[Interview] UCB Theater Invades Austin: The Chris Gethard Show

Where did the idea for the Cross-Country Road Trip come from?
We've been doing The Chris Gethard Show in New York for over a year now, and our goal is always to bring something to the stage that people probably thought they'd never see and will probably never see again. We've had a Thelemic priest invoke a trickster god on stage. In our first show ever, I was beaten up by a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt live in front of the audience. We've flown a kid none of us knew in from Ohio because he was depressed and we wanted to give him the best night of his life. We've done shows where we bring the entire audience on a bus to my home state of New Jersey to see where I grew up. Basically just lots of out-of-the-box stuff.

So, being that I always feel this need to top myself, and being that the cast of The Chris Gethard Show are all people who are really good at egging each other on and calling each others' bluffs, I thought of the Cross Country Adventure. I'm a big fan of coming up with ideas that get the reaction of "You can't do that." And then, I do my best to make it happen. This 12-day trek is one of our biggest examples of that so far.

We really do want to bring our weird brand of comedy out from the New York underground and out to a broader audience. I can't think of a better way than doing it DIY punk rock style.

Have you been on any road trips before?
I've driven cross-country three times. Once with a buddy and twice by myself. On top of that, I've driven all over the country on random adventures. I love food, and I love seeing weird things, and America is a great place for both when you dedicate yourself to getting out there and finding them.

Are there any 'road trip moments' you're hoping go down on the drive?
There are many things I hope to happen on the road trip, among them: Someone getting arrested, a fist fight between cast members, someone having to go to the hospital, a completely random dance party, picking up a stranger and driving him across the country with us... basically, disasters. I want a lot of fun disasters to happen. We'll film them all and put them online for your amusement, too.

You're obviously close with your cast, but are you worried about being in a van with them for a week? Are you predicting any drama, discovery of hilarious personal habits, etc?
I assume that I will not be friends with some of the cast after the trip. I'm sure some relationships will get tighter and other people will hate each other forever. We're all on board for that and understand it's probably going to happen. We'll have 12 people sleeping in a 7 person RV that also holds all of our gear. We'll be snoring and farting and eating each others' food the whole time. It's going to be a fiasco of the highest caliber. And since we'll already be a week into the trip by the time we get to Austin, I wouldn't be surprised if the Austin crowd got to witness that building disfunction display itself on stage. Should be interesting.

Have you been to Austin before?
I have been to Austin a number of times before, specifically three times. I love it. I love the motto of "Keep Austin Weird". That really speaks to me. I love the chaos of Sixth Street. I was once on the UT campus on a football gameday and was blown away by the intensity of the whole experience, and I didn't even go to the game. Perhaps most of all, I love the chicken fried pork chop at Threadgill's. One of the best things I've ever eaten in my entire life. I was once interviewed by one of those misogynistic magazines and they asked me what city in America has the prettiest women, and without hesitation I said Austin. Between the music and the people and the food, you can't really fuck with Austin. And I'm not just saying that to butter everyone up in the hope that they come to my show, I really mean it.

Have you performed outside of NYC often? Do you like it / is it kind of weird playing to foreign audiences / is it the most fun in the world?
I've performed improv all over the country as part of the UCB Touring company. But this is the first time we've taken The Chris Gethard Show on the road. It tends to be an all or nothing experience. You either get a crowd that wants to experience alternative comedy as done in NYC, and is hungry for it and rocks out hard, or you get a small crowd that isn't sure what the hell they're watching. I always pray for the former and do my best not to let the latter send me into depression when it happens.

#diddygethard -- explain please.
#DiddyGethard is a movement I started on Twitter to get Diddy [Yep, the Diddy] to do my show. Over a year ago, he miraculously agreed. Ever since then it's been a matter of trying to get a date that works and get back in touch with him in spite of his insane schedule. We just found out that we're going to do a show with him in New York on Friday, January 14th. There couldn't be a better way to kick off our cross-country tour. This is one of the big examples of "This kid Gethard shouldn't be able to do that." Well, why not? Diddy's a guy. I'm a guy. We both have Twitter. We both like entertaining crowds. It's gonna happen! Don't give up!

The Chris Gethard Show Cross Country Adventure will bring the funny to The US Art Authority (2906 Fruth Street) at 8 PM and 10 PM on Saturday, January 22nd. Each show is $7 and tickets are available here.