ANDREW SHORTHALL | staff writer

Alumni Chris Voth has pursued a career as a comedian in a number of ways.


Chris Voth usually does not like to tell people what he does for a living. Upn meeting him, most people assume Voth works an average 9— to—5 job. In reality, he is a standup comedian. When people hear he is a comedian they anticipate that he is incessantly funny, however he has never been the class clown. “I’d rather be a regular person,” Voth said.

Voth grew up in Chico, California and graduated from APU in 1995. After graduation he began seriously pursuing his comedy career. Though he had never worked as a comedian before his interest in stand-up comedy started as early as fi rst grade.

Voth took interest in stand-up comedy as early as fi rst grade. “I watched Letterman every night and thought, I want to do that,” he said. “I have always wanted to take over David Letterman’s job.” However, he could not just jump into the career of being a comedian and expect success. He had years of unconventional preparation to learn how to be funny though. His process of learning began in ninth grade when he started writing for his school’s newspaper.

This was a valuable experience for Voth because it gave him the opportunity to incorporate jokes into his articles. Voth later took the same opportunity on Disneyland’s Jungle Cruise. He’d been intrigued by the operators opportunity to tell jokes to complete strangers and dreamed of doing the same. This dream became

reality when he began operating the Jungle Cruise himself several years after his initial Disneyland visit. “It was a great stepping stone into comedy,” Voth said. “It helped me fi gure out how to tell jokes.”

Voth learned that if he was not getting many laughs with a joke he might try telling it with a different emphasis to receive more laughs. Voth also received guidance and tutelage here at APU from Dr. Monica Ganas of the Theater, Film and Television department. “I did think Chris had talent and even more importantly, he was and is really likeable,” Ganas said. Voth realizes he cannot perfect stand-up comedy. That is why he utilizes the input of his two best friends George Matamala and Christian Brazo when writing jokes.

“They add something new or help mesh it together,” Voth said. Matamala and Brazo come in handy when he needs advice on whether a joke is universally funny.

“He is working on a different level now, so he can’t be average anymore,” Matamala said. Voth started performing at a higher level after he turned to the American Idol of stand-up comedy; Last Comic Standing. This NBC show has given a lot of exposure and fame to aspiring comedians.

Voth’s NBC journey started four years ago when he stood in line in San Francisco for nine hours to get an audition.

His patience paid off and he appeared on the show for two seasons. His act also appeared in the promotional ads for the show and provided him with a lot of television exposure.

All these different experiences and practices have fueled Voth’s career. “My main goal now is to keep doing comedy and avoid getting another job,” Voth said. Voth’s career has led him to work with such noteworthy comedians as Jim Gaffi gan, Dave Chappelle, Wayne Brady and Kathleen Madigan. He was also a past winner of the Miller Lite Comedy Competition in Denver.