Friend a Day – Joseph Scrimshaw

I’ve known Joseph from somewhere around the beginning of CONvergence back in 1999.  At that time, his career as a comedian was just starting to develop while I had no idea that I might one day be looking to do the same thing.

For the last several years, he has been a terrific sounding board for me.  He’s walked a road I’d like to walk and what makes him great is the fact he’s willing to talk to me about the journey.  He is extremely generous with advice if you ask for it but he doesn’t offer it unless he thinks you are interested.

Joseph is one of the hardest working comedians I know.  He is always writing something and the diversity of what he writes is staggering.  He has written some of the funniest and most successful plays at the Minnesota Fringe.  He writes a very funny blog.  He’s written a book.  And so on.

When he’s on stage, he looks confident and comfortable but never cocky.  He is in his natural element and he likes it there.  When he is clearly enjoying himself, the viewer can hardly help but to do the same.

We have had many conversations over the years about comedy and he takes it very seriously.  He spends a lot of time thinking about what makes comedy work and how he can make his comedy better.

Recently, he moved from Minnesota to California, which is a big risk.  If I know anyone who can make the move successfully, it would have to be Joseph.  Sure, there are a lot of random factors involved but he is talented and an extremely hard worker.

For someone as talented as he is, he shares the stage with others extremely well.  His Obsessed podcast could easily be much more about his cleverness than about his guests’ obsessions but he does a terrific job of using his questions to bring out the comedy in his guests rather than worrying about providing it himself.

Life is full of comings and goings but I’ll admit that when the Scrimshaws moved to California, it was a going that made me a little more sad than most.  I definitely miss their presence even as I celebrate what I hope will be great success.

Joseph has a comedy blog over at www.josephscrimshaw.com.  You also can (and should) support him on Patreon.

Also, he’s doing a performance in Minneapolis on Saturday at the Comedy Corner Underground.  If you haven’t seen him live and you are in the Twin Cities, you should go!