episode twenty: corey garretson

In this episode of brave space, I chat and share a meal with Corey Garretson, Denver-based comedian, musician, and poet who describes himself as a “person who loves the stage.” I first met Corey through a mutual friend - I've since seen him perform music and improv comedy, but have never talked to him about his crafts. We start off with a lesson in Thwazz, or as Corey describes the language he created, “an endless mine of linguistic fun.”

Corey says good clean fun is something he tries to embody in all of his art. He also says that danger is the heart and soul of improv because of the possibility that it could fail at any moment; this is what makes it fun. He also talks about the beauty in failing live and the sublime feeling of being successful. Corey shares how his experience living in Chicago compared to that of living in his native Colorado and how that experience made him think about not valuing fame, but rather valuing his relationship with art.

Corey also shares the story of how Samba became part of his life, which is connected to him learning and becoming fluent in Spanish and Portuguese. Today he’s part of the Samba community in Boulder, CO, and he shares how united the community is in their love and honoring of Brazilian culture. Corey cooked us dinner for our podcast recording session, so I ask him what it is about cooking that he enjoys. He says that cooking is soulful and what makes us human; he says that his kitchen has the best energy in his home. I ask Corey about promoting himself and his shows and he shares his strong dislike of it and of fishing for compliments, and we talk about the paradox of not wanting to over-share our creative projects but wanting an audience to experience them. Thanks again to Corey for cooking us enchiladas! To learn more about Corey, check out his Instagram. If you're in the greater Denver area, you can see him perform with Glue N Stuff for No DQ at the Grafenberg Theater every Friday at 10pm, Makeshift Shakespeare at Voodoo Comedy Playhouse, and Grupo Chegando Lá every 4th Thursday of the month at The Laughing Goat.

Our theme music is by Noon.

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