You’ll never know what it takes to succeed without first experiencing the important lessons that must be learned from prior bouts with failure.
No stand-up comedian has ever become the greatest at their craft without bombing through open mics, finding ways to grind through writer’s block, navigating to the top of their local comedy scene, or mentally overcoming self-doubt.
Weekly, filmmaker Jesse Tugas sits down with some of your favorite stand-up comedians to discuss their comedic journeys and the major lessons learned along the way as part of The Successful Failure podcast.
In this week’s episode, Jesse is joined by stand-up comedian Jay Light as they discuss a wide variety of topics, including Judging Comic Wars, His Comedy Gameshow Wrong!, & Clowning Around.
Self-deprecating, slyly dark, and always eager to subvert audience expectations, Jay began his stand-up career as a freshman at North Carolina’s Elon University. As an undergrad he hosted frenetic student TV gameshow Win Stuff and wrote/directed 2011’s Shock Jock, which screened at the Cannes Festival’s Short Film Corner. Follow-up effort Rocketeer received the Sprite Films Competition’s national Viewers Choice Award the following year. Jay’s Media Arts & Entertainment degree came with the Communications department’s high-profile A.J. Fletcher Award, granted annually to “an outstanding graduate…who reflects wide-ranging interest in the field.”
Checkout previous episodes of The Successful Failure podcast featuring Teresa Lo, Adam Fynke, Miranda Meadows, Evan Warner, and more HERE
