Q&A with comedian Matt 'Whitey' White

Friday night, Dirty South Improv Comedy Theater held the finals for its sixth annual Carolina’s Funniest Comic competition and Matt “Whitey” White won.

Staff writer McKenzie Coey spoke with White about his strategy going into the final round, what he has learned from the competition and what he plans to do with the $1,000 prize.

Daily Tar Heel: What was the best thing about participating in the competition?

Matt White: To me, the best thing about participating in this event is that it’s almost a whole month thing.

We get to come out each week and work our craft, and the more you advance the more time you have.

If you get to the finals, it gives you the chance to actually develop a really strong 15-minute set. So I did it last year and placed third.

After that, I had a good grounds of something to work off of.

DTH: Did you learn anything when you competed last year that helped you this year?

MW: Yes, actually. I have more confidence, and I have developed a better stage persona. I have noticed from last year to this year I have a better understanding of what I can do on stage and how I can incorporate things just from looking at people and just being able to read the crowd.

It helps if you can read the crowd — if you read the crowd you’ll be able to work any jokes.

DTH: Do you use the same material for each round of the competition?

MW: This year I twisted the set a little bit. Instead of doing it in the same order as last year, there’s some new stuff I added into it from building the set.

There are actually a couple of jokes that I usually do that I didn’t do until (Friday night).

With developing my set, I got a chance to end with stuff I usually don’t end with, so it shows how strong the material is throughout.

DTH: What do you think is the audience’s favorite part about the performance?

MW: I would have to go with the laughter. Seeing how different people relate to other people and not knowing anything about them, but them being able to laugh.

Laughter is one of the things that relates people more than anything else. So if you can make people laugh that is a talent. That is a gift.

DTH: What is your favorite part about performing?

MW: Getting people in a better mood and brightening up people’s days. That’s what I like the most — just getting on stage and having fun with it.

It’s a rush, and it’s not like any other experience.

DTH: What was your strategy going into the last round?

MW: My strategy for the finals was to make sure my set had laughter throughout. I see a lot of comics that have a lot of down time when they are setting their stuff up.

Almost everything I say, I want it to be funny. So that way I got laugh, laugh, laugh, set something up, laugh, laugh, laugh, set something up.

And I have certain jokes where if one thing doesn’t get them, I have at least three jokes that go along with it that should work.

And my goal was to at least do better than I did last year and there were only two spots I could do better.

DTH: What are you going to do with the $1,000?

MW: I’m going to save it up, and I’m going out to Los Angeles for another contest out there. I have the chance to perform at a comedy store.

I kind of mapped it out so that if I win this it will give me a lot of momentum when I go out there.

Contact the desk editor at arts@dailytarheel.com.