People often have to make big changes in their lives to order to find success.
This is no different with Kyle Shire—a gay comedian who has moved from the suburbs of Chicago to Los Angeles after studying at such institutions as The Piven Theater Workshop, Second City and Columbia College Chicago.
Windy City Times: Tell me about growing up in Chicagoland.
Kyle Shire: I grew up in Des Plaines—in the shadow of O’Hare [International Airport] and the home of the first McDonald’s. I have a lot of comedians in my family, oddly enough, even though I don’t talk to them.
WCT: The first time you did stand-up—was it terrifying, invigorating or something else?
KS: Oh, God. I had one of the scariest open mikes of my entire life. It was at a comedy club that I don’t think is there any more. There was this stand-up there—P.K., short for “painkiller”—and the audience was ripping in on her, and she was ripping back at them. I wanted to join in on the fun [laughs] and I was on deck—and I ended up making this lame joke that did not land. The whole room turned on me and P.K. started cussing me out. I still have five minutes before I had to go out, and I was having a panic attack. But I managed to go out (and I was a ranter at that point) and I managed to do well. I’m still shocked that I mustered the courage to do it.
WCT: What is your comedic style?
KS: I talk about my personal life a lot. I sometimes get a little sociopolitical—but I don’t talk about actual politics, which has become a parody of itself. But I do talk about strange things I encounter when I go back to the Midwest.
WCT: I saw in a video where you talk about racists and Arizona.
KS: I was at my boyfriend’s sister’s wedding. That actually did happen. [The video can be sent at Shire’s website, kyleshire.squarespace.com/.]
WCT: I can believe that people can be that blatant.
KS: Being a white guy, I believe there’s a different set of factors involved.
WCT: By the way, I saw some of your Instagram pics—and you’ve been detailing how you’ve physically transformed yourself.
KS: Yes. I grew up a fat kid and I’ve always been a little chubby, and I’ve always had a little body dysmorphia. About a year and a half ago, I got into a gym routine and bodybuilding. I’m enjoying that—and I’m enjoying evolving into a gay man that straight men can fear. [Laughs] I followed X-Men and Magneto has been one of my favorite characters, so I always wanted to style myself as a gay Magneto.
WCT: Going back to comedy, is society too PC for some jokes?
KS: As much as I understand the PC argument, I feel that everything needs to be okay—or none of it needs to be okay, to a certain degree. It ultimately comes down to having fun. … I think the conversation needs to be a little more nuanced—not taking an axe to it, but more like a surgical scalpel.
WCT: Switching gears, you’re the second comedian I’ve spoken with recently, along with Whoopi Goldberg.
KS: Wow! Tell her I like her. Jumpin’ Jack Flash was seriously a very big part of my childhood. It was always on in my house.
WCT: Who are your influences? It seems like I detect a little George Carlin in your style.
KS: The first comedy album I bought was Chris Rock’s Bigger and Blacker, and it was one of the best comedy albums ever; it’s sharp, aggressive and insightful all at the same time. Bernie Mac was also a huge influence on me. I dragged my mom with me to see The Original Kings of Comedy; we were, like, the only white people in the crowd.
I also loved Joan Rivers. I actually got to be an extra in [the reality show] Joan Knows Best the year before she died—that was pretty cool. I got to throw matzo balls at her. She did ask me, “Are you an actor? You’re very handsome.”
See kyleshire.squarespace.com/ .