Kaitlyn Hart
Life Editor
Noticeably anxious and hands trembling like a leaf, Daniel Shelden sat behind the stage waiting for his time to shine. To stand in front of an audience and tell jokes that would leave his fans in stitches. Being that it was his first experience with stand-up comedy in front of an actual audience, it is fair to say that he was a little bit nervous.
“I had a lot of jokes that were, let’s say, very explicit,” says Shelden, now an assistant lecturer at Idaho State University. “I remember sitting backstage as they were about to call my name, shaking visibly.”
As he went out on stage, he began to tell his first joke. As he finished the punchline, he prepared himself for the worst fate a stand-up comedian can think of.
“There was a moment where the audience was deciding to laugh or not, and I’m sure it was like 3 seconds and then I heard a couple of chuckles, but it felt like an eternity.”
Originally from Boise, Idaho, Shelden moved to Pocatello to attend Idaho State and pursue his dream of one day becoming an actor. Fascinated by the Stephens Performing Arts Center (SPAC) here on campus, the SPAC was a defining decision maker in Shelden’s choice to attend ISU as a Theatre major.
After graduating with his undergrad, he was able to move to the city of angels, otherwise known as Los Angeles, California, to go after his dream. Known for being the hub for struggling actors and people trying to make it in show-biz, Shelden persevered through his time in L.A by working multiple jobs.
“I worked at Buffalo Wild Wings, which was as glamorous as it sounds,” says Shelden.
“I also worked as a personal assistant which is just a glorified way of saying, “I know how to use email and my boss does not.”
While in L.A., Shelden also spent lots of time studying improv at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater, often thought of as a ‘comedy empire’.
The UCB is an improvisational theater and training center for young comedians, known for being the jumping off point for many headlining comedians such as Aziz Ansari, Horatio Sanz, Ellie Kemper, Kate McKinnon, and co-founder and Daniel Shelden’s personal favorite, Amy Poehler.
“Amy Poehler is one of the greatest to ever come into the game,” says Shelden. “She is hilarious, she’s got incredible timing, and she knows how to present tough topics in a very comedic way.”
Presenting tough topics in a comedic way has always been something that can make or break a comedian. Oftentimes, you find that the funniest comedians and the best writers are the ones who struggle with pain and tough situations in their own lives. This was the case for Shelden, who wrote his own play, “Nerd United”, that was performed at the Old Town Actors Studio in Pocatello, back in May of 2018.
“I started writing it in L.A.,” says Shelden. “And I’m pretty comfortable talking about this, but I was really depressed at the time.”
While living in L.A. and struggling with his depression, Shelden’s dad convinced him that it would be a good idea to start writing to get some of his thoughts down on paper as a therapeutic way to process some of his deep emotions.
“One page turned into a scene, a scene turned into an act and soon enough I had a whole play.”
Through this cathartic way of processing his emotions, he was able to write his own play and see it be performed.
Not only has Shelden written a play, he is also a part of a comedic gaming YouTube channel, “Nerds and Stuff”, and has a growing podcast called “Blizzlet: Hearthstone.”
Shelden was able to break into the world of podcasting due to a class here at Idaho State called, MultiPlatform Storytelling. This class that is required for many communications students wherein each student starts their own podcast for a grade.
“I took the class from Zac [Gerschberg], and started the podcast and by the end of it I was like, “This is really fun, I like podcasting, Let’s keep doing it!” says Shelden.
You can also catch Shelden and other local comedians perform for The Comedy Project at MP Dance Studios every Friday at 8 P.M. Students are admitted for $5.
“I believe that one of the main purposes of comedy is to make light of a really tough world,” says Shelden.
“Like life sucks, for a lot of people, a lot of the time, it’s really really hard. So what I like to do is observe a situation that maybe is difficult or hard to manage and then go, “Okay, but how can I bring light to it?”
