I stumbled across Kevin Cooney's Youtube videos back in 2006 and found his humor and ability to make interesting videos about his life in Japan to be the perfect entertainment for someone like me - a gaijin (foreigner) interested in Japanese culture.  But even if you don't have an interest in Japan or Japanese culture, Kevin will probably make you laugh because he's just naturally funny.

Kevin, who often uses the handle "TokyoCooney" online, does stand up comedy and is a writer.  In pursuit of his dream, he wrote a Japanese TV show called, Personal Comedy, which aired on NHK in Japan.  You can catch his English act in Tokyo at The Comedy Club where he performs once a month or so.  I caught up with Kevin over email (after jet lag kept me from attending his stand up in Tokyo while I was there in February) and interviewed him to be BeSparkly's first Sparkly Profile.

BeSparkly wants everyone to find their own sparkle and sometimes the act of pursuing our dreams, no matter how small or how big, can bring that sparkle out. Kevin took a leap into the unknown when he moved to Japan from the U.S. when he barely spoke any Japanese. Now, half a decade later, he's settled and finding his sparkle one day at a time in Tokyo. Please check out Kevin's videos on Youtube, you'll be glad you did.  Thank you Kevin for making us laugh!

Q & A with Kevin Cooney

BeSparkly: A lot of times, being sparkly comes from an inner place of confidence. Moving from the U.S. to Tokyo in your early twenties must have taken a lot of confidence and not everyone has the courage to follow their dreams much less make a move of that magnitude. Then you get up on stage to entertain others when many people can’t overcome the basic bout of stage fright.  Where do you draw your confidence from?

Cooney:  Well, to be honest I felt more like I was moving away from Los Angeles more than I was moving to Tokyo. So it didn't take so much courage I think.  Part of it was a mix of ignorance, youth and wanderlust.  As for stage fright, that's a different story.  Doing stand-up was horrifying for me in the beginning, because I'm really a writer not a performer.  Lots of people who work on stages are exhibitionist, I basically am not. But I have managed to overcome that dislike of being seen on stage by the mere fact that I wanted to share my writing with other people and the stage was one of the few outlets I could find that would let me have complete control over what I wrote and a very immediate response to it.  In many ways my YouTube videos are an extension of this.

BeSparkly: We’ve all heard that being a comedian can be a difficult job because you have to be funny all the time, and as with any career, there’s bound to be stress and cloudy days. What are the highlights of being a comedian? What makes you feel like it’s all worth it?

Cooney: As far as being funny on stage the difficult part is doing new jokes. I have a couple hours of material I know works and I've done it countless times. But doing a new joke is frightening. So not using stuff you know works and trying something that may suck is a scary thing. I've seen comedians react to the negative response to their new not funny joke in two ways;
           1) Get angry at the audience for being stupid and not getting it.
           2) Not caring.
I think the second is the healthier approach. It's the same as the basic advice I'd give to anyone going to a party and making chit chat. Don't worry too much about what other people think of what you say. I've had audience members tell me to my face... "You are not funny." Basically, I just accept their opinion and remember that the reason I do comedy is that I love comedy, not because I want that audience member to like me more.

BeSparkly: What is your style or genre of comedy?

Cooney: I am heavily influenced by David Cross, Lewis Black and Dennis Leary. Though no where in their league. But I guess that goes back to my earlier point. I am not trying to be anything except myself. So I don't make comparisons to other people. It keeps you sane.

BeSparkly: Do you do comedy in English and Japanese? And if so, how difficult do you find the nuances in language and cultural references to be considering how different Japanese culture is compared to American culture?

Cooney: Yes I do. But I am performing stand-up in English professionally and in Japanese as a hobby. However my writing, for TV and magazine, is done for both Japanese and English audiences (in both languages). My opinion, which MANY people disagree with, is that humor is universal. However some cultures have different customs and aren't as practiced at understanding some comedic forms, like irony or sarcasm. However speaking generally I would say that Japanese audiences hope for a certain amount of balance in their comedy. If you criticize something you have to rebalance it by returning criticism the other way. Also, the Japanese have a wide range of Taboo topics, but I think this will change in the near future.

BeSparkly: Is there a distinct difference in American and Japanese comedy? Which do you prefer?

Cooney: This is also an opinion I get in a lot of arguments about (only with people outside the industry by the way), but I believe that comedy like all art forms is something that progresses over time. As painting has gone from cave walls to Rembrandt so has comedy evolved from physical humor to satire. Due to some very specific problems in the Japanese comedy industry, a centralization on power in the agencies like Yoshimotokogyo and an overly conservative TV industry, Japanese comedy has not evolved. Individual comedians in Japan are as talented as their American counterparts but they are not given the freedom of range that Americans are. Japan is still awaiting their Lenny Bruce. I prefer American, Canadian and British Comedy...but that is not to say Japanese comedians are less talented.

BeSparkly: What makes you feel sparkly?

Cooney: When people laugh at my jokes. But on a deeper level I love a perfect joke. Not a single word wasted. It sounds strange but I know it when I hear it. It's a thing of beauty. Usually it's someone else joke. I've written maybe two or three in my whole career. Mark Twain and Kurt Vonnegut seem to speak nothing but these perfect gems. It makes it seem like the world is explainable and makes sense if only for one sentence. God must exist for such perfect irony to be possible.

BeSparkly: What’s your favorite holiday?

Cooney: Christmas. It's a typical answer to be sure, but the time spent with my family, especially for a person who lives far away from them, is irreplaceable.

BeSparkly:  What is something or someone you really appreciate?

Cooney: The Japanese have a word "Erai," which means "something to be respected for being great." They say it constantly. I feel that this acknowledgement of something or someone's value is often missing in American society. I guess one of the side effects of being "equal" is a hesitancy to give praise to others for being better at doing something than you can. It's the reason why hecklers heckle in America, but basically Japanese never heckle. They generally give credit to the person for getting on stage and trying. I try to appreciate people who can do something I can't. Even if it's something simple.

BeSparkly: Any final words of advice for those who might be hesitant on pursuing their own dreams?

Don't worry about it. I think most people don't do what they want to not because they don't take it seriously enough, but they take it too seriously. If I had actually considered how incredibly insane moving to Asia to be a writer is I never would have done it. I just said "What the hell" and gave it a shot. I'm reminded of applying to Harvard, Princeton and Yale in high school and being rejected from all three. My Mom said "Hey why not... so what if you get rejected from all three. It's not gonna kill you." I didn't die. That was a good experience. If I had never applied I wouldn't have found out I was meant to be a Syracuse University grad. Even the things that don't work out are steps along the road. I had three TV shows fail before I had my first one succeed. It was six years after I graduated from school and all the actors were speaking a language I couldn't speak six years earlier in a country I never thought I'd be in. Life is strange and taking chances usually leads to rewards. Like the lotto motto: Gotta be in it to win it. The same can be said for life.

 See Kevin now at Youtube!