The Improv Tx Comedy Network · The Improv Tx Comedy Network

The Act Out - S05E04 - Dr. Brian King

·50 min·3 clips

Brian says his Zac Sprung tribute set was 100% made up on stage after shaving his head into a mohawk-like look.

1. The Improv Tx Comedy Network episode centers on Dr. Brian King, a comedian with a psychology PhD who talks about comedy, touring, and moving to Dallas. 2. Host Duck introduces Brian King as a doctor of psychology and neuroscience, an author, and a comedian who also does seminars across the country. 3. The episode asks how Brian went from graduate school and office work to stand-up, road gigs, and a Dallas comedy life. 4. Brian says he wanted to be a comedian during college in Austin, Texas, but kept postponing the first set. 5. He describes hanging around the Velveeta Room on 6th Street and the Capital City Comic Club, where other comics kept asking when he would get on stage. 6. He says he believed he needed a complete, polished act before performing, even though he had not yet started. 7. Brian traces his delay through a psychology degree from UT, graduate school, a PhD, and a job he did not enjoy. 8. He says a walk in San Francisco past an open-mic sign finally led him to try stand-up when a friend asked why he kept saying he wanted to be a comedian. 9. He remembers that first set as awkward, three minutes long, and enough to hook him immediately. 10. Brian says he started around 2009 or 2010, and he started late compared with comics like Chris Rock and Dave Chappelle. 11. He calls fear the main reason he delayed comedy and says Roseanne and Rodney Dangerfield show that late starts can still work. 12. Brian says he was financially stressed in San Francisco, with student loans around $50,000 and monthly payments comparable to rent. 13. He says he defaulted on some credit cards and had angry calls from creditors while he kept doing open mics every night. 14. He explains that comedy eventually became more important to him than the job that paid his bills. 15. Brian says he only uses 'Dr. Brian King' on stage to distinguish himself, not to do jokes about psychology. 16. He describes being booked for seminars because people wanted a PhD speaker who could also make the material entertaining. 17. Brian says he loved life on the road enough to give up his apartment, put everything in storage, and travel for about a year. 18. He says he later moved to Los Angeles, then relocated to Dallas during the pandemic after comparing restrictions, family ties, and the reopening of Texas clubs. 19. The tone stays conversational, self-deprecating, and practical, with Duck prompting long stories and Brian answering with specifics. 20. This episode fits listeners who like comedy career stories, touring logistics, and psychology-shaped stand-up. 20. Skip it if you want tightly edited jokes instead of long career backstory.

As heard by us

A loose comic-origin interview that folds science, stage work, and grief into plain-spoken comedy talk.

The episode centers on Dr. Brian King, a comedian with a background in psychology and neuroscience, and that split life gives the talk its shape.

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Why you'd press play

A comedian-doctor tells you how science and stage work ended up in the same room.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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