Skip to content

Comedian Steve Byrne Offers Respite from COVID with Laughter & New Movie

Sure, there are guidelines for getting out of the house, but do you know what there are not guidelines for? Laughing.
Byrne-Photo Credit- Steve Byrne Offical Website
Photo by Neil Visel | Courtesy of Steve Byrne Official Website

Sure, there are guidelines for getting out of the house, but do you know what there are
not guidelines for? Laughing. Throw on your cleanest clothes and move your sitting
location from your couch to the Addison Improv for a night of a different variety of gut-
busting with Steve Byrne.

This Thursday through Saturday (Dec. 10 -12 ), the time has come to break loose and let loose and Bryne will be front and center providing a much-needed release all in the form of comedy.

Q: This is so exciting on so many levels because comics getting back to work means people get to be entertained. We need this!

Steve Byrne: Yeah, right? It seems like we can only get back to work in Florida or Texas and maybe two or three other states, but it’s great.

With everyone doing “Zoom reunions,” any thoughts on a Sullivan & Son reunion?

We didn’t do one because what happened was, when the pandemic first hit, season one and two were on Amazon. And season three, no one ever saw because you can’t acquire it anywhere. I believe Warner Brothers and I are the only ones who have all thirteen episodes of season three. So I thought, I’ll show an episode a day on Instagram live and see how long this pandemic goes. I had a cast member on with me to talk about the episodes so in some way, it was kind of like a reunion. But not officially.

Pretty please put that on YouTube for those of us (me) who missed it! Have you done a ton of writing while you’ve been sitting at home?

To be honest, everything during the pandemic had been leading up to the release of my film, “Opening Act.” So, I was pretty focused on that.

We went into quarantine in March and in July, we were going to premiere at "Just for Laughs" in Montreal. And we were only a few months out for this big premiere and that got pushed back and then a few other premiere dates got pushed back as well. We figured, the hell with it! Let’s just put it on “video on demand” since this doesn’t seem to be ending anytime soon.

We put it out October 16 and much of my time has been spent promoting it because it’s an independent feature film and I’m the writer and director. I had to do a lot of publicity for it. I mean, pretty much every podcast in the comedy space known to man, morning radio, calling in a bunch of favors, and promoting on social media is how I spent a lot time. It’s doing pretty well though with reviews and feedback so for my first film, I’m really proud of that.

Since I know you were online, can you please read me two Tweets that you have saved in your draft folder?

Oh god that’s a good question. I don’t know if I should read it to you because anything that goes in the draft folder I think, ehhh I probably shouldn’t tweet that. OK here’s one. Oh boy. Again! This is a draft and not the finished product!

I said, “Apparently the only place white and Black people can truly get along is in every single ****** commercial on television.”

Here is another I wrote. Again! A draft! This is more of a commentary than anything. It says, “It’s a sad state of affairs when comedians have to keep reminding people that we’re comedians.”

Did you happen to find any time to cook in the last few months?

The answer is a resounding, all caps, YES! I put on a lot of weight! The good news is, once I got into my head that I’m going back on the road, I know I have to get into fighting shape. I was in Tampa last weekend working and now I’m going to Dallas so obviously, I don’t want to look like Tom Arnold. I want to look like Steve Byrne.

What has the vibe of the crowds been like? Are they laughing louder?

I think with the comedy crowd being gone for about nine months, which is an entire Grateful Dead song, the people coming out are people who want to come out. They’re being socially responsible with distancing and people are wearing masks. But I think once you get inside those clubs, people are laughing a little harder. They’re appreciating the fact that they are out. Many people told me it was their first time out since everything hit so, you’re seeing a lot of smiles come back to people’s faces. It’s a great thing.

Steve Byrne performs at the Addison Improv on Dec. 10-12, 4980 Belt Line Rd. #250, Dallas | 972.404.8501. For tickets go to Improv.com.

For more info on Steve check out his website, SteveByrneLive.com, grab his new movie "The Opening Act" on Amazon, and follow him on Twitter @SteveByrneLive.