CD: To pushback on that: your stuff obviously does connect with a lot of people. You have hundreds of people come to Punderdome every time.

 

JF: Yeah. That’s the thing about Punderdome. And I don’t realize it, that there’s a very strong ownership that the audience members feel. I’m always kind of confused by it, ‘cause I’m like, “These people think they can run this shit! They’re telling me what to do!” When it first started happening, I’d make a mistake, and people from the audience would like, “No, it’s this way!” And I’m like, “Come on, man! Just give me a break!”

 

CD: “It’s my idea! I invented this show!”

 

 JF: But I think that I’ve gotta see the ownership as flattery.

 

CD: Well, I also think you relinquish control much more than a normal comedian. For most performers, it’s all about me and the thing I do. The audience only gets to react. Whereas you tend to set it up like, “I’ve organized this structure, but the audience is really creating all these things.” A lot of your comedy comes from you reacting to these unexpected things that the audience is doing.

 

JF: Yeah, I think I like that better, ‘cause I feel like that’s gonna come up with something more interesting.

 

CD: It’s never boring, because you have no idea what’s gonna happen. Sometimes people ask, especially about standup, they’re like, “How is it possible that you can just say the same joke a thousand times?” And I’m like, “Well, that is standup.”

 

JF: Yeah, that’s what it is.

 

CD: It’s fine-tuning a joke.