Five Questions With Dufton Shepherd

Even when the lights go off and the cameras stop rolling, Dufton ‘Duffy’ Shepherd is still reeling out jokes. There is neither strained effort nor flusters in his delivery. His humorous take on just about anything is the fruit of more than 10 years of being a stand-up comedian, which he embodies to the core.

Intriguingly, like the corporate chap who competed in the Comedy Buss show in 2008, he still gets jittery before touching the stage.

“I get nervous before every performance, every single one, but you prepare because it’s a part of the process, and it humbles you, so you don’t think the laughter is secured or people must laugh,” Shepherd told The Gleaner. “You have to go out there and present and then your personality comes out and it’s off to the races.”

Good advice from the man who had two sold-out shows at the Phoenix Theatre in Kingston earlier this year for his debut comedy special, 'Slightly Unhinged'.

For this week’s edition of 5 Questions With, Duffy talks being the underdog, and drops gems about evolving in stand-up comedy

1. What is a big misconception about stand-up comedians?

People think we nuh have nuh sense. Many people don’t understand what it takes to be a good, evolving comedian. I think it’s the hardest art form I’ve ever encountered. A singer can do five songs in 30 minutes. A comedian will address so many topics in 30 minutes: trending, current, political, sports ... and change your perspective on it totally, while making you laugh. We are brilliant, and if you speak to any of us about our backgrounds, we have degrees (his is in management information systems), we own businesses. But I kinda like being the underdog, though.

2. Is there anything that you wouldn’t joke about?

As I have evolved, I realise there are fewer things I wouldn’t joke about, because I believe you can laugh about anything, even tragedy, but it’s how and when. Our culture limits us by saying we shouldn’t laugh about certain things, but, internationally, when you look at comedians, they laugh about any situation. There’s a part in the Bible which says there is a time to laugh and a time to cry, which means you can laugh and cry in the same situation.

3. With the online platform now available to comedians, is the stage appearance still relevant?

It has to be. The ones who do it digitally, I give them their props, but a lot of them can’t make that transition to stage. On stage is where the true essence of a stand-up comedian comes out. When you are behind a camera, you can edit and re-edit and its perfect timing. On stage it’s just you, the microphone and people.

We have seen that these comedians come to the stage and flop, and there are others doing some really good work. I watch them, and laugh, too, but that is not me. I keep an online presence, but on stage is my world.

4. More than a decade later, is it pressuring finding new ways to deliver jokes?

It is pressuring because you have to stay true to your craft and the persons who have come to watch you. There’s a part of me that constantly wants to evolve and grow, ‘cause when I started out I wanted to tell jokes, so I’d find the joke, study the joke, know the punchline and make people laugh. When you grow, you realise everything is a joke, so you’re no longer telling jokes; all you’re doing is sharing your point of view. I’ll just take a topic and talk about it, but how I’m expressing it makes it funny. There is no punchline, and that is when you realise you’re on the right track.

5. Any more upcoming specials?

A lot of persons missed it and others who were there want to know when it’s happening again, so I was planning on doing a couple more for this year. However, some things popped up, so next year I will be doing maybe two or three more shows of Slightly Unhinged. I’m also working on other comedy projects. The business of comedy is an untapped market and I’ll be tapping into it for 2020.