Could you first introduce yourself to the reader?
Hi reader, how are ya? Hope you’re well. My name is Anthony DeVito, I’ve been a NYC stand up comedian for about 12 years and I’m making my Edinburgh debut. My diet is poor. My bank account is worse. I’m Italian but I look like a Turkish beat poet. I’m 5’6,” a doctor once told me I was 5’7” and I almost kissed him on the mouth. I’m not smart, not dumb. I’m more off, like someone who’s recently been struck by lightning. Oh, and I once mailed a girl a poem.
How would you describe your show?
My show is a stand up/storytelling hour about finding out who my father was. Spoiler alert: he’s not Danny DeVito. The show is about 80% stand up and 20% serious given the delicate nature of the subject matter. My Dad was a criminal who was suddenly and brutally murdered when I was a baby. So come if you like true crime. And keep in mind, I’m an Italian guy from Northern New Jersey so really come if you like the Sopranos. Wink.
Why do you want to perform at Edinburgh Festival Fringe?
I want my show to be as good as possible. Like most things, comedy is honed through repetition. The Fringe offers a space to perform the same material to a new audience on a nightly basis for almost a full month. So I can’t think of a better environment for the success of my show. And the castles help!
What differentiates it from other festivals?
The volume and concentration of shows. If you like comedy or theater, this is the place to be. You can–sight unseen–walk into a dingy room and stumble upon greatness. That feeling of unpredictability for what’s behind a door is unmatched. That’s easily a top 10 feeling.
What first motivated you to enter the industry? Who were your inspirations?
As a kid, comedy seemed to resonate with me in a stronger way than with the other people in my life. I felt the pull like an impossible tug. So I recognized that tug as meaningful. My comedic inspirations were most notably George Carlin, Chris Rock and David Cross. I was enamored by Carlin’s intellect, Rock’s writing and Cross’s dripping with sarcasm attitude. But my Grandma was the funniest person I’ve ever met. Nobody has made me laugh harder than an arthritic, Italian woman with drawn on eyebrows sipping a Coors Light making fun of the world around her. Oh, and Rowan Atkinson. No child was immune to the comedic power of Mr. Bean.
How has your background, upbringing and education had an impact on your artistic career?
I grew up in a super conservative, blue collar, Italian household. So I think my family’s opposing worldview has helped me to not demonize the other side but attempt to meet them halfway. I can’t hate on people with those beliefs, they gave me Christmas presents. As far as my education goes, I went to college to study architecture. Even though I went down a different path, pulling all nighters to finish drawings taught me how hard work actually feels. Without that being instilled in me I don’t think I’d be as successful. And when I say successful, please take that with a grain of salt. Which is something I can’t afford.
What is your earliest childhood art memory?
I can’t pinpoint the exact moment. But I was an only child who’d spend hours in a damp basement drawing professional wrestlers as a form of escapism. Some of my happiest childhood memories are sitting hunched over a table with a pencil between my fingers agonizing over properly shading the armpit of a guy named Brutus “the Barber” Beefcake. I assume Picasso had the same start.
If you didn’t have your current job, what would you probably be doing?
Even though I studied the subject I still don’t think I’d pursue architecture. I’d probably be a baker. Aside from writing jokes, eating chocolate chip cookies is probably my second happiest pursuit. And I have the body to prove it.
Did Covid-19 change the way you create work? Do you approach shows with a different mentality now?
I don’t know if Covid-19 changed the way I create work. But doing this show may have. Before writing this show, I used to piecemeal an hour of stand up. I’d either have an experience which could be fodder for material or try to grab ideas out of the ether. And little by little the hour would build based on the influx of individual bits. But I think that was a backwards approach. From here on, I’ll try to actually think of the complete hour before filling in the empty space with jokes. But who knows, I could be bullshitting myself.
Describe the last year in 5 words or less?
Panic. Disillusion. Uncertainty. Hand. Sanitizer.
Do you subscribe to the idea that art should be exempt from ‘cancel culture’?
No, I don’t think any artform is exempt from criticism. But I don’t subscribe to the idea of digging through a person’s old thoughts in hopes of finding something damning for self gain disguised as altruism. No party who’s ever doing “the cancelling” has real responsibilities. These are people with idle time and misaligned goals. Working people don’t have the time to unearth disheartening words spoken on podcasts or uncover heinous tweets. They’re busy.
If you could work with anybody, from any point in history, who would you pick and why?
For the sake of my show, I’d say my Dad. I’d love to have his input on a few more details. But my real answer is a weird one. I’ve always been a giant fan of Marcel Duchamp. All those Dadaists had this juvenile “fuck the world” mindset which I don’t think I’ll ever fully outgrow. So I’d like to be around someone who maintains that rebel spirit. But he might be insufferable. If that happens, I’ll shove his scrawny ass back in the time machine which he came from. Him and his toilet.
What advice would you give to someone who wants to take a show up to the fringe?
Have more money in the bank than I do.
When and where can people see your show?
I’ll be performing “My Dad Isn’t Danny DeVito” at Just the Tonic, the Bottle Room, 7 30 from August 4-28 (minus the 15th).
And where can people find, follow and like you online?
You can follow me on Instagram and Tik Tok @comediananthonydevito, on Twitter @anthonydevito_ and I just released a new stand up special called “Brain Noise” for free on my Youtube channel. Go to youtube.com/devitoanthony to watch.
Anthony Devito’s debut stand up show ‘My Dad Isn’t Danny Devito’ is at the Just The Tonic Bottle Room at 7.30pm from 4th – 28th August for tickets go to www.edfringe.com
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