Start your own show — By creating your own show you will give yourself the opportunity of stage time. You can do longer sets. You experiment more. You’ll learn the business of standup and how to get crowds to keep coming back.
I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Raza Jafri.
Raza Jafri is a powerhouse comedian, writer, producer, and Co-founder of East Austin Comedy Club, Austin’s newest comedy venue. With a passion for crafting the perfect punchline, Jafri started standup 5 years ago in Chicago as a way to cope with the banality of being alive. From there, he was hooked. His stylings douse matters of race, relationships, and society in a vat of absurdity and good-natured nihilism.
Seeing a need for diversity in Austin’s emerging comedy scene, Jafri started East Austin Comedy Club to help others access opportunities and improve as artists. In addition to running the club, Raza produces several shows across independent bars and breweries including the Speakeasy in downtown Austin and AquaBrew, a local brewery in San Marcos.
As a nationally touring artist, Raza has performed at the Harlem Comedy Festival, Plano Comedy Festival and shared the stage with the likes of Russell Peters, Usama Siddiquee and Sam Tallent. Currently, he is performing at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland and plans an upcoming tour across India this Winter.
Raza Jafri is a powerhouse comedian, writer, producer, teacher and Co-founder of East Austin Comedy Club, Austin’s newest comedy venue. With a passion for crafting the perfect punchline, Jafri started standup and writing over a decade ago in Chicago as a way to cope with the banality of being alive. From there he was hooked. His stylings douse matters of race, relationships, and society in a vat of absurdity and good-natured nihilism. Seeing a need for support Austin’s emerging comedy scene, Jafri started East Austin Comedy Club to help others access opportunities and improve as artists. In addition to running the club, Jafri produces several shows across independent bars and breweries across Texas. Fresh off his performance at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland, Jafri is planning a tour in India this Winter.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to get to know you a bit better. Can you tell us the story of how you grew up?
I grew up in a lower-middle-class home to immigrant parents. There was a huge emphasis on family and on education. We had a small nuclear family with me, my parents, and two brothers. Having two brothers meant there was a lot of fighting and fun. We were constantly competing and joking with each other. This was where my chops as a comedian started.
Can you share a story with us about what brought you to this specific career path as a comedian?
I had been working in Africa as a software engineer and deriving no pleasure or meaning from it. I decided to choose something to focus on with complete dedication. Initially, this was going to be music but I realized I was miserable at it. I took a class in standup and realized that I had been doing comedy my whole life with my family. There was a constant roasting back and forth in my family that sharpened your tongue over the years.
Can you tell us the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
The most interesting story has been taking the opaque route of being a standup comedian and making a business of it. When you start out no one tells you what to do or how to get there. “Making it” is everyone’s goal but it’s different for everyone. There isn’t a clear path. So carving your own path with your unique skills becomes a life project. For me, so far, starting East Austin Comedy Club has been such a unique experience.
It has been said that our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
I was invited to do a roast battle in Chicago. I was just coming off a win in my previous roast so I was filled with hubris. I made the mistake of thinking that the setup for this show would be the same as the last: each comic would do one joke over three rounds for a total of three jokes. I over-prepared and wrote 7–8 jokes total. I did not realize that in fact, we were to do a minute worth of jokes for each round for a total of 3 minutes worth. Each joke takes maybe 15 seconds. So I’m on stage, and it’s my turn in front of a packed audience. I do two jokes that get laughs and tell them that’s all I have. I get a resounding boo from everyone in the audience. They boo at me for 50 seconds straight. Then my opponent proceeds to roast the hell out of me. This process repeats itself for the remaining two rounds.
Aside from the obvious read the damn rules before you do a show, I learned the value of humility. When things are going well it’s easy to lose focus and get cocky. It’s important to keep your hubris at bay, prepare and do the next thing just as well.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
My parents were both instrumental. My mom had unyielding support for my potential. My dad worked endlessly to make sure we had a foundation in the new country he had brought his family to. Their emphasis on knowledge and education and pushing yourself to get where you want to go has brought me here.
You have been blessed with great success in a career path that can be challenging. Do you have any words of advice for others who may want to embark on this career path, but seem daunted by the prospect of failure?
Write down what you want. If you are vague in your direction, you will be vague in your results. If you know what the end goal is you can dissect the pieces that you need to accomplish to get there.
You have such impressive work. What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now? Where do you see yourself heading from here?
I’m excited to help grow Austin’s scene. We have so many talented comedians here and I want a way to showcase them and collaborate with them. I’m also interested in getting involved in art forms that are tangential to live comedy, including film and podcasting.
What do you do to get material to write your jokes? What is that creative process like?
I actually wrote a whole essay regarding this on my Substack. I have found that I get a lot of funny ideas when I’m surrounded by my funny friends or when I’m completely alone, often in a bathtub. These situations produce humor for me, but they can be unreliable. I have found it equally important to continuously write so if I have a funny idea I will keep expanding on it and finding other directions to take.
I’ve also found that diving into other forms of art, like literature and film gives you so many ideas that spur the creative process.
Super. Here is our main question. What are your “Five Things I Wish Someone Told Me When I First Became A Professional Comedian” and why? Please share a story or example for each.
Repetition is how you get good — You have to keep getting up on stage. Initially, this will be open mics, but it’s important to keep leveling up. Find out the shows that are just above your reach and figure out how to get on them.
Surround yourself with the best — You are the average of the 5 people you surround yourself with. As a comedian, you learn from the comics you’re watching live. Go to as many comedy shows as you can and connect with the comics that inspire you.
Start your own show — By creating your own show you will give yourself the opportunity of stage time. You can do longer sets. You experiment more. You’ll learn the business of standup and how to get crowds to keep coming back.
Do shows for different audiences — Every demographic teaches you something different. Try your jokes on audiences you’re not accustomed to. It will be painful at first. You’ll undoubtedly bomb. Over time, your act will strengthen to accommodate the perspectives of the new demographics.
Think about your relationship with the crowd — This was a big realization for me and I mistake I see others often make. Think about how you come off to the ground. If you give off an air of superiority or have an antagonistic attitude toward the audience it will cap how well you can do. I used to see comedy as a competition with the audience. Can I get them to laugh? If I do then I win. This subconsciously puts you on opposite ends of the corner with the audience. When I shifted my mindset to one where I’d like to have fun with this crowd, it made the shows much more enjoyable.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
My favorite life lesson quote is by Naval: “Be impatient with actions, patient with results”
The kryptonite to achieving most goals is getting dissuaded too early on. It’s often hard to see how the small things you’re doing connect to your larger ambitions. Especially when your goals still seem infinitely far away despite all the hard work you’re doing. This quote allowed me to let go of monitoring how much further the destination was and focus on the tasks in front of me.
You are a person of huge influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be?
Our culture most values convenience and entertainment. I would love to start a movement (whether by force or inspiration), a culture where people prioritize self-discipline. When you have a million options to distract yourself with it’s hard to put all the gadgets down and make something of your own.
Is there a person in the world whom you would love to have lunch with, and why? Maybe we can tag them and see what happens!
I would love to grab lunch with Naval. I love the way he dissects ideas and motives. He’s dedicated his life to understanding what it means to live a meaningful life.
Are you on social media? How can our readers follow you online?
I’m on Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter all under @razadots
This was so informative, thank you so much! We wish you continued success!
Raza Jafri: Five Things I Wish Someone Told Me When I First Became A Professional Comedian was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.