TROY - Aaron David Ward feels his mission as a stand-up comic is "To offer myself up as an object of laughter. I want the audience to think 'Thank God I'm not related to that guy.' I figure if they can laugh at my problems, they will feel better about their own lives."

Comic not offended if you laugh at him

Aaron David Ward

EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the second in a series of interviews with the comics who will perform at "Comedy Relief for the Homeless," to be held at the Schacht Fine Arts Center, Russell Sage College, Troy, on Sunday, June 12, starting at 4 p.m. The event is a benefit for Joseph's Shelter in Troy, and the media sponsors are WNYT NewsChannel 13 and The Record. Reserved seating is $35, $25 for students, and general admission $20, $14 for students. Reservations are available at 272-2544, ext. 15. Tickets are also available at all KeyBank branches.

By Bob Goepfert for The Troy Record

First published: Thursday, April 14, 2005

TROY - Aaron David Ward feels his mission as a stand-up comic is "To offer myself up as an object of laughter. I want the audience to think 'Thank God I'm not related to that guy.' I figure if they can laugh at my problems, they will feel better about their own lives."

You have to realize that Ward's problems are not the run-of-the mill type - dealing with parking spaces, missed airline connections or confusing the hemorrhoid lotion for the toothpaste. This guy has serious issues.

To begin with, four years ago Ward was diagnosed as being obsessive-compulsive. And we're not talking a person who has merely has a strong need to be punctual.

We're talking Howard Hughes obsessive. He has a need to constantly clean anything and everything. He's reluctant to shake hands or touch a doorknob with an uncovered hand. This odd behavior makes social interaction difficult, but it's great material for his stand-up comedy routine.

Ward jokes about the fact that at 33 he has to live with his mom. "She had to go out and buy a new umbilical cord," he cracks. He explained that he is so conscious of germs being passed from one person to another, when he goes to the mall he pulls down the sleeve of his sweater to open doors. "Then I rush home to wash my sweater."

As bad as things sound, Ward says he is dealing with life pretty well thanks to therapy and medication. He has a full-time job that he likes and says he now leads two lives. "I'm very professional and focused at my day job, and in the evenings, when I'm onstage, I can be as eccentric as I want."

Professionally, his life is going fine, but dating, he says, is very difficult. "Recently, in a passionate moment a girl asked me to talk dirty to her, and I told her about her bookshelves. They were a mess." However, he said he recently met the girl of his dreams. When she wants to be intimate she whispers to him, "I have extra cans of Pledge."

He said he discovered stand-up comedy was cheaper and more effective than therapy about three years ago. "I had just lost a job and needed to rant. So I went to a local open mike comedy club. I don't know if the audience appreciated me, I have to think what I did was 99 percent crap, but did I feel good."

Ever since, he's been pursuing a comic career as a part-time avocation. His goal is to make a living as a comedian, but he says it is a difficult to earn a living as a comic locally, as there aren't enough places to work. He thinks of himself as still in the learning process as a professional comic. "I've been doing this for three years; there are guys around here who have been working clubs for 15-20 years."

However, he's been fortunate, as he quickly found a home at the Funny Farm, a comedy club in Broadalbin. "After a few appearances, they invited me to be the resident club comic and run the shows during the night. It's really accelerated the learning curve for me. Some people judge their career by how many places they played. I measure it by stage time. And I've had a lot of stage time in short period. Sometimes at the Funny Farm I would do six shows a week."

He found it difficult to describe his style, saying, "I think of my on stage image as a neurotic, psychotic geek. I'm a high-energy guy, and my material tends to be dark and edgy without being scary. I want people to think, 'That guy's smart, but he's not quite right.'"

Ward was born at Samaritan Hospital in Troy and was raised in the area. He went to Marist College in Poughkeepsie, majoring in Communications. His disability didn't hurt his school work, as he graduated with 3.2 average in college. He dismisses his grades, saying, "I was a Communications major. Put it in perspective. I got A's for knowing how to talk." Nonetheless, knowing how to talk got his several jobs in broadcast journalism, including a stint as a weekend announcer at local radio station WGY.

While doing radio, he got to interview actress-dancer Rita Moreno, who offered him an insight that has shaped his career. "We were talking about why people fail in show business. She said it was because too many people want to be famous instead of good. I've decided that I don't want to settle for good. I'd rather be great than famous."

To Ward, the most important goal of his act is to raise awareness of the problems some people face daily. "I want to give the audience permission to laugh at something they normally avoid thinking about. I'd rather have people laugh at me, and maybe afterwards they might be more aware of the real problems people face daily. The world would be a much better place if we were all a little more introspective."

This attitude just might make him the most appropriate act for the June 12 comedy benefit for St. Joseph's House, one of Troy's most important resources for the homeless.