I believe it is important for comedians to know who came before them.

I am in the Master of Professional Writing program teaching Humor Writing, Literary and Dramatic.

The most unusual salesman I ever met is a fellow who made a modest fortune purveying lightning rods. But he suddenly lost interest in his work. He got caught in a storm with a bunch of samples in his arms.

If you've never met a student from the University of Chicago, I'll describe him to you. If you give him a glass of water, he says, 'This is a glass of water. But is it a glass of water? And if it is a glass of water, why is it a glass of water?' And eventually he dies of thirst.

The old problems - love, money, security, status, health, etc. - are still here to plague us or please us.

While you're improvising, you may come up with something which will break him up. As soon as that smile comes out, you know that, hey, we're having fun.

I will always love to perform standup comedy.