Mexican American comedian Nick Hornedo makes his Edinburgh Fringe debut with ‘Watch This When You Get Home’ at the Underbelly Bristo Square Clover. The show has already featured as part of the Projectorfest, SOLOCOM and the New York City Fringe Festival in the US. A selection from this show is being featured in an episode of PBS's Stories From the Stage and will be airing on US television.
‘Watch This When You Get Home’ is an examination of romance for a generation that digitized self-reflection as well as a portrait of a young artist chasing the impossible plotlines he writes for himself. A painfully honest stand-up and storyteller, Nick Hornedo explores the adolescent crushes that taught him to treat every moment like a movie. From a terrifying first kiss in a recreation of the swamp from Shrek, to a romance that ends up with multiple kicks to the groin and to a climactic screening of a hysterical and cringe-inducing break up video.
Nick talks about his first kiss with a friend in orchestra class, he was completely inexperienced and desperate to get this over and done with! His friend, who was very experienced but with a conspicuously detached attitude toward sex, offers to make out with him after school. They sneak to the green room behind the auditorium and kiss before getting walked in on by a teacher. The initial excitement of the kiss is deflated after Nick’s friend acts like it never happened...
Hornedo has so much main character energy that when he was in high school, he broke up with his girlfriend Ellie by making her a movie. He thought handing her an SD card and saying “watch this when you get home” would be romantic! Instead, she thought it was psychotic. Ten years later, Nick and his ex reunited to unpack what happened and, in the process, realise that they both yearn for the days when life and art felt indistinguishable.
Nick Hornedo is originally from Laredo, Texas but grew up in Indianapolis. He graduated from Harvard in 2019 where he studied both Government and Theatre and is now based in Brooklyn. Nick’s comedy has been featured in Vulture, McSweeney’s, Points In Case, Pod Save America.
Prior to pursuing comedy, Nick worked in American politics, creating social media content for Pete Buttigieg’s 2020 presidential campaign and Vice President Kamala Harris during President Biden’s 2020 campaign. When he worked at the Department of Transportation Nick got in trouble for tweeting a single peach emoji at a Senator from Georgia. It was meant to be in reference to peach farming but was taken as a thirst trap….
Nick Hornedo’s debut hour ‘Watch This When You Get Home’ will be at the Underbelly Bristo Square Clover at 2.25pm for the entire fringe for tickets go to www.edfringe.com
What is the last thing you do before you go onstage (apart from check your flies and/or check your knickers aren't sticking out of your skirt and check for spinach between your teeth)
I close my eyes, breathe, and purposefully forget what I’m going to say onstage. Because by this point, I know my material, and any last second fretting over tiny details is going to detract from my presence onstage. This is how I make sure the stories and jokes to feel genuine and authentically delivered the audience.
What irritates you?
Loud chewers. AI “art.” The rising tide of authoritarianism in America.
What is the most dangerous thing you have ever done?
I sang in my college choir and I once stole a giant stuffed tiger from a rival choir in the middle of their concert. I jumped onto the stage in the middle of their song and nearly fell and busted my face. Unfortunately, after I stole the stuffed tiger, several very large men grabbed me and threw me to the ground. Worth it, though!
What is the most stupid thing you have ever done?
I broke up with my high school girlfriend by making her an eight minute long video essay. I thought it’d be a cute tribute to our relationship and how great it was. It instead came off psychotic. I talk all about it in my show!
What has surprised you the most during your career in comedy?
How important it is to fail, and fail often. If you’re not bombing onstage, then you’re not growing. If you have an amazing 10 minutes that kills in every room, great! But no matter how good you get, you have to be humble enough to bomb with new material and workshop it into something great.
What do your parents/children (delete as applicable) think of your job?
My parents are very supportive of my comedy ambitions. But they’re also very relieved that I have a 9-5 job on the side.
What’s the worst thing about being a comedian?
Here’s my snobbiest take. One of the most important things a person has in life is taste. And when it comes to comedy, the internet algorithms largely incentivize bad, low-effort art. Crowd work. Inflammatory jokes targeting queer people. Plenty of amazing comics have found success on these platforms and that’s great. Josh Johnson and Jay Jurden are two examples. But I think the pressure to churn out content instead of developing good art has stunted many comedians from developing their own voices and stunted audiences from developing better taste.
I think you are very good at what you do (that’s why I’m asking these questions). What do you think of you?
That’s so kind of you. Blink twice if my PR rep is forcing you to say that. I think I’m good and I have a lot to learn as a comedian and artist and as much as I wish I was great, I’m choosing to be grateful for this stage in my career and artistic development because I have permission to fail and that can’t be said for veteran comics.
How much do you earn and how much would you like to earn?
Every month, I rake in a couple drink tickets and $20 in cash from comedy. For now, I’m sustaining myself with a full time non-comedy job. I hope to make enough to sustain life in New York City and my crippling pizza habit.
How important is luck in terms of career success – have you had lucky breaks?
Luck is a match. Talent, hard work, and voice is gasoline. I feel incredibly lucky to be performing at Underbelly this Fringe. So lucky that I briefly convinced myself this was going to turn out horribly. I can’t do Fringe. I’m not ready, I told myself. But then I remembered that line in The Devil Wears Prada. “A million girls would kill to be in your shoes.” Fringe scares you? Good! You don’t feel immediately ready? Great. You’ll make yourself ready and be better for it.
Alan Davies has said that comedians fall into two categories - golfers and self-harmers. The former just get on with life, the latter are tortured artists. Which are you – or do you think you fit into third category?
I almost agree with the tortured artist angle, but I would say that the artistic process can be a way of managing whatever personal sickness you’ve got going on in your head. I don’t see comedy as a way of healing my own personal issues. But I do see it as a way of living with them.
Who is your favourite person ever and why – not including family or friends or other comedians?
Since I was a teenager, my artistic hero has been Richard Linklater, the film director. His movies are both the most intellectual and the most unpretentious films. Mostly they’re just about people hanging out, trying to reckon with the passage of time and the human urge to create meaning out of it. My solo show is partly inspired by his films and my goal in comedy is to create stand up hours that make me feel the way I first felt when I watched his films.
Do you keep your drawers tidy and if not why not? (please think long and hard about this question, it's to settle an argument with my girlfriend. The future of our relationship could depend on your response).
I don’t keep them tidy and you know why? Because I’m spending too much time focusing on my loved ones to concern myself with tidiness. People with messy drawers are often the most loyal and generous lovers. That’s a fact.
Nick Hornedo’s debut hour ‘Watch This When You Get Home’ will be at the Underbelly Bristo Square Clover at 2.25pm for the entire fringe for tickets go to www.edfringe.com
PICTURE CREDIT – NOAH EBERHART
Sponsored post
