Newport native Doug Key navigates comedy during the coronavirus

In the age of COVID-19, New York City has become a hotspot of national coverage as one of the places hit hardest by the coronavirus. It’s also no secret that it’s a prime destination for creative types such as musicians, filmmakers, visual artists and comedians with the phrase “If you can make it here, you can make it anywhere” giving The Big Apple justice to its reputation. This current situation is where Newport native and stand-up comic Doug Key finds himself in. He has lived in New York City since 2014 and since March his comedy career has been understandably put on hold. He also still maintains a connection to his hometown due to being the mastermind behind the acclaimed Rogue Island Comedy Festival that takes place every Columbus Day weekend throughout many establishments in Newport.

We had a talk about how he’s been faring these days, canceling gigs, his thoughts on the livestreaming trend, a few funny videos he put out during the start of the crisis and being optimistic about the fall.

Rob Duguay: Going back to March when the shutdown happened, what was on your plate in terms of your next comedy gig? What was the first thing you had to cancel?

Doug Key: I had to cancel a headlining gig in Connecticut and I also had to cancel a weekend opening for Mark Normand in Canada, which I was really pumped about. I’ve always wanted to go to Canada to do some comedy and it was canceled so that was kind of a bummer. I also didn’t know when my next gig was gonna be, nobody knew, so everything was kind of up in the air.

RD: How much has the vibe of New York City changed over the past couple of months during the pandemic?

DK: Big time. People are scared to take public transit, there’s this weird energy when you’re walking down the street and you see somebody that’s not wearing a mask. It’s hard to explain. In New York, everything is so close together as it is so it’s interesting to see everything being spaced out along with the efforts to have everyone spaced out. It’s actually pretty fascinating what they’ve accomplished, there’s a sense of conformity that’s happening in a good way.

People for the most part are following the rules and obeying the protocols with the goal of keeping others safe.

RD: It’s good that people there are being conscious about what’s going on and trying to take care of themselves and the community around them. Ever since the pandemic hit, livestreaming has become a major form of entertainment. A lot of musicians have been doing it to make a little money for themselves or to benefit a charity. Do you think comedy has a place in livestreaming or do you think it’s best suited for a podcast or another digital medium?

DK: I really hope not, I hope it doesn’t stay a thing because I think it would take away from the live experience that you can’t really duplicate. You can’t really replicate a live comedy show environment. There’s something about being in a room with a comic and the lights are shining down on the stage with everyone close together. That’s the one thing about stand-up comedy that’s going to take a while to get back to normal with people being in tight corners with each other. There are virtual comedy shows that are happening now because of the pandemic and they’re kind of a good placeholder for the craft.

I don’t think it should be something that should keep going forward because, again, I think it kind of does a disservice to the actual art form itself. It’s a good exercise for a comic to stay sharp with their material and it’s also a good escape for regular people to watch a comic work on new jokes. It’s easy enough for someone at home to watch a special on Netflix or Comedy Central, so there’s not a lack of stand-up comedy that you can watch. It’s the fact that people want to be in this live, virtual experience. I’ve done a couple of them and they’re OK, you’ll hear laughter through the screen sometimes and it also fills the current void.

RD: While you were quarantined, did you spend a lot of time thinking up new material or experimenting? I know for a short while you were putting out these videos parodying Rhode Islanders dealing with COVID-19. So were you constantly thinking up stuff like that to spend the time or were you letting these ideas come as they may and seeing what would work?

DK: The one thing that came from being stuck inside, and I speak on behalf of many comics, is that people are just finding other creative ways to express themselves and make people laugh, make music or whatever else. There are comics that have started a podcast or a web series with their significant others just to stay creative and pass the time. I’ve made these stupid little videos on people who don’t believe in social distancing in Rhode Island. There’s a comic who did a little project where she got one comedian from every state to be a “Covidiot” from that state and she asked me to be the Rhode Island one. She was kind of the muse for that idea and I just kept it rolling with a few silly videos but I think I’m retired from that character.

RD: What are your plans for the summer? Do you plan on just staying home? Do you have any other gigs that you’d like to mention?

DK: I don’t have anything right now, to be honest I’m a healthcare worker as a physical therapist at a nursing home. I’ve been working throughout this whole thing with COVID-19 patients so I definitely haven’t been as cooped up as many people were. I’m also going back to grad school at Bay Path University in western Massachusetts too so I’ve been taking online classes at home while working full-time and trying to keep writing comedy. I’ve been busy and the Rogue Island Comedy Festival is still planning on happening this Columbus Day Weekend in Newport. I’m still waiting on a few venues but if everything goes according to plan we’ll have our sixth year of the festival.

It might be a little smaller this year because of all the new capacity issues and what not. That’s pretty much my plan for the future as a comic.