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Brick Wall Comedy
Brick Wall Comedy

Peter Spruyt

He treats chaotic premises with the patience of a middle school principal.

1 special · 2004

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Peter Spruyt approaches the microphone like he is about to deliver a quarterly earnings report. He wears the posture of a polite, slightly weary middle manager. When he speaks, he rarely raises his voice, taking his time to articulate each syllable. The comedy comes from the friction between this ordinary exterior and the bizarre things he is actually saying. He will treat an absurd situation like fighting killer bees in a volcano with the step-by-step logic of an instructional video. He doesn’t act out panic; he simply describes it, keeping his expression neutral and his hands near the mic stand.

Specials

On stage

He is a long-standing presence in the Los Angeles comedy scene. He is the kind of comic who regularly pops up in late-night television spots and character acting roles because his quiet, specific energy is highly distinct. He doesn’t command a club with volume. He forces the audience to lean in and quiet down just to catch his cadence.

Because his delivery is so subdued, he builds his jokes carefully. A Spruyt bit rarely wastes a syllable. The rhythm is steady, relying on the listener to slowly realize how far from reality the premise has drifted. If a joke doesn’t get a laugh, he doesn’t break form or attempt to win the crowd back with a smile. He just blinks, takes a breath, and calmly proceeds to the next sentence.

He was born in Ethiopia and grew up in North Carolina before training at the Groundlings. That sketch background shows up in his standup: he never drops the polite, rigid posture he brings to the stage.

At a glance

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