Key comedy advice from KevOnStage: Don't just be funny, be 'unavoidable'

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There was a clip erstwhile KevOnStage was a precise literal statement of comedian Kevin Fredericks arsenic a bare comedian looking for signifier time. These days, helium mightiness arsenic good beryllium called KevOnEverything. You tin find him cracking jokes connected unrecorded drama tours, TV sketch shows, books, podcasts and conscionable astir each societal media level you attraction about. From books similar his 2025 New York Times bestseller “Successful Failure” to his latest podcast, “Not My Best Moment,” the thought has ever been astir guardant momentum to breed a comic marque that, conscionable similar his name, continues to instrumentality with a consciousness of wit that yet succeeds astatine being relatable.

Moving from Washington authorities to L.A. with his woman and kids to fulfill his drama dreams, helium focused his drama connected the Black religion and household beingness successful a mode that hadn’t been done before. The effect was his breakout occurrence with the amusement “Churchy” that started arsenic a self-funded bid that was picked up by BET and precocious ran done its 2nd season. It created a lane for him to grow his contented beingness with sketch shows similar “The Hospital” and “Safe Space” connected Tubi that allows him to clasp originative power and enactment connected much comedians moving with seasoned stand-ups similar Tahir Moore and Tony Baker. The second is his podcasting spouse successful transgression whom he’s been touring with connected the Bald Brothers drama circuit which wraps up successful L.A. astatine the Wiltern connected Sunday. Recently we spoke to KevOnStage astir the concealed to gathering his drama marque — by being everywhere.

This interrogation was edited for magnitude and clarity.

I emotion that this is simply a twelvemonth wherever truthful overmuch is happening for you from truthful galore angles.

It’s wild.

You’re KevOnStage, KevOnPodcasts, KevOnBooks, KevOnTV ...

[Laughs] Literally KevOnEverything.

When did you determine to spell from being Kevin Fredericks — moving a regular occupation and doing drama connected the broadside — to becoming “KevOnStage”?

I was moving astatine the Spanaway [Washington] subdivision of Key Bank and I was connected Twitter. This indispensable person been 2009 — precise aboriginal connected Twitter. And radical were conscionable making jokes and radical were getting fired [from their jobs implicit their jokes connected Twitter]. People would not similar a gag you said, hunt your name, Google you, find retired wherever you worked and email similar your boss, and radical were getting fired. And I was like, “I can’t spend to suffer my occupation implicit immoderate ports take.” So I’m gonna instrumentality my afloat existent authorities sanction retired of my handle, which was conscionable Kevin Fredericks astatine the time. And I was like, “I’m Kev and I beryllium connected stage.” And that was virtually arsenic overmuch thought arsenic I enactment into it. I was conscionable not trying to beryllium easy recovered and fired. So I switched my grip to KevOnStage due to the fact that I was doing stand-up each the clip astatine that clip and it stuck. Hindsight being 20/20, I would person conscionable kept Kevin Fredericks, which was my Facebook name, but I deliberation KevOnStage is chill arsenic a moniker. I’m trying to beryllium similar Beyoncé, Bono, Sting, Oprah, KevOnStage — 1 name. People deliberation my existent sanction is Kevon due to the fact that of that. If they deliberation that, past I cognize they recovered maine due to the fact that of the internet. Which is besides fine. As agelong arsenic radical cognize me, it doesn’t fuss me.

KevOnStage with Tony Baker connected the Bald Brothers drama tour.

When did you truly find your people of comedians successful Washington authorities that you inactive bent retired with today?

In Washington authorities determination was lone truly similar Nate Jackson, helium was the lone moving comedian who was moving nationally. In Washington it was me, Nate, Big Irish Jay, a comedian named Terrence — those are the lone radical that were benignant of doing drama consistently. And past we had the Bay Area Black Comedy Competition, I don’t retrieve what twelvemonth it was, and I met Lance Woods, who I’m inactive chill with. But past erstwhile I moved [to L.A.], that’s erstwhile I met Tony Baker and Tahir Moore done All Def Comedy. Because I didn’t truly bash stand-up connected signifier that overmuch erstwhile I archetypal moved to L.A. My woman was like, “we’re not gonna determination to L.A. and past you’re connected signifier 4 oregon 5 nights a week.” And it was hard to get connected signifier ... you person to spell and bent out, spell to Denny’s and similar bent retired each night. And [my wife] was not going for it and I had tiny children who had to spell to school. So the bulk of the radical that I cognize I met done All Def.

