Today we’d like to introduce you to Collin Sledge.
Hi Collin, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I was obsessed with standup in high school. I had about 90/100 of my Pandora stations devoted to comedians and since I rode the bus I listened for a couple hours per day from about 2010-2014. My favorites were Mike Birbiglia, Louis CK, and John Mulaney. I started writing standup around 15 just whenever I thought something was funny I would type it on my laptop. I never had the courage to do any open mics though. I tried to sign up for the improv open mic email list a few times in High School but never got on the list. It was probably for the best. My material was not good and I would not have taken the rejection well.
I went through a rough patch around 19 when my mom got diagnosed with lung cancer. That’s what eventually drove me to try it out. It seems to be a theme I only get motivated to get on stage when I’m in more extreme periods of stress. I did standup twice a week at Warehouse Live and Hans Bier Haus(deceased) for two years from 2014 to 2016, before quitting.
Why did I quit? I feel like I hit a ceiling. My stage presence was too similar to Mike Birbiglia. I didn’t feel like I was getting much better over time. My car kept getting broken into. It all adds up. I also wasn’t aware of much room for advancement in Houston at the time. I wasn’t even old enough to perform in places that were 21+. (In hindsight I probably could have if I pushed for it.) Back then there was no Riot or Secret Group to get passed at so I basically had very little intrinsic or extrinsic motivation to continue.
Doing shows/open mics also took a lot out of me. While I didn’t bomb too often, the stress of it always looming as a possibility wasn’t fun. I wouldn’t be able to eat for hours before any stage time. Once as an experiment I went from 2x a week to like 6x in one week and I realized that I would never be able to cope with that long term. Plus the Rockets were getting really good. Those Mike D’Antoni years were something else.
I planned on coming back after a year or two but life, covid, etc. kept me away for about 8 years.
In 2024 I had a bit of an existential crisis and decided to try it again. Even if I didn’t stick with it I at least wanted some evidence that I could do it. I never really let myself be photographed or recorded back in the day.
I went to the Secret Group on the 4th of July and begged my way onto an open mic. (It was another email signup.) It went not great but I came back a week later. It went worse. The room was pretty dead. I remember waiting around outside at 1AM wondering why I was wasting my time with this. It felt like I was wasting my time living in the past. I kept going anyway because at least I wasn’t ruminating alone in my apartment.
I gained some confidence from winning a weekly comedy contest run by Jeff Joe, but still struggled getting decent stage time so I decided to enter the Riot’s Funniest Person in Houston contest with the hope that I would get a decent tape and maybe enough street cred to get on an open mic before midnight. I ended up making the finals and placing third which meant I would be passed at the Riot. I didn’t know what that meant at the time, but it just means you can get booked regularly on shows there.
The Riot contest was significant because each round required more time. I had to do open mics about 5-10 times a week to test material instead of 1-2, and I realized that I didn’t get burned out the way I used to. Making the finals also got me a place in the Riot Festival so I had something to work towards. I maintained the habit of more frequent open mics and eventually started signing up for Kill Tony whenever I could get a ride to Austin with friends.
In February my friend Mike Ryan told me and my girlfriend, (friend at the time) Timely Rain, that Kill Tony might be doing a double header. Timely convinced me to go, so we made a last minute dash to Austin. Long story short I got picked and got a Golden Ticket which just means I did well enough that I get to go back without signing up. It also opens up a lot of opportunities generally not accessible to someone less than a year back into standup.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Standup never is smooth. If I’m honest though, my road has been smoother than most. I never lived in my car. I lived in my parents garage apartment. My main obstacles were stage fright and my own rejection sensitive dysphoria. I’ve had my car broken into a lot. I leave it unlocked now.
I do remember another comic delicately explaining circa 2015 that Standup is highly network based like anything else. My response at the time was to just quit since I’m autistic and not good at that stuff. Over time though I’ve started to enjoy meeting new people and getting connected. For example I had a few days before a show in Florida recently and just posted on my Instagram (@CollinRSledge) asking for shows and mics and stuff to do. Someone I never met (@theAlexBarboza) messaged me with some spots to hit and people to message. We went to an open mic and saw a friend we had met in Austin months earlier and got to reconnect with him. The standup world can be very small in a way. Everywhere we go we know someone or at least meet someone who knows someone.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’m known for my writing which makes sense as I’ve been doing that 5x as long as I’ve been performing. I’d say my strength is joke density trying to get as many laughs in as few words as possible. It’s by necessity since I’ve always been pretty low energy on stage and open mic crowds are quick to tune out. It’s interesting how strengths can be born out of weaknesses. I still need to get more comfortable delivering longer jokes without a punchline every few sentences.
I’m also known for dark dry humor which can be hard to dabble in without just becoming an edgelord. I’m still an unfinished product in all these regards.
We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
Going on stage feels much riskier than it actually is. In my first year I would do new material very frequently which would lead to some underwhelming results but I was more focused on getting better as a comic rather than getting an ego trip from a great set.
Now the stakes are higher for me than 30 people on a Thursday. The internet can be pretty harsh on Kill Tony golden ticket winners. They’ve been pretty nice to me so far which is nice but sometimes I catch myself trying to triangulate what they would like best rather than just doing what I think is funny. Artistically I think that’s poison. If I want to do something and I don’t because I’m afraid of internet comments, I’ve lost the plot. I always value what in person crowds respond to but when it comes to online I try to take influence from George Lucas, Alan Moore, and the old Kanye. Do what you think is good/valuable/interesting over just what you think people will like.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://medium.com/@collinsledge
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/collinrsledge/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mrdoctor.sledge
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@collinrsledge
