Comendian Mike Birbiglia is headed to the triangle this weekend, for a gig at the Carolina Theatre.
Mike's film Sleepwalk with Me won the audience award at Sundance in 2012. It was co-written by This American Life's Ira Glass.
The movie stars Mike and is about his own life -- trying to be a comic, and discovering he is a sleepwalker.
The stories are true, and they are really funny.
http://youtu.be/8adsYbCfT-I
Mike has figured "that sleepwalking thing" out, and he now travels the world as a comic.
(He admits, it's actually not the best job for someone who needs to be on a regimented sleep/wake schedule.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBKpouQ3OKI&list=PL4BF1C8A8FDD2A4D1&feature=share
Eric Hodge chatted with Mike Birbiglia for Morning Edition. They talked about how Mike takes some of the most embarrassing things from his own life, and talks about them publicly. It's an idea that he got from another comic.
"The first comedian I ever watched was Bill Cosby," he says. "I was really mesmerized by it. There's something about telling a story that's as human a story, that's as free from cultural references as possible that makes an audience lock in."
"You're on stage, you're telling the audience personal stories, true stories about yourself. You're really opening up to them, and people as a group laughing all at the same time. That's why I call the tour Thank God For Jokes. Because I do think it is almost a religious experience."