Will Burke compares being funny to walking a tightrope, where timing, point of view and dignity are all risks in pursuit of laughter. He began as a class clown, performed improv and Shakespeare at Harvard, and trained with improv groups in Los Angeles including The Groundlings. He traded a Harvard pedigree for uncertain comedy work, accepting creative exposure, the possibility of crossing lines, and the chance of not succeeding full-time. His career path spans improv, stage work, television writing and directing for a late-night show, driven by a lifelong commitment to making people laugh despite frequent rejection.
Imagine walking a tightrope. Your goal is to get to the other side without falling. Below you - certain death. Well, maybe not death. Maybe there's a net to catch you, but it's not a very soft net, and falling into it will certainly not feel good. That, says Will Burke, alumnus of Harvard College and nearly two-decade veteran staff writer, now director, for "Jimmy Kimmel Live!," is what trying to be funny is like.
Making people laugh, both on stage and off, has been a lifelong pursuit for Burke '99. His comedy career started as a class clown in the hallways of the New England prep schools where his father was a teacher, and continued on stage at Harvard with the improv group On Thin Ice and the Shakespeare troupe he helped found. Then it blossomed in Los Angeles, practicing with improv groups like The Groundlings and auditioning for acting gigs.
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