MC extraordinaire and funny guy Snap (aka Grandpa Figs) spends his time doing stand-up, managing comedians, organising tours and orchestrating the Comedy Carnival for its fourth year. His life is comedy and he’s passionate about retaining talent in Christchurch, not just incubating it.

How did you stumble into comedy? When I was about 16, a promoter told me I was witty and should try comedy, so I waited almost 10 years till I had built up enough confidence hosting radio, and then a friend said we should both sign up. I did, she didn’t, and three months later I was touring the country.

What’s your day job and how does that fit in with your comedy? My day job is running lots of shows around Christchurch, managing comedians, organising tours and orchestrating the GoMedia Comedy Carnival through my company, Grandpa Figs. My life is comedy. I seriously need a hobby.

What words of advice do you have for aspiring comics out there? Constantly be super critical of your performance but still celebrate when you genuinely crush it. I think a lot of new comics think they’re doing better than they are because they’re doing a lot better than they were a couple of months before. It’s important to record your sets and actually listen back and be critical about whether you’re getting the laughs you want.

What’s the comedy scene like in Christchurch? It’s the greatest scene in the world! Everyone is super supportive of each other, and I think that’s been one of the key factors of the growth we’ve seen over the past few years. We now have the biggest scene per capita in the country, and second biggest outright. There is so much talent here at the moment. The real key over the next few years is going to be retaining that talent. It’s time we became more than just an incubator.

What or who do you find funny? Most things. When I was in radio I learnt that just allowing yourself to laugh at basically everything an interviewee says stops there being awkward silences. Eventually that leaked in to real life, and now I’ll laugh at basically anything that isn’t Michael McIntyre.

What’s the most common misconception about comedians? That we want to hear your shitty, recycled, probably problematic joke. Or just people taking things we say on stage and running with it. I had a guy assume I do meth because I made one crappy joke about it in like a 30-minute set.

Highlight of your time as a comedian so far? I don’t know if I have one highlight to be honest. There’s a couple of tours with really good people that have definitely been unforgettable. Performing at the opening showcase of the Dunedin Fringe Festival was super fun. Winning Best MC at the Christchurch Comedy Awards for the third time almost brought a tear to my eye. I think it’s just generally the connections I’ve made though. Pretty much all my closest friends are people I’ve met through comedy.

Funniest moment on stage? There’s been a lot. Audiences are crazy. I recently had a really tall old dude sitting in the front row of a show I was MCing. Just as I was about to bring the final act on he got up, walked on stage and gave me a big hug. I nestled into his bosom, he kissed me on the head and said, “I love you, you’re very good, I’ve had such a good time, but I have to go now.” It was super bizarre, but so very, very wholesome.

How do you relax and unwind? I was gonna ask you the same question buddy! With Trump, Putin, Boris, Jinping, climate change, pending economic collapse, late-stage capitalism in general and people still buying Crocs, how do any of us relax?

If you could invite any three people living or dead to a dinner party, who would they be and why? Keanu Reeves, just such a lovely chap. Katherine Ryan, because you always need a gal pal to get sneaky drunk on wine with. And George Bush Snr, he’s dead now so nothing matters to him and he can tell me where the aliens are.

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