Kelsey Cook has established herself as a powerful force in stand-up comedy. With a yo-yo champion for a dad and a professional foosball player for a mom, she was always destined for greatness.
Her latest comedy special, Mark Your Territory, has amassed almost 1 million views since its YouTube release in February and she’s been touring all across the U.S. with fellow comedian and boyfriend Chad Daniels. From her popular foosball competition series Wrists of Fury to her various appearances on late night television, Kelsey is quickly rising to the top of the stand-up comedy game.
We had the opportunity to chat with Kelsey about the chaos of recording her first special, The Hustler, how a college class ignited her spark for stand-up and how integrating her mom’s dementia diagnosis into her routine has helped her feel connected to her audience.
You’ve released two stand up specials, The Hustler and Mark Your Territory. What surprised you about filming a stand-up special, and how did it help you when you went to film your second one?
"When we shot The Hustler, it was an absolute disaster behind the scenes that weekend. We had to kick out drunk hecklers at the late taping, a guy passed out at the early taping, the airline lost my makeup artist's kit, footage from the original intro we shot ended up being unusable, and a few of the crew members had to drop out last minute because they got Covid. I was so relieved that we were able to put together a great final product despite the chaos, and it taught me how to be way more go-with-the-flow on my second special."
How long did it take you to prepare for your latest special, Mark Your Territory?
"I shot Mark Your Territory a year after The Hustler came out, so I toured hard during that year in between to get a new hour written and worked out on stage."
Are there any jokes that didn’t make it into Mark Your Territory that you can share with us?
"I tried talking about something that had happened earlier that day in the special taping involving using the hotel room bathroom while my boyfriend was there, but it didn't get a big enough response so I just decided to include it in the end credits of the special."
In your special, you talk about your mom and her dementia diagnosis. How has speaking about this helped you, and have you found that it’s helped others who are going through something similar?
"I struggled for a long time to figure out how to share what was going on with my mom in a way that was therapeutic for me on stage, but also not so dark that it brought the energy to a grinding halt. I'm really glad that I spent time navigating a way to do that because now when I talk about her and the dementia on stage, it helps me feel so much less alone. It means so much to me when people come up to me after shows and say that they also have a loved one with dementia and that hearing me talk about it and bring some levity to those dark moments has really helped them too."
When did you know you wanted to work in comedy/entertainment?
"I had to take a public speaking class in college and I kept turning my assignments into comedy sketches, essentially. My professor pulled me aside after class and said that I should look into the college improv troupe or the stand-up open mic on campus. I tried the open mic one time and was instantly hooked."
Who are your comedy inspirations?
"There are so many incredible comics right now I feel like the list would be too long. I'm very Type-A and like to go into my shows with my set all written out, so I'm extra impressed and inspired by comics that are able to create so much material in the moment. Chad Daniels, Jessica Kirson, and Rory Scovel are all so good at that."
Where can people watch your upcoming live shows?
"I'm touring all over and people can get tickets at kelseycook.com!"
Last but certainly not least, would you rather fight one 800 pound gorilla or 800 one pound gorillas?
"Ooo I'm gonna have to go with 800 one pound gorillas. I'm only 5'4" so I think I'd get crushed by an 800 pound gorilla almost immediately."
Check out more Kelsey Cook here!