Call Aisha Tyler a renaissance woman. Call her a restless well of creativity overflowing with ideas. Just don’t limit her to a single description.
“To me they’re all the same job,” said the comedian, author, actress, producer and director. “But stand-up is the first. It’s how I got started in the entertainment business, and my skill set grows out of there.”
Whether you recognize her from “Friends” or “Ghost Whisperer,” “CSI” or “24,” the 38-year-old San Francisco native is best known for her TV roles. But with a daytime talk show on tap for ABC next year and a growing profile in the stand-up world — thanks to her recent top-rated Comedy Central special — Tyler is poised to show us all sides of her talent.
We spoke to her in advance of her Comedy Works South shows tonight and Saturday.
Q: You’ve done a lot of writing and behind-the-scenes work and certainly don’t need to be on stage. What about stand-up appeals to you?
A: It’s a very specifically challenging and creatively grueling performance style. You have to write everything; you have to perform it; and you’re up there alone. There’s nobody to blame. There’s no delay between when you put something out there and when people throw it back in your face. It makes me very strong.
Q: The range of what you’ve done over the years is pretty impressive.
A: It’s all a family of work to me. The producing thing, which I really love, just comes out of the fact that I’m super work-obsessive and love to be busy and involved in everything. I’m not the kind of celebrity that sleeps in late and throws stuff at my assistant. I’m the person who’s there in the morning before everybody else. I have a lot of people who Tweet me and they’re, like, “When are you going to have a diva fit?”
Q: What’s your stand-up like?
A: It’s really hard to describe myself, but I’ll say it’s all new material from my special. If you know me from when I hosted “Talk Soup,” you know my sense of humor, that combination of high and low, thinky-stupid. We’d use an SAT word to craft a fart joke. It’s super physical, super high-energy and a combination of intelligent social and political commentary, but also a lot of stuff about being married and sex. It’s definitely a guy-friendly show. I have as many male fans as I have female fans.
Q: I know you’re in the new Tony Kaye (“American History X”) movie, “Black Water Transit.” What else are you working on between stand-up dates?
A: I’m directing a series of short films for Funny or Die right now, which are coming out over the summer. I’m squeezing them in between road dates.
Q: I’m guessing you have something against free time?
A: I never want to go to sleep thinking I could have worked a little bit harder. It comes from being a poor kid, trying to hustle as hard as you can, knowing that you have the chance.
John Wenzel: 303-954-1642 or jwenzel@denverpost.com
Aisha Tyler
Comedy. Comedy Works South, 5345 Landmark Place. Today and Saturday. 7:30 and 9 p.m. today; 7 and 9:30 p.m. Saturday. $25. 303-595-3637 or .
