebold by phone. He was engaging, thoughtful and has the eager enthusiasm from someone you’d want to teach your kids — or tell you a joke.
The Garde: Let me start off by asking an incredibly difficult question for you. Does anyone in the education system still use the word “pupil”?
Devin Siebold: Uh, no. To be honest with you, I now see a lot of variations of even the word “student.” For example, at my son’s school, they call him “scholars.” Like, “Our young scholars need to be in class at 8 a.m.” or whenever So, there’s been kind of a shift. I don’t think I’ve heard the term “pupil” in a long time, but new synonyms are being introduced all the time. In fact, I never heard “scholars” until this past year.
Garde: Scholars is a good one. It seems sort of a positive image thing.
Devin: Yeah, yeah, I think that’s what they’re trying to set the bar a little bit higher for them to hopefully reach.
Garde: Not sure my father would ever have said anything I did in school was “scholarly.”
Devin: Yeah, there’s been a few times where I’ve said that as well with my own kids. Definitely. Like, “I don’t know if I would say this is a very scholarly thing that you’ve done, but okay.”
Garde: Do you think you would’ve been drawn to comedy if you hadn’t been a teacher? Did your experiences give you a humorous worldview that you might not have discovered otherwise?
Devin: I think the teaching definitely helped. Sometimes, when things are stressful, we look for outlets, and comedic writing has definitely always been an outlet for me. Not only that, but I think speaking in front of the students and constantly having to kind of think on your feet and come up with new and interesting ways to get their attention was a huge springboard. There are a lot of teachers that try comedy and are surprised how good they are at it just by naturally transitioning from their job.
Garde: When I learned I’d have the opportunity to talk to you, I thought back over all my years in public school or college and tried to add up the number of teachers I had that were funny. I came up with about five. And to me, the ability to impart humor with sometimes difficult or “boring” subject matter seems like a real opportunity to connect and teach.
Devin: Yeah. When I give keynote addresses or professional talks, I actually talk about how to introduce humor in schools. You know, about three months ago, there was a study that came out of Germany, and they found that the teachers who incorporated humor were viewed not only more favorably among the students, but also had higher testing scores. There was also a lowering of class disruptions.
So introducing humor into the classroom is such a massive tool and I don’t think a lot of teachers use it. In fact, sometimes, you know, sometimes the thought might be that doing so invites more of a disruption. But, you know, if you can find ways to channel it. I think it can be a massive advantage to any teacher.
Garde: I would think just about anybody could find the material to introduce humor into the classroom. Then maybe a teacher like you realizes you’re really good at it and can try to be funny professionally. Did you recognize that in yourself early on?
Devin: Yes, and no. I started doing comedy in Florida, and I loved it. But Florida has a lot of comedy clubs and so many comedians it’s a very low paying situation. So I wanted to do it, but I didn’t see a financial avenue to do it full-time making, you know, $25 or $50 at a bar show each night.
Garde: But at least you recognized that you could in fact do comedy at a competitive level? Were there any teachers-turned-pro on the circuit?
Devin: Oh, yeah, one hundred percent. There’s a, there’s a guy from Canada, Jerry Dee. He’s called Mr. Dand he’s, he’s very successful in Canada — a teacher turned comedian turned actor. I kind of admired him in the sense we thought along the same sarcastic levels, and had a lot of the same style of humor. It was neat and inspiring to see him doing these theaters and coming out of the classroom origins — and using that experience to make it into a full career. That was the target that I was aiming for.
Garde: I’m impressed how you’re able to integrate contemporary real-world material — the Epstein files, for example — into your bits. Is it therapeutic for you as an artist to be able to take elements like that and use humor to sort of keep the darkness of the world at bay?
Devin: Yeah, in fact, that’s kind of the whole basis for humor. I mean, a lot of people don’t know this, but science says humor is the way in which some humans communicate safety to one another. We kind of seek out humor in stressful situations.
If you look at a timeline of how many comedy clubs have existed in the United States, the number of them opening or closing usually coincides with financial turmoil, recessions and war. The darker the world gets, the more we see comedy clubs packed, because people are looking for that levity; they’re looking for an explanation or they’re looking for an outlet.
Think of Jon Stewart coming back to The Daily Show. When politics is kind of hitting us hard, we look for political humor. Right now, there’s an abundance on the left wing, but you also have people like Greg Gutfelt thriving on the right. I think it helps everyone in society to have a humorous outlet.
Garde: Did you have students that were hilarious? Is that something you’d help them with if they expressed interest in comedy?
Devin: I’ve had a lot of funny students. In fact, I’ve had two of them open for me. So, uh, yeah, there have been a few that have taken on stand-up careers. And a lot more who are going to open mics and trying out. I get four or five messages a year from former students who say they’ve seen what I’m doing and are interested in trying comedy. I think it’s great.
Garde: Are they students you could’ve maybe predicted would be disposed to trying standup?
Devin: You know, it’s surprising but it’s usually a lot of the introverted students, the ones who kind of sit back and observe and it turns out they’re wanting an outlet for the creativity that’s kind of inside them. A lot of comedians are actually pretty introverted people.
Garde: I find the idea of a teacher’s comedy tour incredibly intriguing because it suggests a huge galaxy of experiences from which to get material. At the same time, is it limiting to market a tour that implies humor exclusively devoted to the teaching career?
Devin: That’s actually kind of funny. At the start, a did about half my material just about life in general and letting the audience get to know. Then the rest of the material was teacher jokes. More and more, it’s maybe weird, but they wanted the teacher jokes.
To be honest with you, if you’ve been a student at any point in time, or you’re the parent of kids in school — or even if you’re the spouse of a teacher who comes home from school venting about how weird the classroom was that day, it’s all gonna resonate on some level. I mean, I have a notepad I travel with that’s full of probably 200-plus ideas for new jokes and new premises about teaching because it’s just a constantly evolving thing. Somebody said, you know, you can teach for one year and have, uh, you know, five years’ worth of comedic material, and it’s it’s true.
Garde: I’m old and so I find it interesting that teaching things like cursive writing are probably on the endangered species list, learning-wise.
Devin: Yeah! For a long time it was a big step and a big thing for kids to learn cursive. But it just doesn’t resonate with the times we live in. The kids today don’t have the time or patience to learn it and, to be honest, there’s less and less need for it. I mean, when I was young, I probably had teachers that lamented that no one taught math with an abacus anymore. And who knows what it will be like in 30 years?
Garde: Well, before I’m completely obsolete, if I bring you a sample of my cursive handwriting when you’re at the Garde, will you give me your opinion on how flourishing and beautiful it is?
Devin: Of course! I’d love to!