Joey Dardano is going on tour! Don’t worry – I never heard of him either. Seriously though, this guy was funny enough to be chosen to be on Nick Cannon’s Wild ‘N Out, so he’s worthy of a decent look.
Whether he’s riffing on life’s little absurdities or turning his own quirks into laugh-out-loud stories, Joey has a knack for reminding us that, sometimes, the best way to deal with life’s curveballs is with a wicked sense of humor… and maybe a really good chiropractor.
You’re on the upcoming season of Nick Cannon’s Wild ‘N Out on VH1 which is a sketch comedy and improv game show that features teams of comedians competing in challenges. What made you think you were funny enough to even be considered?
I never thought this show would even be on the table for me. I had a friend recommend me to one of the showrunners on Instagram and when he DM’d me asking for a stand-up tape, I sent it and forgot about it, like you do with most auditions. You’ve got to go after every single opportunity that comes your way. You never know where your next job is coming from, so if a door opens, you’ve got to walk through it. I was surprised to get the callback months later… now that the opportunity seemed real, believe me when I say I was SO SCARED that I was not funny enough for this show. At least in the context that the shows jokes stem from, which is usually roasting each other. I’m not a roast guy. I’m never done a roast show in my ten years living in New York which seems like a rite of passage for new comics. I’ve avoided them like the plague. I’m too sensitive! I can’t take what I dish out! I’ll laugh on stage and then go home thinkin’!!
Once we reached the final 3-day workshop before getting officially hired, that third day is where I felt like I was truly ready. You can watch a short documentary about the hiring process on YouTube and I never speak directly to the camera, thinking it would have been way too embarrassing to give an interview about how excited I was just to be sent home hours later. (Couldn’t find the video but found this one instead!)
How do you handle hecklers during your stand-up performances, because I’m sure there are a lot of them. 
If i’m actually intently working on a new joke, I usually either just make a quick comment about it and move on so the audience can know that “yes, I heard that”, or I make them regret ever heckling me by including them for way longer than they ever anticipated and embarrassing them in front of their friends, family, date, or worse… THEIR CO-WORKERS!!! If I’m having one of my “just get up there and have fun” sets, where I’m just riffing on half-baked premises, speaking on what’s happening in the room, and talking to the crowd, there’s a much more fun air in the room and the heckling isn’t that sacrilege. We have fun with it. It really depends on the context and how recently I’ve eaten by the time I get up there.
You’re trained in the Stella Adler technique and went to The New School for Dramatic Arts. You also studied voice under Aaron Hagan. What or who guided you toward your choices of training and education? Give us some examples of things you learned in school and from Aaron Hagan.
This is going to sound so basic and hacky, but my main take away is to never stop doing “the work”. I usually can’t stand when I hear people speak like that because it’s usually delivered in such a way that makes artists seem “holier than thou” when, in fact, everybody works. But I take it so that I don’t get lazy. Revisit the fundamentals, do your scene work, stay in touch with your body and how it operates, how you’re feeling, and utilize whatever you can to relate to a character. At both schools there was a lot of memory work and mapping your experiences on to a character. I think that’s always a good way to start. I wish I had one big, main journal i kept that highlighted all of my favorite exercises and practices, but I can confidently say that a lot of the lessons are just within my body now.
One very fun thing about my voice lessons with Aaron is that he was always able to tell if I had done stand-up the night before because i was “always yelling” and “not supporting myself”. The more I perform and the longer my sets are, I think of that all the time and try to make sure I’m always breathing and not just screaming at people. He did tell me I was lucky, however, that Italians and Latinos have vocal chords that are “built for volume”.
When you’re offered a job, how do you know what your paycheck will be?
Getting paid for standup can be…interesting. You come up in the scene not expecting a single dime and essentially PAYING to do stand-up to just get there and back, taking off of work, eating out, Ubering home when the show is an hour and a half by subway and you just got off stage at midnight. The unspoken rule is, if a show is free, you don’t expect payment. If there’s a ticket price, you can expect a little something! Just don’t expect a stable monthly income. Now that I’m about to start touring, that’s a whole different conversation!
