Jordan Schulte

“I’ve been doing comedy for a few years now and it’s the most fun and frustrating thing I’ve ever done. There’s no real impressive story as to how I got into it, when I was a kid I would watch comics do short sets on Rove or The Footy Show or shows like that, and it just seemed really fun and easy to do. Then the Melbourne Comedy Gala would show on TV and there would be all these different types of comedians, different styles, different sort of acts from all over the world, showing me that you can make people laugh in more ways than one. And that’s another cool thing about comedy, the fact that anyone – young/old, male/female, big/small, any ethnicity, any cultural background, whatever – can do comedy. And be amazing at it.”

I’ve had people tell me I’m bloody hilarious and some people tell me to quit because I suck.

I’ve had lots of good gigs and just as many bad gigs. I’ve had people tell me I’m bloody hilarious and some people tell me to quit because I suck. I’ve shared the stage with some big names, performed in comedy festivals, performed in backyards at birthday parties, done gigs in the city and rural Queensland, been interviewed on radio. One night I smash a gig in front of 300 people and the next night I bomb hard in front of 3. I’ve even had to follow a burlesque stripper routine at a show once. It’s a very tough and challenging pursuit, it takes years until you can get paid to do it and call it your full time job, but that’s the thing about it that kinda drives me, the fact that all the hard work will – eventually – pay off big time. At least that’s what I tell my Mum.

What are you currently working on?

I’m in a show at the Brisbane Comedy Festival called “Super Happy Fun Time” with some other comedian friends. It’s our third year doing a show at the Festival, and we’re really keen on this year’s show because last year we had a lot of sketches and theatrical aspects that we worked into a narrative, which worked well and we really enjoyed but for this year’s show we decided to just cut all the fancy-pants gimmicks and get back to what we love to do – just good straight stand-up. We’ve all been gigging constantly on the Brisbane comedy circuit for the past year or so so it will be interesting to see how we’ve all progressed as comics since the last show. Oh gosh, I hope I’m good.

As for why we gave the show that title, well I guess you’ll just have to come along to find out.

What would you say led you to where you are today?

After finishing school (Thank God) I moved to Brisbane to study acting, as well as finally giving stand-up a go. I moved from my small home town in country Queensland, where you can’t really have a good career unless you wanted to follow up something in rural outback country stuff. I guess that’s a sign it wasn’t for me, the fact that I call it ‘rural outback country stuff’.

All I wanted to do was act, perform, comedy etc so I was keen to move to the big city and see what it has to offer (turns out, a whole lot more than the country). I was that kid in class always trying to be funny and making jokes. I guess the performing arts has always been the business that I wanted to be a part of, so among all the joke writing and school plays I also performed with acoustic guitar for a while, I still do occasionally.

Performing is fun. I think it’s an art that takes a while to master, and all that comes with it, the experience, the gigging, and even the theory is the most interesting thing to me, so I’m inspired by what professionals have to say about it from all over the spectrum, whether it be comedy, acting, music, or whatever.

What do you get up to in your down time? Do you have any hobbies?

Sleep. Honestly I don’t know why but lately I’ve been napping more and more at odd times of the day.

But apart from that I play guitar, and occasionally write songs. I recently have gotten back into gaming, which I proudly avoided for years but I guess that’s what happens when your flatmate leaves his Xbox in the living room.

Watching movies, eating, reading about stuff online. I guess they’re not really hobbies but more just me describing what I do when I’m procrastinating/being lazy. Sorry.

I also tend to hang out with friends a lot, like going to see a movie or lunch or even just talking and hanging around the city. Oh man, now that I think about it I should get a real hobby, like model airplanes or kite flying.

What’s it like being a young person in Brisbane? What suggestions would you make to improve the city?

Brisbane is great, I really do enjoy living here. I think it has a great arts and culture scene and there’s always new places (bars, restaurants) popping up around town to go check out. It’s good because whenever I’m with friends and we get bored, there’s always something we can do.

What advice or inspiration would you share with other young people?

On whatever path you take, be willing to learn and embrace all the new experiences. Take in everything you can from everyone you meet, everything you see and do, and just remember that every bit of knowledge will make you a better person tomorrow.