Comedian, podcast host and actor Gareth Reynolds will be performing his blend of standup comedy and crowd work at The Comedy Vault tonight through Saturday.
Reynolds caught up with WNIJ host Jason Cregier ahead of his set of shows in Batavia this weekend.
This is a portion of a longer conversation and has been edited for clarity. Listen to Gareth and Jason’s full conversation in the link above.
Jason Cregier: In your 2022 comedy special Ga’Riffs Live, you performed only crowd work, with no prepared material.
How long did it take for you to get comfortable doing an entire show just freeform and based on crowd work?
Gareth Reynolds: It takes a while. The first time you fully walk on stage just to riff and dart around with the crowd, it can obviously feel intimidating.
Social media has changed the way people digest comedy. Love it or hate it, it has played into one of my strengths which is riffing. During the 2020 pandemic I started doing live shows via YouTube to perform. People would send suggestions to me, and I would look down the barrel of a camera in my house and just riff.
Sometimes I take the energy of a room during my shows and just riff. It sounds insane, but I think there is something the audience appreciates that nobody knows what’s about to happen.
I feel like you enjoy the hot seat. I’ve listened to your podcast with fellow comedian Dave Anthony, The Dollop, a few times.
What’s it like to be constantly in the weeds?
Well, I have another podcast with Chicago guy Jake Johnson (New Girl, Tag) called We’re Here to Help. People call in with problems they need help solving and we have no prep for that either. There is a type of level of demand in that session that requires attention, thoughtfulness and also trying to be funny.
I really enjoy it though; I like going in cold.
At the beginning Jake & I were both kind of looking at emails, but then decided it was more fun to be spontaneous and follow people’s stories in real time just like the audience does.
What are some of your favorite calls so far on We’re Here to Help?
Our callers really get the show. We had a guy call us, who left tickets to an ostrich farm on his desk for his bosses' birthday.
The farm was a total of seven hours’ worth of driving round trip for he and his family. Every detail that was shared by the caller added more to the story. The boss’s kids were college aged; he said the drive was an hour and it was actually three and a half one way…
The boss never acknowledged the gift. The caller asked what he should do. Did the boss see the gift? Did he hate it?
That set up for me was amazing.
Gareth Reynolds performs at The Comedy Vault in Batavia tonight, with shows on Friday and Saturday as well.
