Aaron Foster Brings Mostly Jokes to Bend

“There’s nothing better than performing live.”

Despite being an introvert, that’s what Aaron Foster, comedian, actor and film director, says about the stage. In this Q&A, he jokes about mental health, oftentimes his own, and talks about what Bendites can expect for his upcoming show April 30.

The Source: What does a typical day look like for you?

Aaron Foster: Getting up walking my dogs, which I now have two of. I take them up the hill. We do about an hour of a sort of walk hike thing come back, coffee and breakfast, and then it’s either writing or trying to promote shows… I don’t have a manager I don’t have assistants or anything like that.

tS: Has self-deprecating humor always been a part of your bit?

AF: I think so. It has always been a part of my bit; trying to be honest, trying to do it in a way that is not, ‘poor me,’ but more of a self-reflective, like, ‘wow look at how I screwed up my life in this way and in this way and in that way.’ So I started trying to take responsibility for it at the same time and I was making fun of myself. I think it’s always better to pick on yourself than other people in comedy. I’ve made a lot of mistakes, so there’s a lot of material to choose from.

tS: As we all do at one point or another. I find it very introspective. Have you always been an introspective person?

AF: Good question. Probably not always. As I got older I’ve been kind of a late bloomer in a lot areas in my life, and I’ve been really fortunate. I’ve gone in and out of therapy and had issues with depression and anxiety and family members with more serious stuff like that. This caused me to figure out who I am, who I used to be, who I could have been, and under different circumstances.

tS: What are some of the main reasons your work slants toward mental health themes?

AF: It’s something very personal to me. I found that talking about it helps me. I would say that comedy is my therapy, but it helps me to talk about it, to laugh about it. When people laugh it really makes me feel a little bit less alone. I think it does that, hopefully, to an extent, even if it’s just for a few seconds or a minute or two for people. My stuff is probably not for everybody, but I find that people that do like it seem to really like it and connect with it in a nice way.

tS: How did you start stand-up comedy?

AF: I did stand-up briefly when I lived in Los Angeles. I moved there in ’04 to pursue acting. I worked as an HGTV host for 50+ episodes of essentially my own show. That ended then I couldn’t get another gig. So, the last six months I lived there, I took a stand-up class and did a handful of shows. I technically started in 2009, but didn’t really start doing anything serious until 2023. In that interim period comedy changed a lot… You got Marc Maron talking about his partner dying and Gary Gulman talking about depression and going to a psych ward…I saw all the stuff I’d always wanted to talk about, but never knew how.

tS: What does your writing creative process look like?

AF: I’ve written a few shorts. That to me has always been pretty straightforward. There’s one idea, limited number of actors… Stand-up I write with a group. It’s run by the same guy I took my very first stand-up comedy class from in 2007. It’s 10 national touring comedians have done late night spots and specials, and we all write together and help each other out.

tS: Who inspires you?

AF: Maria Bramford, who I think is the best comic working. Mike Birbiglia, Neal Brennan, Gary Gulman and Taylor Tomlinson.

tS: What are you like off-stage?

AF: I’m pretty quiet. I’m pretty reserved. I’m pretty introverted. I’m certainly not as much as I used to be growing up… I prefer being on stage and I prefer being in front of the camera… There is something about being on stage that gives me a certain amount of permission to engage in a different level than a regular conversation.

tS: What can Bend expect from your upcoming show?

AF: Hopefully a lot of laughs. By my count there’s at least 231 jokes in the show. It’s called mostly jokes for a reason. It’s not entirely jokes. I do what you would call autobiographical stand-up and storytelling. It’s pretty much about my life and experiences in my family and what not. I think if you have a little bit of a dark sense of humor and experience some of these things in some capacity you will probably have a good time.

Rapid Fire:

tS: Clean set or dark humor?

AF: Dark humor.

tS: Weirdest gig you have ever done?

AF: I’m going to say private club owned by the Waltons in Bentonville, Arkansas.

tS: Funniest non-comedian you know?

AF: Probably my friend Brian from college.

tS: Comic that makes you laugh every single time?

AF: Gary Gulman.

tS: Tik Tok or Instagram?

AF: Instagram.

tS: Directing, acting or stand-up?

AF: Stand-up.

tS: What does a perfect day look like for you?

AF: Dog time with my dogs in the morning. Hike with my dogs in the morning. Good coffee and breakfast. Then a good stand-up show at night. And a bike ride in the middle.

tS: What shows are you watching right now?

AF: I just finished “Shrinking.” I just started “Heated Rivalry,” which I like a lot. I’m told I need to watch “DTF St. Louis.” That’s next on my list.

tS: Last meal on your death bed?

AF: Pizza from Tony’s Pizza in San Francisco.