Cancel culture is alive and well in America, and celebrities aren’t the only ones under attack. The average man or woman can fall victim. All it takes is one bad tweet or joke that goes too far.
Living in the core of sensitivity these days, that doesn’t leave much room for expression—especially for people like comedians, whose livelihood is wrapped around our First Amendment right.
“The biggest thing that I’ve learned is to be authentic in who you are. If I’m the ol’ school country guy with the family, that’s what you gonna see on stage.”
Tim Shropshire
Comedian Tim Shropshire has a serious knack for making people laugh just by being himself. After reading a book by his pastor called “Understanding Your Divine Calling,” it was pretty clear what he wanted to do with his life.
“I was like yooo, I want to play football and make people laugh. I don’t care about nothing else,” Tim recalled.
He admits his first stage was the locker room, using his time at North Carolina A&T State University to build his craft. But it wasn’t until Tim’s first time on an actual stage that he realized this comedy thing is real.
The 35-year-old North Carolina native reminisced on the first time he was asked to perform during the intermission of a step show. They needed 15 minutes of stand up.
“The first two minutes were cool, but when I got to minute number three, I was like ‘Oh no,'” Tim laughed. “I said a joke and the audience is not supposed to say ‘what’ to you. I Iooked at the security guard and said, ‘That’s my time.'”
Driving away, he realized stand up was more than sitting at home goofing off with friends and family. He’d have to put in work.
The Art of the Punchline
There’s a lot of pressure that comes with learning how to make people laugh, and it can be even harder when the world has developed a newfound sensitivity. Jokes suddenly aren’t funny anymore, and so many things offend people without even knowing why. So where does that leave comedians? Tim believes it boils down to your tribe.
“Saying it to the masses that don’t understand your comedy or doesn’t understand your heart behind what you’re saying can be confusing,” Tim said. But telling that same joke to people who support you: “You could say something that’s not popular opinion but they know your heart so they’re like, ‘OK, I rock with him.'”
With his clean cut comedic style, there may be some out there who find Tim hard to relate to. But with close to 50,000 followers on Instagram alone, clearly there are people getting a chuckle or two out.
“When you get to this zone and feel like you’re not performing, that’s what you want to feel. That’s what this pandemic taught me. Trying to make people laugh without seeing them laugh—you have to trust your funny.”
TIM SHROPSHIRE
Being in a digital world, it might look easy to tell a joke, put it on Instagram and immediately have a following. But Tim puts a lot of time and energy into not falling into the “Instagram Comedian” stigma, looking up to legendary comedians like the late great Bernie Mac and Sinbad. The husband and father of four compares it to being an online chef. He says anyone could make something look good but everyone knows that experience is always different.
“Comics who do commentary online have a better transition on stage,” Tim said. “They understand there is a rhythm and a timing.”
Something many comedians are doing today versus the old school way is adding encouragement to their routine. Back in the day, when a set was over, that was it. Nowadays, you’re able to go to a comedian’s online platform and hear encouraging words to get you through. On any given day, you can go to Tim’s IG and see his motivational messages he calls #MorningMotivationWithShrop.
“I love being able to encourage people when I’m on stage,” Tim said. “I want to be able to leave you with some nuggets and have the audience leave really full. You own it and don’t leave anyone out.”
That mentality will definitely help keep comedy, especially stand up comedy, alive and well. Now that we are getting to a sense of a “new normal,” Tim plans on hitting the road soon to provide the same laughs we were getting via Instagram during the pandemic. For him, it’s all about being genuine and the fans will come to you.
“You have to be intentional. When the young bloods get older and realize I was making them laugh back then, that’s setting up for the 20 years down the road.”
A king of comedy in the making.
Keep up with Tim Shropshire by following him on Instagram or visiting his website.
