BRATTLEBORO — Aaron Foster’s show is “very autobiographical,” as he describes the material.
“It’s about me,” the Reno-based comedian said in an interview. “It’s about my life. It’s about my family.”
Foster gets into material about mental health.
“My main issue is depression and has been for a long time,” he said. “My father was bipolar. My brother is schizophrenic. I get into what that’s like, having that in your life.”
One story involves Foster at 11 years old asking another neighbor child where he hides when his dad is in a bad mood. He said he believes there’s more progress to be made about talking about mental health in society.
Foster has been working on the “Mostly Jokes” show for about three years now. He will perform it at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 9, at the Hooker-Dunham Theater in Brattleboro.
“It’s been a learning curve for me,” he said of finding jokes that are funny but also “palatable and meaningful.”
Foster said he tries to set expectations so people know the material ventures into “dark stuff.”
Current comedians inspiring Foster include Marc Maron, Gary Gulman and Marie Bamford. They have shown him he can talk about issues that he previously thought were off limits or say certain things aloud.
Some may recognize Foster from his days hosting the 2015 home makeover television series on HGTV, “FreeStyle.”
As a child, Foster became a fan of comedy. He said he was shy and couldn’t imagine himself as a comedian.
While acting in Los Angeles, he did some stand up. In his late 30s, he felt he was too old. But in 2023, he jumped back in.
After opening a restaurant during the COVID pandemic, he felt burnt out. Having some social media writing and comedy performances under his belt, he fell back in love with the form and decided to give it another shot. This time, he felt wiser and more willing to talk about personal affairs.
“I write every day about whatever’s going on, whatever’s in my head and what not,” he said.
Any time he finds himself getting angry or frustrated, he tries to find the potential humor in the situation and how other people may relate.
His show in Brattleboro is part of a nine-show tour in New England over 12 days. He began booking venues after “a little club” in Maine reached out after seeing his work on social media.
“I just started to build around that. That’s unusual for me,” Foster said. “I’m an unknown guy, no real name recognition.”
Over the last year-and-a-half, Foster has been finding small theaters to rent out for a night. He conducts his own marketing and promotion. Most shows have been “fairly well attended,” he said.
This marks his first foray into the East Coast. He focuses mainly on small communities.
“Smaller towns are great for me,” he said. “I think I put on a good show that’s worth seeing but I think there’s a little less competition.”
When Foster can, he finds a local organization involving at-risk youth or homeless young people to contribute a portion of his ticket sales to after a performance. He also hopes the organization will help fill seats.
For the Brattleboro show, the plan is to donate 20 percent of all ticket sales to the New England Youth Theater.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.reformer.com ’
