Colin Armstrong will perform at Studio Playhouse in Montclair, July 25.
“There’s just this visceral energy from doing comedy in Jersey that you just can’t get anywhere else,” says comedian Colin Armstrong.
The Newark native didn’t initially set out to become a standup comedian. He was a silly and naturally funny guy who went to Rutgers University to major in history with the intention of becoming a teacher. He started doing standup comedy as a hobby in college and noticed its potential as a career once he began earning some money with it.
“I was just hooked,” he says. “I was like, ‘This is a real thing, a service: I can actually do it and pay my bills from it.’ ”
After a year as a comic, he still got an office job processing mortgages while keeping his newfound dream alive at night, with gigs and open-mic appearances. A few years ago, he quit his job to pursue comedy full-time.
On July 25, Armstrong will co-headline a show with Franco Danger at Studio Playhouse in Montclair. This event will be on the second night of the three-day Montclair Comedy Festival, produced by Collective Comedy; visit eventbrite.com. (Other comics performing at the festival include Joe Russell, Anthony Moore, Tim Rager, Hannah Krasnow, Dan Glynn, Pat Downey, Alex Kollar, Asante Morris and Asad Benbow.)
Inspired by Bill Burr, John Mulaney and Gary Gulman, Armstrong focuses on stories about his relationship with his girlfriend as well as his past experiences with mental health and body image issues. Although these may not seem like naturally comedic subjects, he finds that laughter is the best way to work through such heavy topics.
“People are more open to laughing about darker stuff than we are willing to admit,” he says. “As long as you know where the morsels of funny are, people are going to be receptive to it.”
COLIN ARMSTRONG
After six years in comedy, Armstrong aimed to gain name recognition by challenging himself to sign up for every opportunity possible. This ambition led him to win the 2024 Jersey Shore Top Comic Competition held at The Count Basie Center for the Arts in Red Bank.
“It wasn’t a quest on my vision board or anything,” he says. “I was just applying to as much stuff as possible to get stage time. I did a maybe five-minute set and they liked me, so I got a cool little championship wrestling belt. It doesn’t fit, but I get to hang it up as a cool reminder.”
Although he has traveled to several states around the country doing comedy, Armstrong always loves coming back to his home in Jersey City because of his camaraderie with other comics and comedy fans in New Jersey. He particularly likes performing at The Dojo of Comedy in Morris Plains, The Stress Factory in New Brunswick, and Uncle Vinnie’s Comedy Club in Point Pleasant Beach.
Some of his most memorable moments include participating in Chris Gethard’s 2023 New Jersey is the World Comedy Tour, which aimed to stop at each of the state’s 21 counties.
“Chris Gethard is a great guy and he’s like the godfather of Jersey comedy,” says Armstrong. “I got to do a few shows with him, which was really special and nice. It’s just very good, fun times.”
He noticed that, in general, Jersey audiences are well suited to the type of comedy and subject matter he enjoys performing.
“Jersey is more open to darker subject matter than if I were doing shows in, say, San Francisco,” he says. “If it’s funny, it’s funny, but it’s a very interesting dynamic of what (out-of-state audiences) will and won’t laugh at, for some reason.”
He says Jersey audiences tend to have more hecklers, which he is well-equipped to handle thanks to his quick-witted sense of humor — a skill that is on full display in the crowd-work clips and heckler responses frequently featured on his social media. He credits this talent to his upbringing in Essex County.
“Being from New Jersey is such a uniquely brutal experience,” he says. “I grew up with everyone making fun of everyone, and nobody’s not a target. If you got picked on, you learned to take that stank off you by making fun of someone else. It’s a no-nonsense background that every New Jerseyan has in their heart, so it’s something I’m proud to take onstage.”
Whether it is considered tough love or just a dash of East Coast grit, it is that unfiltered energy that keeps Armstrong rooted in his home state.
“There’s a little more aggression here, for sure, but that’s part of the reason I love it so much,” he says.
For more about Colin Armstrong, visit colinarmstrongcomedy.com.
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