Interview with Ramon Rivas II

Stand-up comedian and eminent Latino from Cleveland OH is coming to Edinburgh for his first ever fringe. We talk about his show, advice he wish he'd received, and changing political climates.

Interview with Ramon Rivas II

Could you first introduce yourself to the reader?

Hello, reader. I’m proud of you for the literacy that is allowing us to connect to each other right now. My name is Ramon Rivas II, stand -up comedian & eminent Latino from Cleveland OH. You probably have not heard of me. I’m an independent artist from the middle of America that over the past few years wound up appearing on Comedy Central (The Half Hour, @midnight, Broad City), HBO (Crashing, Entre Nos), Netflix (Cooking on High), Viceland (numerous cannabis shamaning segments) and Amazon Prime (Make Fun) which is fairy impressive for a perpetually high, gently employed, under educated Latino man from a broken home.

Tell us about your show?

UNBECOMING RAMON RIVAS is the end result of me realizing I wasn’t treating the women well. I realized this after a girl I was hooking up with saved me in her phone as “Ramon Fckboi” which sent me through an introspective journey. Started to that made me realize how my financial poverty impacts my emotional poverty, which is what lead to the unbecoming behaviour. So, it’s basically my journey from fckboi to fckman.

Why do you want to perform at Edinburgh Festival Fringe, and is it different from other festivals?

It’s something I’ve been wanting to do since I started in comedy. Watching the documentary HANNIBAL TAKES EDINBURGH on Netflix didn’t satiate my curiosity at all. So, a buddy of mine sent an email on my behalf which led to my pitch being accepted and me buying a cheap round trip ticket before I realized your money is more than our money and I barely have any of our money. But I'm looking forward to traveling internationally for the first time and hopefully opening up some doors to perform around the UK in the future.

What first motivated you to enter the industry? Who were your inspirations?

I don’t know what I’d be doing if not for comedy, so I’m super grateful to have found a passion while on this planet. I was working at an aimless office job and took a comedy class that gave me a first performance and told me other places I could keep doing it. Early on, my inspirations were the people I saw being pro’s out of Cleveland: Ryan Dalton, Jim Tews, Mike Polk, Bill Squire then as I got deeper in the game I got to come across so many peers and mentors that constantly inspire me to dive deeper and try better. I don't know if I was motivated to enter the "industry" as much as I was eager to be an artist that was part of a community. The industry side of things is just something you have to deal with in order to do comedy. 

Do you ever feel any pressure to be a social commentator, or constantly update material to respond to events?

I wouldn’t call it pressure...I’m from the camp that I talk about what I actually care about / anything I'm willing to get beat up over after the show. So, the part of me that cares about the world is always trying to find something to say from my POV. I don’t force it or write specifically for events. But just like in caring about my nephew’s and niece’s experience in a predominantly white school, I can talk about my concerns with the current political and social climate through the concerns for the kids. My current show deals a lot with sex, care, masculinity, emotionlessness which may seem like a reaction to events going on in America, and it may be but it’s through my lens and experiences vs just commenting on the culture.

Equally, do you feel there has been a shift in public sentiment that has affected your work?

Yeah, people are constantly carrying their days into the shows, so sometimes the world can impact how those people are willing to listen. So, I just try to ease people into things instead of immediately shoving their head under water with heavy topics. But there will always be people who are sitting there listening for ways to be offended instead of enjoying the show. That's why it's great when you can clearly express the content of your show so folks know to come in with a certain mindset; I requested a later time slot instead of a specific venue because I felt the topics I was covering might be offensive if you're just in the mood for daytime comedy, but a 10pm late night show at the comedy club is hopefully a better mindset. 

Describe the last year in 5 words or less?

Empathy is losing to selfishness

What advice would you give to someone who wants to take a show up to the fringe?

Reach out to your friends that may have gone and ask their guidance or recommendation for where to begin. Have a sense of what you want to do (hang and do spots, run a full show) and then get a pitch together for it. My act has always been about being broke, being single, being high, random other things but framing things for Edinburgh led to the thesis of financial & emotional poverty, which changed the intention of so much of what I had already been talking about. Where with most AmericansAmerican comedy the hour is just jokes on jokes, building a narrative and having something to say feels like what you want to be ready for when heading to the Fringe. Also, save up a lot of money or be good at being broke.

Author

Tom Inniss

Tom Inniss Voice Team

Tom is the Editor of Voice. He is a politics graduate and holds a masters in journalism, with particular interest in youth political engagement and technology. He is also a mentor to our Voice Contributors, and champions our festivals programme, including the reporter team at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Recent posts by this author

View more posts by Tom Inniss

0 Comments

Post A Comment

You must be signed in to post a comment. Click here to sign in now

You might also like

West End Actor Interrogates Stereotyping Faced by Latinx People in Soho Theatre Solo Show

West End Actor Interrogates Stereotyping Faced by Latinx People in Soho Theatre Solo Show

by Daniel Miller

Read now