CURRENT AGE: 18
KID COMEDIAN
Trevor Hattabaugh, a 14-year-old comedian from Boise, Idaho, is proving that anyone can be a great comedian, regardless of age.
Trevor started at age 9 when he entered a comedy contest in Boise.
“There’s this comedy contest at our local college, and I entered just telling jokes and stuff because I didn’t know you were supposed to have original material. But the manager of our local Funny Bone, the comedy club, came and saw and he kind of helped me write some stuff, and then I started performing more.”
With more experience, Trevor started performing at various comedy clubs, casinos and parties. During the school year, he generally performs one show a month.
Trevor says that coming up with jokes can be difficult, but many things in life help inspire him. “Every joke is different, but a lot of them come from actual stories that you just add
punch lines to or you’re just raving about something you dislike,” he said.
Like most entertainers, Trevor has good days and not-so-good days. “I look at it like acting almost. I have what I’m pretty much going to say. It’s the nights that I’m feeling funny that I start making stuff up about the crowd.”
Sometimes, though, Trevor has trouble with the audience. He recalled being harassed during a casino performance. “This guy, he kept on heckling me and just kind of blurting out stuff. And I could tell he was totally wasted. He was kind of the jokester of this company.”
So how does he handle those situations? “It’s always good to have quick comebacks, you know?”
But usually, being a kid has benefits. Trevor said audiences usually are easier on him than they would be on an adult. “In a way I kind of think that there is the size factor, you know, that there’s low expectations and then if you do really good, then I guess you surprise them, and that’s always good.”
While he enjoys performing comedy, he has other interests that he must balance it with, such as soccer and skiing. He has not really thought of comedy as a career. “I’m just going to ride it out and see how far it takes me.”
Trevor has some advice for kids who want to get in to comedy. “Definitely stay clean, don’t be vulgar or anything,” he said.
He also recommends writing down ideas for routines. “I always think of something funny and forget about it later, and it’s lost forever, so always have a pen and paper around you.”
Contributing to this story were assistant editor Arpeet Patel, 16, and reporters Sameer Kumar, 12, and Izabella Robinson, 11.
Copyright 2010 Y-Press