Ben Miller on the Science of Comedy

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Photo by JT Anderson - benmillercomedy.com

Ben Miller

“If it’s not funny, I’m not doing my job,” says Ben Miller of his work as a stand-up comedian.  

However, it's not the average comic who can add as a caveat to his mandate to elicit laughter, “I guess if I’m bombing, I’m still technically a science educator,” Miller can truthfully add to his employment profile because he is a scientist turned humorist. 

“The science is also important to me, of course,” Miller clarifies, “and I do my best to honor it as much as possible. And there can even be a synergy between the two, in that a fact can make a natural set-up for a joe.”  

Miller brings his latest set of jokes, Stand Up Science Presents: Volcano, to Interchange Theater Co-Op on Friday April 19 for a 7:30 p.m. show. Before getting to what would inspire a special’s worth of bits about explosions of lava and whatnot bellowing up from Earth's core, are scientists all that funny?  

Sowing Mischief

When posed the question, Miller at first relishes the possibility of where he could go with it. “What an exciting opportunity to either malign an entire profession or boost their egos! One little taste of power and I already feel the pull towards madness.” Reverting from his temptation to sow mischief, however, he offers, “While science can occasionally have some of the most socially awkward, pedantic and humorless people around, I’ve generally found scientists to be some of the most creative and witty people in my life. Or perhaps that’s just the ones I’ve been lucky enough to be around. I encourage the reader to do their own research.”

The first comedian Miller was really aware of was Seinfeld, “one of the hazards of growing up Jewish,” he concedes. “If I was raised Christian, I might be instead citing my first comedy influence as that cucumber from Veggie Tales. Perhaps it's the wisdom and honesty he leaned from his youth that prompts him to say, “I do everything I can to make my show as accessible as possible. If at any point you're feeling confused, I’ve failed. And if I’ve failed you, and you’re bold enough to search up my website, you can send me an angry email and ask for a refund.”  

In the past, Miller included an extensive segment of gags regarding his own position as a curiosity of medical science. Of the condition involving his ingrown sternum, he shares, “It’s called pectus excavatum. My chest caved in; it’s gross and weird, and yet, somehow it hasn’t caused me to be rejected by women. I guess I already have enough red flags to overlook that by the time they get to my pectus, it's the least of their worries.”   

Month Among Volcanoes 

Realizing that his anatomical abnormality hasn’t been that great a setback for him, Miller says, “To be honest, I feel uncomfortable with the term disability because while I’m at a reduced lung capacity, it hasn’t really affected my life at all (besides all the fun jokes) and I don’t want to co-opt a term that others need.” Nor is his pectus taxing enough to prevent him from spending a month among—to get back to the subject of his current tour—volcanoes. ​ 

Miller found himself in close proximity to numerous such formations when he was chosen to the February 2023 Artist In Residence at Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park. As to how he earned that distinction, he recalls, “When I applied to be the artist in residence—it’s an open call—I never imagined that they'd actually accept a lowly stand-up comedian. The program typically selects painters, poets, Grammy-nominated musicians, you know, real artists. The month there was amazing, I learned so much, met so many incredible people and also just enjoyed the splendor of Hawai'i, and also wrote some jokes.” Of the several performances he gave in the island state that month, he admits, “Not my best work, but it was a great creative challenge.” As for the Volcanoes he will bring to the Interchange, “I’m immensely grateful for the opportunity and, luckily. I’ve had a year to work on the material and I think it’s much stronger now.

And though Miller has been taking to stages with his novel comedic niche for eight years now, he admits, “I still feel like I’m learning so much and there’s so much room for me to grow. Mostly in muscle mass.”  

Nothing from Volcanoes is yet available online, nor is much from Stand Up Science. So, here Miller is waxing both scientific and personal about chairs ... 

In Memorium

 If Ben Miller represents one angle for a Jewish man to take on comedy, Richard Lewis' work represents a wholly different approach.  

Both in his stand-up and many of the characters Lewis portrayed in movies and television shows such as Anything But Love and Curb Your Enthusiasm, Lewis wore his insecurities and neuroses on his sleeve. His candor about his substance abuse and addition and penchant to dress entirely in black also led to his nickname as The Prince of Pain.  

In a rare bit of programming at NBC, a documentary about Lewis, “Diary of a Young Comic” (currently available for free streaming on Tubi), pre-empted “Saturday Night Live” one weekend in 1979. The same network's talk shows hosted by Johnny Carson and David Letterman were also regular haunts for Lewis, as well as HBO for a series of specials.   

Though diagnosed with Parkinson's in 2023, it was in late February of this year when Lewis died at 76 due to a heart attack. Amidst his legacy is the permission he gave to other comics to be uncomfortably transparent in sharing their lives with audiences in order to make everyone in any given room laugh at life's trials.  

From a time before his wardrobe was entirely monochromatic, here’s Lewis in the early ‘90s kvetching about familial and other matters in a gig as host for TV featuring other comedians ...