JustArts spoke to Brandeis grad and all-around funnyman Myq Kaplan '00 about his time at Brandeis, his growth as a comedian and his experience on Last Comic Standing this past summer, where he made it to the finals and placed fifth.JA: How did you get into comedy?

MK: I was originally at Brandeis pursuing a career as a singer-songwriter, or I should call it a "career." But that's what I wanted to do-play guitar and write songs. One of the places I played songs was The Comedy Studio in Harvard Square. They let me go there I had some funny songs, and I sort of just organically shifted my desire to not need the guitar I had, because I didn't like carrying it around, and I also just liked talking and not singing all the time, so it was sort of an accident.

JA: So you started pursuing comedy at Brandeis?

MK: The very first time I performed on a comedy stage was at Brandeis, but at that point I wouldn't say I was pursuing comedy. I was playing music at The Comedy Studio during my senior year, which was between 1999 and 2000, but I didn't really decide to start pursuing comedy until 2002.

JA: Have you done any college campuses or tours?

MK: Oh yeah. Starting a couple years ago, I got a college booking agent, and that was how I was able to quit my day job and tour around college campuses in the New England area, the mid-Atlantic and sort of the rest of the country also. In an ideal month, I might go on the road for a week to different colleges or maybe one or two here or there. I perform a lot at colleges and really enjoy the college audience.

JA: Your jokes are very situational ,and you keep them fairly clean. Aside from the fear of the FCC on TV, how did you decide to keep your jokes PG-13 instead of R?

MK: I don't specifically make a conscious choice to be clean other than when I have to be for television or if a club or venue or audience requires or requests that. I don't censor myself when I write. I'm not a big fan of swearing for the sake of swearing but if swearing serves a purpose-like if I come up with a hilarious joke about a swear, I will write it and have written such things. Or sexual content: some of the best comedians like Richard Pryor, who is one of the most, if not the most, revered comic in history, [George] Carlin, Louis CK today, they all have filthy stuff. They are all hilarious and not at all clean: But there are people like Brian Regan, who is also completely hilarious and entirely clean, and then obviously Seinfeld and people like that. Everybody has to be themselves. They talk about, the things they care about and so I talk about the things I care about, which most of the time are things I can say on TV; but I've got jokes about fisting, too, so you know you just might not have seen them.

JA: Those must be the ones that don't make it on YouTube or national television.

MK: (laughs) Correct.

JA: Speaking of national television, how was your experience on Last Comic Standing?

MK: I had a great time! It was at times nerveracking but mostly a really exciting time, from the get-go, getting to be a part of it and moving to each round I did. Being in the semi-finals with the 30 or 40 other comedians who I knew half of and were good friends of mine and just getting to hang out and enjoy each other and do shows that ended up being seen by millions of people and obviously getting the exposure so that now way more people know who I am and will come to shows or want me to come do shows where they are.

JA: How has that experience on a continual program differ from your first national experience on The Tonight Show?

MK: I think it is just a much larger scale. More people watch any given week. I think The Tonight Show received between 2 and 3 million viewers on average when I was doing it, and I think Last Comic Standing got between 4 or 5 million on each week. The scale was increased vastly. After I did The Tonight Show, I got some number of Twitter follower and Facebook fans more, for Last Comic Standing I got probably more than that each week.

JA: Have you had any big recognition moments on the street?

MK: I have been recognized several times. I was thrilled to be recognized. It gets to the point now where someone smiles or waves when I think, "Oh, I wonder if this is because they have seen me on TV, or if it is a friend of mine who I forgot who they are or if they are being nice." But people from all walks of life, from a little kid, to at the airport to even the street I live and people say, "you live here?"

JA: As long as none of them have sold you to the paparazzi.

MK: No, no, at this point I welcome it. Some people online are like, "Oh I'm your stalker, now." When I want you to stalk me, it's called being a fan. I welcome the attention thus far.

JA: You finished the competition in a very respectable top-five position. Where do you see yourself going professionally next?

MK: I'm open. This is as far as I saw, not even; this is farther than I hoped or dreamed or planned. When I started out, I just wanted to be a comedian for a living, and I achieved that, and this is now amazing. My goal is for people to know who I am, and instead of just going to a generic comedy show, have people say, "Oh, Myq Kaplan is coming to town? I like Myq Kaplan, let's go see him." So more CDs, DVDs and specials and developing a following and leading them wherever they will follow me.

JA: So what advice do you have for college-age comedians?

MK: For anybody to do comedy, the advice is to just do it. Write down what you think is funny and go perform it on stage as much as possible. Find out where you're right. Keeping saying those things, keep repeating that, get on stage and write as much as possible and that is all that you can do.