America can get a peek inside the mind of comedian Demetri Martin when the second episode of his sketch comedy series, “”Important Things with Demetri Martin,”” airs tonight at 10:30 p.m. on Comedy Central.
Demetri explores a different “”important thing”” in each episode. In the first episode, which aired Wednesday, Feb. 11, Martin covered the subject of “”timing”” with sketches such as his impersonation of a “”Guy Who Is Way Too Early for a Rave.””
Martin’s style is fresh and inventive.
“”My comedy is influenced by my daydreaming,”” said Martin. “”I spend a lot of time writing in my notebook, and I end up doodling while I daydream and it usually crystallizes into coherent comedy ideas.””
Not only does he use standup, but he also includes drawings, music and sketches with other actors.
“”I enjoy playing instruments and drawing. I think they add to the performance, with music you can add an emotional overtone and drawings add extra punch lines,”” said Martin. “”Sometimes I can’t get the joke to work without the drawings. So once I tried that, it actually yielded other bits like including graphs and data.””
Through his show, the audience learns that Martin’s comedy is a reflection of the Law School dropout’s mind: clever and creative.
“”Law school was a very structured environment,”” said Martin. “”While I was there I started to paint, I tried to learn how to use oils and acrylics. I think that was when I got restless and started thinking that I didn’t want to be a lawyer.””
Much to his family’s dismay, Martin took his Yale education, left Law School, and started standup comedy in the summer of ’97.
“”Comedy forced me to change my definition of success. In law school I was worried about test results, grades, and my ranking in the class,”” said Martin. “”As for succeeding in standup, I have to look at success in a larger window of time.””
Twelve years later, Martin is a successful comedian who understands work ethic.
“”Persistence is the best commodity in pursuing a comedy career,”” said Martin. “”The interesting thing about having this kind of career is that it’s unpredictable. It’s difficult to know where you are going to be in the future, which I think is great, it is wide open.””
Martin said he currently has a book deal, and has aspirations to write screen plays and to learn more about acting.
“”Just finding a way to make a living by being creative contains so much pleasure. It is about having ideas and following through with them to make something that you are proud of,”” said Martin. “”I’ve gotten lucky to have a show, and now it’s like, what’s the next thing I can work hard on – that sounds bad – hard at?””