You brought up an absorbing constituent astir the manner of comics due to the fact that it is simply a manner that doesn’t truly hold with everything other for astir of the 9-to-5 moving satellite — particularly being joined and having kids. So however did you past determine to absorption much connected contented instauration arsenic a means to perform?

Well, interestingly enough, it started earlier I moved to L.A. There’s hardly immoderate amusement opportunities successful Washington. There’s precise seldom a TV show, adjacent shooting there, overmuch little a amusement you tin really audition and beryllium on. So what happened was we were doing plays. We’re trying to beryllium similar Tyler Perry, David E. Talbert oregon Je’Caryous Johnson. And we were connected our way, but determination weren’t capable radical successful Washington to equine a palmy achromatic play — oregon “urban plays” arsenic radical called them. So we did our best, but adjacent if we got 3,000 people, that was lone for 1 night. And we weren’t doing that, by the way. We’re getting similar 68 people. So I was watching a batch of YouTube astatine the clip and I was realizing these radical person fans everywhere. So I was like, we tin bash net drama and marque radical laughter connected the net and hopefully we get fans each crossed the United States. And from the archetypal 2 videos we did, I was like, hide the play thing, I deliberation the net is the thing. Just similar absorption connected that. I deliberation we bash that, we volition physique our ain audience, and everything volition beryllium easier for us.

As acold arsenic the quality to ain your contented and usher nevertheless you want, however has that been important for your drama career?

For maine it’s been like, “He who pays says.” Like if you wage for it, you get the last say. So for a agelong time, it was by default due to the fact that nobody’s getting paid. I’m conscionable making it and posting it. The archetypal large happening we did that was similar truly costly was “Churchy” [on BET]. And determination was a batch of [money from erstwhile marque deals] that I saved, a batch of [money from doing] Spectrum commercials that I saved. I made 8 episodes of “Churchy.” And shout-out to Jamal Henderson, helium helped america conscionable executives astatine BET and they bought it. And they couldn’t person immoderate originative power due to the fact that it was already done.

So that’s benignant of a process that we’ve repeated with [my sketch shows] “The Hospital” and “Safe Space.” We wage for it and past licence it oregon spouse with a institution and marque it now. And with Tubi, they’re a small spot different. They fto you person originative control, adjacent if they wage for it. They’re similar “hey, we spot that you built your audience, you cognize your audience.” They’re the lone level that I’ve worked with that’s wholly like, “we don’t person immoderate say-so, nary notes, you don’t person to nonstop america a script, you don’t person to nonstop an edit for approval, we spot you.” And that’s fantastic for maine due to the fact that you get to marque it arsenic adjacent to [the archetypal vision] without immoderate impurities arsenic possible.

Now I gotta beryllium honest, erstwhile I enactment with BET, we had astonishing executives and they’ve fixed america a batch of large notes, but they besides springiness you immoderate notes that you don’t hold with that you person to take. And that’s besides portion of conscionable making things. It’s not a afloat negative. They besides made [the show] amended successful a batch of antithetic ways. And the 1 happening that I’m precise grateful for with our partners astatine BET is each enactment they gave was to marque the wide task amended and for much radical to bask it. I americium a comedian astatine heart, truthful sometimes I’m loyal to the gag to a fault. The enforcement is like, we gotta archer the champion communicative — truthful it’s not each bad. A batch of times we perceive radical bemoan partnering with people, and it has its negatives, but besides my TV exec was much experienced than I was astatine making bully TV, truthful immoderate of their notes were truly helpful, and I tin transportation those with maine erstwhile I’m making different projects.

“The Hospital” and “Safe Space” are some similar sketch shows. What was important astir the formats for some shows — 1 astatine a hospital, the different connected a therapist’s sofa — that let you to find the funny?

Richard Washington, who is simply a originative exec astatine KevOn Stage Studios, caput of T V and film, and I built the systems and past we let the radical to enactment wrong the systems to the champion of their personality. So I deliberation the large portion astir “Safe Space” is the talent. Like you springiness them a premise, you find the close people, and past they instrumentality it and marque it funny. “Safe Space” was truly the aforesaid with “The Hospital.” Like, you know, we hired much sketch writers for the hospital, but Safe Space was much improv than adjacent “The Hospital.” We had immoderate afloat written sketches for “The Hospital,” but we didn’t instrumentality to everything exactly. Some are astir each improv. Like comedian CP’s episodes, he’s conscionable riffing. So it’s arsenic adjacent to a stand-up mentation of contented arsenic you tin get. And what I mean by stand-up is the assemblage is sitting determination not knowing what the person’s gonna say. And that’s wherefore I deliberation it works.

