Tom Inniss Voice Team Bronze Silver Gold

"I often encounter a trope that Asian acts will primarily talk about being Asian. I’d like to be known for something other than that, and I feel like in my experience audiences do want to see something more original than that."

"I was an English major in college so I had to write upwards of 50 or more essays, and I learned that jokes have a very similar structure to an essay. Once I figured that out, joke-writing became very easy."

"When I first began comedy, I had a joke that was less sensitive than the others. The audience loved it, but after the show the headliner spoke to me and said, “I watched your whole set. You’re better than that joke.” She was right. I never did the joke again."

"The best piece of feedback I’ve gotten from anyone was for an early performance of my show, and it was from a friend of mine named Toby Huss. This is the piece of feedback I always go back to: He said “This story to you is important, and you’re talking about it as though it’s not important.”"

"I’ve never run an ultra-marathon but have always wanted to and the fringe feels as close as I’ll likely get."

Performers are like vampires. We feed on the energy channelled back by the audience. Some of my best lines came from reacting to the crowd when I really felt I was in my moment on stage.

"Do it because you love it, and do the best job you can do. "

"Laughter is involuntary. When you pull a laugh out of someone. That’s all yours. It's the greatest feeling in the world."

"I made them uncomfortable by calling them out for being rich, which is so insane, because it was a private island."

"A drink or two throughout the month is okay but not every night. Please don't quote me on this when you see me at the bar."

"I’m not a street performer, but assumed it wouldn’t be all that different. I was so very wrong! There is a special skill set that must be developed to make that environment work and my hat is off to anyone who can master it. "

"I once performed in the middle of a boxing ring, AFTER a charity boxing tournament, in the Russian neighborhood in deep Long Island. I was telling jokes for no one, as competitors literally bled out of their faces and got yelled at in Russian by their coaches."