Even though he may not land a gig in every club that he walks into, Schlichting doesn't let those frustrated feelings stand in his way.
"I do a lot of open mic [performances]," he says. "It's fun. I do open mics in San Diego, Vegas, and a lot of other cities. I meet new people and stay in contact with them. It's nice to meet other comedians who are in the same position as me."
Although he has the potential to make it big in the Big Apple, Schlichting is weary of moving too fast.
"I would love to eventually move to New York. But I know that a lot of people move to a big city too fast and expect to find fame. I don't want to move before I'm ready - before I've had the chance to get as good as I can get," Schlichting says.
So when he is not performing on stage, Schlichting works as a substitute teacher and spends time with his family.
"I'm a real momma's boy," he confides. "My friends and family support me in everything I do. My mom is so proud...she brags to all of her friends about me! I have a great relationship with my family and have many, many memories to hang on to."
And some of those memories happen to come in handy when Schlichting needs new material. "When I'm on stage, I talk a lot about my childhood and past experiences," he says. "But I also talk a lot about relationships. Relationships are always funny."
When asked about his material and stage persona, Schlichting says he likes to "keep it clean."
"I'm very lovable, so I can get away with a lot," he says. "But I don't pick on audience members. I pick on myself."
After booking a gig, Schlichting has a unique way of preparing for the show.
"I wait until about 15 to 20 minutes before the show, and then I make my set list. I have most of my bits memorized, so all I have to do is decide the order. But I do like to throw a new joke into my regular routine," Schlichting offers. "I still get a little nervous before shows, so after everything is set, I keep up a personal tradition I established back in college and take a shot of Jack Daniels for good luck."
Schlichting says that he writes all of his own material.
"I like to use personal experiences and exaggerate them. I work chronologically and try to get to the point of my jokes quickly. If the audience isn't finding a particular topic funny, I obviously don't want to continue with that same topic for too long. So I just go right into another topic," Schlichting says.
But, like all comedians, Schlichting knows that not every performance is going to be well received by the audience.
"For every good performance, I probably have 10 bad ones," he says. "But you just have to be able to deal with that. Because when you do make an audience laugh, it's all worth it. It's therapeutic to make people laugh."
For now, Schlichting is content living close to home and traveling to perform. However he has big dreams for the future.
"Someday, I want to be completely financially stable just by doing comedy", Schlichting says. "I will leave Iowa and move to a big city and pursue my dream of being a headliner. Someday I want to perform at Caroline's in New York City or The Comedy Store in Los Angeles. And I would love to be a headlining guest on Conan [O'Brien].
"I love introducing myself as a comedian. I love getting paid to do something I would do for free. When times get tough, you just have to stay motivated. You have to know you're funny."
Be sure to check out Chris Schlichting online at TheHurleyAgency.com
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