Mike Birbiglia's Working It Out 208. Kevin Fredericks: How To Make A Comedy Show About Grief
Apr 6, 2026
Kevin Fredericks, stand-up comedian and author known for solo shows and books about comedy and marriage, discusses creating Grief Sucks after his brother’s death. He talks about turning painful moments into a one-man show, handling tears onstage, and refining material through failure. They also explore viral throwaway bits like Oreos and how church performance shaped his comic voice.
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Plan Emotional Beats And Allow Yourself To Cry
- Do plan intentional emotional beats in a show and allow moments where you don't have to land a joke.
- Kevin says Mike advised having at least four moments where you permit yourself to cry so the theater's reality can happen.
How Kevin Turned Recent Grief Into A Solo Show
- Kev started talking about his brother's death onstage within two weeks and later built a full show from phone notes and viral grief videos.
- He tried one early joke about Nia Long, shelved it, then assembled an hour after encouragement from his wife and friends.
Learning To Handle Hecklers By Letting The Crowd Respond
- Kevin mishandled a heckler early in his career by attacking an older woman and learned to instead marshal the crowd.
- Peers pulled him aside and taught him to get the audience to shame a heckler rather than trade insults.
