Eddie Ifft will test new material at Spokane Comedy Club with eye to new hourlong special

As he develops his latest comedy hour, “Walking On Eggshells,” comedian Eddie Ifft is making his way across the United States entertaining fans and experimenting with new material. Starting tonight, he will perform several sets at the Spokane Comedy Club.

Ifft’s 3-year-old daughter inspires more and more content as he’s become more sleep deprived.

“My goal is always to get a nap, and I’ve never gotten one in three years – the only place I sleep right now is airplanes,” Ifft said. “You wake up with scoliosis and the worst neck pain you could possibly feel … but I just won’t break down and get one of those neck pillows; I refuse to look like a linebacker from the 1970s.”

Ifft tries to stay out of politics to a certain extent – he doesn’t mention President Trump. But, he believes that comedy has and should have a place in politics.

“I think comedy is an amazing form of democracy,” Ifft said. “Satire is a way to attack political establishments when you don’t have any power.”

The video below contains strong language.

While he believes in using satire as a form of activism and isn’t afraid to get involved, he increasingly feels that some other aspects of the social-political arena are creatively stifling.

“People come out and see your show, and they’re like ‘wow that was offensive, that was racist, that was sexist.’ They don’t realize that you’re molding the joke to where it’s not offensive, where it’s really funny,” Ifft said. “It takes a lot of work to get it there.”

As you might have guessed from the developing comedy hour’s title, Ifft’s main focus will be on trying to express some of what he and other comedians have been adapting to as political correctness becomes more prevalent. The new hour will be completed in early 2019, most likely on the 15-hour plane ride that Ifft takes to Australia every year before he starts his comedy circuit.

“I’m tired of walking on eggshells,” Ifft said. “I got into this to tell jokes – jokes have always been offensive.”

Ifft explained that the greater part of a comedian’s writing process is wrapped up in testing material on live audiences.

“I’m using the audience as a sounding board,” Ifft said. You “find the points of humor” and take the reliable bits back to the writing board. But recently, even for well-meaning comics, that comedy-creative process has become more difficult to navigate.

For Ifft, the boundary between funny and offensive can either be too subjective for comfort or a motivating challenge.

“I’ve always found what people find offensive interesting. I always try to take people down a road where they’re like ‘I can’t believe he’s going here’ and then get them to laugh at it so then they’re going ‘I can’t believe I’m laughing at this.’ ”

Ifft enjoys the challenge.

“Making people laugh is easy. Making people laugh at things they don’t want to laugh at is hard.”