Chase Mitchell is writing in New York, but not for the type of outlet he anticipated when he graduated from Auburn University with a degree in journalism in 2006.
After spending some time writing at the Gwinnett Daily Post and working in marketing, Mitchell started pursuing a comedy writing career, and now works for "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon."
He has contributed jokes to the Weekend Update portion of "Saturday Night Live," and he has written for SomeeCards.com, Collegehumor.com and "Nikki and Sarah Live."
Mitchell said he expects to be on the staff as a writer when Fallon takes over as host of "The Tonight Show" in February.
His Twitter handle is @ChaseMit.
How did you go from
earning a degree in journalism to writing for a late night talk show?
It was kind of a weird road. When I got out of college I was looking for a job at a newspaper. It took me a little while to find one. I started out as a copy editor for a paper. I worked my way over to the feature section as a feature writer, but all through that time I was featuring as a writer on CollegeHumor.com in my spare time, and I can probably admit it now a little bit while I was at work too. It went from a hobby to something I really enjoyed.
Have you gone from steady job to steady job, or have you been a
freelance joke writer as well?
Before I got the Nikki and Sarah job, I got asked to submit for Weekend Update for SNL. I didn't get the 'job' job, but as a consolation prize I got to be on what's called the fact list, which is where you freelance and send in 15 jokes a week. I got really lucky, and I got a joke on the air my first week.
How exciting was that?
I wasn't expecting it at all, and I was actually just sitting in my living room watching SNL. I can still remember Seth Meyers leading into the joke, and me jumping out of my seat saying, "That's my joke, that's my joke!" It was really exciting.
Before you knew that you would have a career in comedy were you someone who told a lot of jokes?
I really liked comedy growing up. I would consider myself a fan of it. Until I started to write for College Humor, I never really considered myself doing it. I remember during my time at The Plainsman I included a throw-away line in a column that some of my friends liked. I like getting that feedback from people, and knowing I made somebody laugh.
A lot of writers also perform stand-up comedy or branch out to other forms of comedy, is this something you are doing?
It's something that's changed a little bit. I started out totally a joke writer. In the second season of 'Nikki and Sarah Live' I branched out into writing sketches as well, and that broadened my horizons a little bit as far as writing goes. I was actually hired to 'Fallon' as a sketch writer. Since I've been here in New York I'm also doing standup, and it's definitely something I'm inexperienced with. It's something I like to do, and I'm pursuing it.
Popular comedians such as Anthony
Jeselnik and Hannibal Buress started out writing for television shows; what is it like sharing a room with those sorts of people?
I work with a lot of really talented writers. 'Fallon' has sort of been a launching pad for people. People have come onto 'Fallon,' spent a couple years there and then gone on to their own projects. It's a room full of extremely talented people.
What's the difference in approach to writing jokes for your own stand-up
compared to jokes you write for work?
There's definitely a difference. Everyone has their own personality, and you have to learn to write for that. When I write for myself, it comes from a more personal place. I can be a little bit darker. I recently called off a wedding, I broke up with my fiance kind of at the last minute, and that's something I can talk about on stage.
Who are some of your
comedy influences?
As far as joke writing goes there's a man who I work with, Mike Drucker, who's extremely talented and funny. I think he's one of the best joke writers around. For sketch writing, I really like Tim [Heidecker] and Eric [Wareheim]. I think they're brilliant and doing stuff like no one else. As far as standmiup, I'd say John Mulaney is someone I look up to. Louis C.K. is only in recent years has become as popular as he should have been all along.
What's been the highlight of your time on "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" so far?
I got really lucky in my first week there. I pitched a sketch idea, and we had Paul McCartney coming on the show. I pitched a sketch idea about Jimmy and Paul switching accents. I got to stand in a hallway with one of the greatest musicians in history, and hear him read lines that I wrote. It was incredible and really surreal.
Do you have a favorite joke that you have written?
I'm really proud of how that Paul McCartney thing turned out. Joke wise, I would say the one that got on Weekend Update that I wrote my first week for the show, because it was really such a surprise.
What was the joke?
I hate to say it was about Chris Brown, but it was. It was something like, 'Chris Brown is in the news for getting a neck tattoo that some say resembles a battered woman. You know you've made a horrible decision when having a neck tattoo is only the second worst thing about your neck tattoo.'
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