As a creator of these shows, you often clasp the doorway unfastened for caller endowment to shine. How does that assistance your ain vision of allowing determination to beryllium abstraction for caller actors and comedians to travel up?

I grew up playing sports and past I went into plays. And with some of those elements, it’s it’s a squad environment. You request different radical to beryllium palmy and you gotta trust connected different radical to bash their thing. With plays, you wanna person the champion amusement possible. And past you enactment it each unneurotic and it’s the champion product. And I deliberation that’s the aforesaid attack that I instrumentality to creation. A batch of comedians, I’ve been told, they won’t instrumentality the champion comedians. They’ll instrumentality radical who are OK, but obscurity adjacent arsenic bully arsenic them.

Considering you station 3 to 5 videos a day, however bash you find the clip to nutrient arsenic overmuch contented arsenic you do?

So the happening is similar this is my job. And I enactment truly hard. I deliberation radical comparison themselves to me, but they besides person a job. Like you’re reasoning of “how does helium bash this?” due to the fact that you’re reasoning of your existent time job. For the astir part, I get up and deliberation of comic things to accidental each day. And the different happening is I don’t walk a batch of clip reasoning astir what I’m gonna bash oregon editing it astatine all. If thing comic happens close now, if I locomotion retired of present and I travel and fall, I’ll astir apt marque a video instantly and wrong 5 minutes that video’s gonna beryllium connected 7 antithetic platforms. So I’m not truly precious astir what I make. And I consciousness similar radical deliberation it’s hard, but this is not hard for me. It’s thing I emotion to do, I make freely retired of joy. The feline who runs my doughnut store who hasn’t taken a time disconnected successful 20 years, virtually I was talking to him astir this. He ne'er takes a time off. Twenty years he’s astatine that doughnut shop, each nighttime astatine 8 p.m., helium makes doughnut, preparing for the day. Every time astatine 4 a.m., helium comes and bakes them. That is hard. Not to accidental what I’m making is not hard. It is, but it’s not hard similar that. People person hard jobs. I conscionable beryllium silly for 2 minutes and station it wrong 5 minutes. That’s not truly hard for me.

"For the astir part, I get up and deliberation of comic things to accidental each day," says KevOnStage.

I conjecture you’re not getting cellphone calluses.

Not astatine each [laughs] ... I benignant of designed my contented to beryllium capable to marque it easy due to the fact that I consciousness similar my attack is conscionable inundating you with Kev. Like I privation to beryllium unavoidable. Yeah. I privation to marque contented connected truthful galore antithetic topics. It’s not adjacent ever comedic. I privation radical to conscionable stock you and oregon person a thought oregon marque you person a thought. Right present I’ve been doing a batch of podcasts. So if you don’t travel me, but you travel for illustration “The Pivot,” which I did past week and they collab with me, present you’re seeing maine connected “The Pivot” oregon Funny Marco oregon I interviewed Issa Rae for the archetypal occurrence of [my caller podcast] called “Not My Best Moment.” And Issa Rae doesn’t bash a full whole clump of interviews if she’s not promoting something. So if you’re funny successful what Issa has to say, you got to perceive maine due to the fact that I asked the question. So radical rip my stuff, I’m like, “this is great!” They rip it and station it connected threads. This is similar arsenic adjacent to getting bootlegged arsenic possible.

That’s what you want.

Yeah, bootleg me! Obviously I’d emotion to marque the money, but it’s similar the vulnerability volition go superior oregon currency later. I conscionable privation to beryllium retired present truthful overmuch that you’re yet like, “All right, what is helium talking about?” Because deliberation astir however galore videos bash you spot successful a time now. Back successful the day, we utilized to person to beryllium like, OK, I privation to ticker the videos. I’m gonna spell to my machine and spell to like, I retrieve earlier YouTube, I utilized to spell to Break.com and ticker videos. It was a happening I did for immoderate clip and past I went connected astir my day. Think astir however galore videos you devour connected a regular basis. ... So you gotta truly deed ‘em implicit and implicit earlier they marque a decision. So that’s wherefore I conscionable wanna flood you. I privation you to beryllium like, “Oh, my God, enough!”

Well, adhd 1 much to the heap close here.

Yeah, absolutely. Once I saw cameras present [at the L.A. Times studio], I was like, “Yeah, baby, I thought this was conscionable an interview, we got video content, baby. Let’s go!” So yeah, it’s similar that’s my approach. Just support going — a lot.

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