What challenges have you faced in your career, and how have you overcome them?
I’d say I’ve had some opportunities come and go with collaborators that really robbed me of some youthful time and energy I’ll never get back. An important thing to do in a career like this is to know who your real friends are, and to know the kind of people you would like to collaborate with. These two things will save you a LOT of worry and trouble.
Yo, Joey! You took up shop in Brooklyn, NY, and I’m from Brooklyn. But I was born there and you weren’t, therefore I’m much cooler than you. How do you handle being less than, you know, cool?
Hahahah! Listen, there’s one thing I’ll sadly never be able to say and that’s the phrase “I’m from New York”. But I CAN lie as much as I want whenever there’s not an NY native around. I will say that everybody I meet just ASSUMES I’m from here, and that brings me a lot of pride. I can usually just coast on that for a while. But I’m jealous of the native card you hold.
You grew up in South Florida in a Cuban / Italian family. Give us some background about your family life as a kid.
I was a smart kid. That’s what my curriculum and school would tell you. My high school, Dreyfoos School of the Arts, was known to also be a great academic school, so the education was good. But… I was too preoccupied being the class clown and getting attention and laughs to get good grades. I decided that I was going to do this for a living at a young age so I guess I thought “grades don’t matter”. I can admit that now. But I regret that. Who knows how much smarter I’d be if I read just one more book. wrote one more report, did arithmetic. I wonder if my jokes and my writing would be much more full of life if I came from a more solid academic background and pivoted.
I had plenty of friends, I had some very close friends. I’d say I was well-liked and popular. But I wasn’t “cool” and I didn’t belong to a single group of friends. I was a “floater”, something I’ve bonded with many other people about in the years since school. I’d go from table to table at lunch entertaining everybody, doing a stupid stunt in one place, flirting up a storm in another, then hanging with the theatre kids and running lines. I think it stems from a place of not wanting to get too close. Which leads me to think as I write this that maybe I love stand-up because…it’s just me up there and afterwards, people have to come up to me, rather me to them.
When did you realize you wanted to dupe the world into thinking you could entertain everyone?
Ever since my mom forced my older brother and me to sing “Soul Man” by The Blues Brothers at the elementary school talent show. From then on, I auditioned for the middle school of the arts, and that sealed the deal. I was obsessed with Comedy Central, watching the channel whenever I could, and I got away with a LOT in school by being a goofball. I eventually thought “Well, maybe I can make some money off this.”
How do you keep track of all the people who say “I could do what you do”?
I actually can’t tell you the last time I heard that exact phrase. I think it’s harder to respond to “How do you do it” because I don’t know! Nothing in this career makes sense; nothing is guaranteed. Sometimes I don’t even understand why people are laughing at some of the stuff I’m doing up there. But I’m addicted to it. Whenever someone DOES ask me how to get started, because they think this is a smart life choice, I always say the same, very honest answer. I say “If there is not a burning desire in your heart and soul on a daily basis to do this despite the outcome, then don’t.” But some people gotta live it to believe it! If they still commit to it after realizing what it really means to live the life of a comedian, than I have respect for them, and I wish them well!
I do want to say that my dad came and saw me headline the Brooklyn venue Union Hall a couple of months ago, and I surprised him by having him introduce me… and he crushed. He killed. His nerves disappeared as soon as he hit the stage. He got huge laughs and immediately said he wanted to do it again. I think if you’ve got it, you’ve got it.
Anything else you’d like to say?
The goal post is constantly moving. What makes you feel happy and successful in your career is always morphing. I’d say do the work to understand who you are. It takes time, but the more of it I’ve spent on stage just being myself and being rewarded for it, I’ve learned to celebrate the person I am. I used to think I was “too loud”, now I KNOW I am and that people find it funny (sometimes)! And that confidence and self-love will do wonders. People read into you. It’s palpable when you walk into the room. It’s definitely much better than thinking you’re “too cool” or “better than this”. Be unapologetically yourself. It’s easier said than done, which is why people have to be reminded everyday!
