Dan Olin was home sick one afternoon, bored and looking for something to do. To combat the boredom, he looked through the Netflix lineup and noticed a show about comedian Louis C.K.
At some point, during the hourslong “Louie” marathon, something clicked. Olin decided he wanted to be a stand-up comedian.
“Comedy is something that I want to do for the rest of my life – but it didn’t start out that way,” said Olin, a second-year math economics student. “It was a decision I made on a whim one day.”
Olin was chosen as one of the finalists to represent UCLA against two of USC’s best comedians at the fourth annual Laugh Bowl finals, a showdown of stand-up comedy that pits Bruins and Trojans against each other to see which campus has the best sense of humor.
“He’s very adventurous, a little reckless sometimes, always flying by the seat of his pants,” said Justin Loar, a second-year sociology student and Olin’s childhood friend. “He’s always the first to jump into a new adventure.”
For a year Olin devoted himself completely to comedy. He constantly wrote down new joke ideas and would try them out on his friends. The young comedian also frequented open mike nights and made the rounds at various comedy clubs. Olin learned what worked and what didn’t work on stage. He tried many different approaches to find his own style.
“I tried doing it drunk, once,” said Olin. “There was nothing funny about it.”
As Olin trained, he said one of the biggest obstacles to get over was nerves, which seems to confront all public speakers.
“The No. 1 fear in humans is not death; it’s being humiliated in front of a large group of people,” said Olin. “When you bomb onstage it makes you go back and question every time you’ve ever been funny. Like maybe every good set I’ve ever had was a fluke.”
Naturally, Olin has had his share of embarrassing moments. He recalled a particularly bad routine when none of his jokes was landing. As he looked out into the crowd of people who were not laughing at all, he had an epiphany: this was the worst he could do, but he was still all right.
Olin said he was cringing as he walked offstage, but at the same time was oddly serene. Nothing worse than that could happen during a set. As his stand-up progressed, he got used to the defeats as well as the victories, and over time his confidence grew. Olin said the good comics push through the bad times – over and over again.
Andrew Gross, second-year neuroscience student and Olin’s housemate, said he witnessed Olin’s gradual development as a comedian and noticed a definite shift in his progress.
“It’s really interesting to see how he’s changed – it’s really been the confidence,” Gross said.
Gross watched as Olin fell into a stand-up routine that was comfortable to him, and finding his rhythm helped him develop some of his hilarious material. The young comedian often draws on some of his own experiences to find humor, like a wild weekend with his friends or just a funny situation he got into recently. He said one of his best jokes was simply reminiscing about the movie “The Land Before Time.” Olin believes it’s those shared experiences that can bring up the funniest moments.
But even with his successes, Olin said he is careful not to let too much praise go to his head. According to Olin, Loar is his comedy Obi-Wan Kenobi.
“I have my reality-check friend,” Olin said. “He is my harshest critic, but when he tells me something is good, it’s good.”
Loar comes to many of Olin’s shows and offers sage comedic advice along with a decent helping of criticism.
Now Olin is looking forward to the future of his comedic career. He said he hopes to be included in the Fresh Faces show at the Laugh Factory, which showcases young up-and-coming comedians. He said a Comedy Central special is now his ultimate goal, something that he hopes the Laugh Bowl will help him accomplish.
But for now, Olin said he is just enjoying comedy. He said he’s found his stage presence and is settling into his own individual style. It’s a lot to accomplish in a year, and Olin said he’s enjoying every minute of it.
And as for the fear that used to bother him?
“The only time I’m really, truly afraid now is when I’m not having fun up there,” said Olin.