THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, April 20, 1996 TAG: 9604190066
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Interview
SOURCE: BY ROY A. BAHLS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 93 lines
STEVEN WRIGHT tells jokes with all the enthusiasm of a child told to clean his room.
He's the master of monotone, the funnyman with the deadpan delivery.
Wright has crafted a career out of serving up the surreal.
``Yeah,'' he said, ``that's my life. I like talking about the little things that everyone deals with. I like talking about lint. People don't talk about it, but it's as big a part of your life as these major issues in the news. Who is elected president might effect you less than if your dryer is broken.''
Enter Wright's insightful world of weirdness Sunday night at Norfolk's Chrysler Hall.
``I'll be talking about lint for about one hour when I perform there,'' he said.
Don't really expect an hour on lint - not that he couldn't do it. Here's a sampling of his outlandish wit:
``Do you think when they asked George Washington for his ID, he just took out a quarter?''
``I've been getting into astronomy, so I installed a skylight. The people who live above me are furious.''
``Yesterday I was walking on the street wearing my eyeglasses and all of a sudden the prescription ran out.''
``Comedy is just twisting reality,'' Wright said, ``or commenting on a part of reality that people don't usually notice. I feel very lucky that I make a living from my imagination.''
The curly haired 40-year-old was born in Cambridge, Mass.
It was in his early teens, while watching ``The Tonight Show,'' that Wright began to dream of doing stand-up comedy. But his dream was to wait until after he graduated from Emerson College in Boston.
``I got a bachelor's degree in mass communication,'' he said, ``thinking that I was going to maybe go into radio.''
His degree serves him well on stage.
``Yes it does,'' he said. ``I speak to the masses, but all I do is tell them insanity. So I'm putting my degree to full use.''
After graduation, Wright found a comedy club in Boston and decided to audition.
``I had this dream in my head for so long,'' he said. ``I just wanted to give it a shot. I kept going back every week, and it started working.''
Soon Wright was doing regular stand-up shows. Then in 1982, he got the break of his life. He was booked for his first appearance on ``The Tonight Show'' and got to meet Johnny Carson.
``Oh, that was the best,'' Wright said. ``To watch him for so many years and then end up on there was just a complete thrill. That was my goal.
``It was lucky - because I don't think you could go on one show now and have your whole life change.''
Change it did.
``After that I went on `Saturday Night Live,' '' Wright said, ``and Letterman and got a movie, `Desperately Seeking Susan,' and I started doing HBO specials and I made an album. All from that five minutes.''
He also went on to appear in the films ``So I Married an Axe Murderer,'' ``Natural Born Killers'' and ``Mixed Nuts.''
The short film ``The Appointments of Dennis Jennings,'' which he starred in and co-wrote, earned him an Academy Award in 1989.
Wright's comedy act takes him to about 80 cities each year.
``I don't like it as much anymore,'' he said of the traveling, ``but I like doing the shows more than I ever have. So it's kind of a weird conflict.''
Immersing himself in weirdness is something Wright has mastered.
He would like the spotlights blaring and the audience assembled so that he can just beam onto the stage.
``Like on Star Trek,'' he said, ``and when the show is over, I'd be back in my living room.''
The best he's been able to come up with so far is to have an apartment in Boston and another in Los Angeles, so at least one of his living rooms is at the closest coast.
There's also his thoughts about the audience.
``I see part of the first row,'' Wright said. ``I really can't see the people. Usually I hear the laughter (pause) if they're laughing. It's like a big monster, a big friendly monster.''
Wright has taken his act overseas, including Australia, England and Scotland.
``They are into the absurd you know,'' he said. ``Most of their humor is more physical then mine, but the common denominator is the absurdity of it. I love going there.''
What does the seemingly unexcitable Wright think about coming to Norfolk?
``I just hope the people who go to the show enjoy it,'' he said, ``and they're happy they don't have my problems.''
Wright wraps up his philosophy simply: ``We are on this planet because it was too crowded where we were supposed to go.'' ILLUSTRATION: Steven Wright
by CNB