Non-fiction

I had an epiphany today. I don’t like sketches. I mean I love Louie and Broad City and Key & Peele, but I don’t want to do that. Non-fiction is my calling. Documentaries and interviews (and real pranks, but that chapter’s over). I’m not a character; I’m just myself. I talked about this realization with Chad (aka Cherdleys aka Character Authority) at Coachella. We both laughed at the fact that my ‘comedy’ is a byproduct of my authenticity. If and when I am funny, it’s an accident. I don’t like acting. The amount of mental focus it requires is something I’m nowhere near passionate enough to hone and get good at. If I really did enjoy it, I’d be calling up Chad and Blake every day and scheduling the time to film sketches, but every time I think about doing that I get this uncomfortable feeling of dread and cognitive dissonance. Why bother?

After lucking out on Youtube, somewhere down the road you get all this pressure to better yourself and take your “career” to the next level. “So! What’s next! You’re so funny! You should have Show!” Everyone expects you to grow and be funny or be awkward or whatever and that can be stressful. If you think about it, most of Youtube IS non-fiction. Vlogs are non-fiction. Technically they’re little documentaries of people exposing their lives and personalities to the world. Some things I could do the rest of my life without any dread: Writing. Editing. Interviewing. Directing. Journalism. Non-Fiction.

I’m so relieved the Chatting With series is slowly gaining momentum. I’ll be putting them on the main channel starting next week, shooting for every Wednesday. Chatting With Wednesdays. Bigger guests, better questions.

Thanks for Reading,

Andrew Hales

2:39pm

Los Angeles, CA

4 thoughts on “Non-fiction”

  1. Haha now that you bring it up, you have a lot in common with Louis. Natural, raw, down-to-earth comedy.

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  2. Hey man I’ve seen every video of yours from both channels and think you’re really interesting. Keep with the transition from pranks and do what feels right. I live in NY and have a podcast and would love for you to come on via skype. It’s called WeeklySitdown and it’s on ITunes. We sit down with a couple people a week and talk to them about their lives and how they got to where they are. I think you’d like it.

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  3. I think you should do something even more daring. You should travel for a while and make blogs on your trip. Don’t consume the trip with the intention to create material. Spend it doing things you want to do, just show the experience like you can do. I think you know better than me what’s best for you.

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