TCNJ

48 SPRING 2017 2. Mamawala finds inspiration in the mundane. "It's the stuff that everybody hears but doesn't take note of." MINDY TUCKER 10 8. A comic called him out for doing a cheap Borat gag. "You can't just pull lines from other comedians. You're not out with your buddies quoting Anchorman." 1. It's not the class clowns who get into standup. "It's the sarcastic kid in the back making fun of the class clown." 6. The New York comedy scene can be brutal, but necessary for growth. "I learned quickly that I was terrible. It was humbling." TCNJ X10 3. He first realized he might be funny when he got a laugh from a friend at a Nets game with: "Why are the most creative hecklers always in the last row where the players can't hear them?" 10. The trick to handling hecklers? "If they're being rude, they're drunk. You should be able to shut them down without being a bully." 9. No matter how good you are, you will bomb. Accept it and move on. 4. It helps to know your audience. Mamawala got his start at The Rat and then won a statewide college standup competition. 5. Set realistic expectations about how you'll live. "I was once on the road for so long that when I finally got home, I took out my wallet to look for a room key." 7. At his first open mic, he tried to get laughs with "really low- hanging fruit," breaking a rule of standup. "You're supposed to be working out new material." things you need to know about… MAKING IT IN STANDUP ADAM MAMAWALA '09 recently landed on Funny or Die's 30 Under 30 list of up-and-coming comics and regularly headlines at clubs and colleges around the country. That success is built on years of hard work, occasional failure, and a killer Aziz Ansari impression. —Ryan Jones

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