Comedian Alex House said if she shortened her name like J. Lo., she would be A. Ho. House has appeared on “The View” and “Last Comic Standing.” The Mirror got a chance to catch up with House before her performance this Thursday in the lower level of the BCC.
The Mirror: One of your influences was Eddie Murphy as Buckwheat. Who are some of your other idols and influences?
Alex House: Carol Burnett from “The Carol Burnett Show,” anyone, actually from “The Carol Burnett Show”; Tim Conway; Harvey Corman. My first comedic experience was Bill Cosby. Later in junior high school it was Eddie Murphy, which I know is the complete opposite spectrum [laughs].
TM: How does an art education major end up doing stand-up?
AH: [laughs] Good question! Let’s see. I grew up without a TV in my house and my brother and I were constantly trying to entertain each other because we didn’t have a box to do that. Laughter was a big part of my family. I don’t know, it just always was. I completed a degree in art so I would have something to fall back on, but I knew by the time I graduated that I wanted to do stand-up comedy full time.
TM: You’ve performed at a number of comedy clubs around the U.S. What’s your favorite?
AH: Favorite clubs. Well, I have a new one actually, in New York City, it’s brand new; it’s called Comix Comedy Club. I like them because they’re very professional. They treat a comic with respect. They just make you feel important, as opposed to, unfortunately, a lot of comedy clubs nowadays. The comedian is the last person that they think about, even though it’s the reason why they’re in business.
TM: How was the audition process for “Last Comic Standing”?
AH: I think we got one or two minutes in front of two guys who just sat behind a table and it was at 10 in the morning and they were very stoic; they hardly showed any response whatsoever. It was just a very unusual circumstance for stand-up comedy because usually you’re performing late at night to a bunch of drunks who are ready to laugh.
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