Editor’s note: Gabe Fulgenzio is a sophomore journalism communication major and business minor who recently earned the opportunity to open for comdian Dave Coulier through a competition at The Knight Club. Fulgenzio and Coulier will perform at 7:30 p.m. Monday in the Hammermill Center. Tickets can be purchased at gannontickets.com.

1. How did you get into comedy and who are some of your inspirations?

I got into it because I usually would have things I’d like to do but I’d never do anything with them. Like, I wanted to pick up painting again and I’m like, “All right, I’ll do that,” but I’m just lazy and I wouldn’t do it.
So then I kind of just said, one day, “You know what? I’d like to try comedy.” And I was like, “Well, you’re actually gonna do it instead of just saying it.”
So there was an open mic night in town that I went to, and I was just God-awful at it. Just God-awful. It started out, and there were like 10 people in the audience, and then at the end there were only two. People just walked out. And that kept on happening for four shows, and then I changed up my delivery and I did it here on campus and it went really well.
Inspiration? I like Bill Burr, Jimmy Carr, Anthony Jeselnik, Louis C.K., you know, those guys.

2. How long have you been doing stand-up and are there any specific experiences that have prepared you to open for Dave Coulier?

I’ve been doing it for a year. What’s prepared me? Just doing shows and knowing how to work crowds. This one is going to be interesting because it’s a bigger venue and I’m used to doing small, club things like The Knight Club.
So, yeah, it’s gonna be neat to see how the crowd works. One time a girl almost threw a chair at me on stage. That was at one of the shows where people walked out. I was bombing pretty bad and I was trying to just do crowd work, which was awful because I’d never do crowd work.
So I see this girl talking to her friend, and I’m like, “Hey, the show’s up here,” or something like that. And I said it really nervously, so she gets up, and I think she was trying to be funny, but like, she just did this [grabs nearby chair] like she was gonna throw it and I’m like, “You’re really gonna throw it at me?” And she was just like “Nah,” and sat down.

3. What have you been doing to get ready?

Well, I wrote all my stuff already. I’ve been practicing it. That’s all you can do; try it on your friends; see how it goes. They think it’s pretty good.

4. Are you nervous at all?

Yeah, I’m kind of nervous, but whenever you do a show you’re a little nervous and you have to kind of channel that and, you know, just put it on the stage.

5. Any future plans with regards to comedy?

Not at the moment. It’s kind of just a hobby. That would be cool, you know, to do something with it, but it would also be cool to not live in a box. It’s hard to make a lot of money just doing stand-up. Maybe for, like, beer money [laughs]. But nah, I have to get a big boy job.

KYLE JOSEPH
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