Sam Morril Talks About the Return to Comedy From Lockdown and His Documentary “Full Capacity”
Sam Morril’s devotion to comedy is unstoppable. In less than two years he’s written, filmed and released two comedy specials that have gotten a combination of over 9 million views on YouTube and now he’s given us something completely different. This time Sam’s created something more than just a comedy special, he’s given us a documentary. Sam Morril: Full Capacity tells the story of how comedians survived and managed to keep their artform alive during the pandemic. In Full Capacity Sam and his friends are followed by camera man and director, Matthew Salacuse and together they document the challenges of the pandemic and their sweet return inside the safe haven of comedy clubs as they eventually perform for “full capacity” crowds. I had the chance to watch Sam perform live in Chicago this weekend and it wasn’t hard to tell why he’s such a fan favorite. Comedians often tell the crowd to keep their energy up because their energy is what the comedian works off, but what many comedians don’t realize is that the inverse is also true. The same way a teacher’s energy transcends and becomes infectious to their students, so too does the comedian’s energy to their audience and Sam mastered this. He was up there having fun, which in turn set the tone for the night. He told jokes, riffed on some crowd suggested topics, took a couple of (well intentioned) heckles from fans and spun them into comedy gold and even took a shot of the notorious Chicago liquor Malort, which bonded him to us in a way that only a Chicagoan could truly understand. In addition to seeing him perform live, I also had the chance to speak with Sam about his newly released documentary, Sam Morril: Full Capacity and this is what he had to say.
The Interrobang: Your documentary did an excellent job telling the story of how stand-up comedy and your entire life was affected by the pandemic. It was interesting to see the footage you shared from the very beginning before you, and many of us, realized just how serious things were going to get. Did you have a specific moment when you realized this might be more than just a two week pause on life?
Sam Morril: My gigs started getting canceled. I lost one weekend and then another, and then another but all the agents kept saying that work would be back in a month, and it wasn’t going to be a big deal. Then, cut to three months later, I’m like what is happening? Is this still my job? There wasn’t really one ah-ha moment. There was just a bunch of bad moments and then at a certain point you started to wonder if it was going to always be bad. I was so used to doing this on the road every weekend and then performing every night. There was no transition for any of us. It went from all to nothing at all, like the Frank Sinatra song.
The Interrobang: Almost every comedian I love was in this documentary and you even introduced me to a couple people that I didn’t know. Jon Laster was a real stand out for me. Now I can’t wait to see him perform live!
Sam Morril: He’s a great comic, so funny and always has a lot of wisdom. He’s a guy I like to talk to before and after a set and he has so many great moments in this. There’s that one part when I get off stage and I ask him, “how do you think they were?” Without skipping a beat, he turns to me and goes, “I think they were ready to go the fuck home!” and I was like, “Yep!” He has the best timing.
The Interrobang: Jon was also the very first comic to take the stage at The Comedy Cellar at their very first show after they re-opened. What was your first performance leaving the parks, coming down from the roofs and getting back into the clubs like?
Sam Morril: My first night back indoors was the first night clubs reopened in New York. I think it was April 1st. I did a spot at Gotham and I did a spot at The Cellar. Seinfeld was the first comic on stage at Gotham so that was pretty heavy. He actually went up before the host because he said it was meaningful to be the first comic back on and he was emotional. He was actually teary eyed when he got off stage. It was pretty heavy to watch Jerry be that emotional. It’s cool that he still cares about it that much.
The Interrobang: Yes, it’s like cutting the ribbon. There’s something ceremonial to being the first one back on stage. I get it. Besides being funny and wise Jon Laster also stood out to me because he got to be the first comic back on stage at The Cellar. That’s such an honor.
Sam Morril: If anyone reading this doesn’t know Jon Laster, he’s a comedian they should really check out. He’s so funny. He has a joke I love about battling addiction and how he used to drink at after hours bars that is just hilarious. I love that guy.
The Interrobang: I noticed there were a lot of low energy crowds in the beginning when the clubs first opened back up. Joe List made the observation that the comedy fans weren’t out in full force yet. It was more the people who just needed to get out of the house.
Sam Morril: I thought all of these comedy fans were just going to break through the walls, but a lot of people were being cautious, and the clubs were only at 30% capacity so they would sell out but not always with the people you wanted to be there. They were good but it took a minute. Did you ever have the experience where you run into someone and you’re happy to see them, but you haven’t seen them in awhile and you don’t really have your rhythm?
The Interrobang: Absolutely. It’s an awkward kind of excitement and you don’t know if you should hug or not.
Sam Morril: That’s how the crowds were. They were good, we just didn’t have our thing going yet so there was about three months of that.
The Interrobang: Well, I’m so glad you showed the awkwardness in this film and that you weren’t afraid to get personal and talk about depression and going through a break-up because that truly made this documentary feel authentic. What went into your decision to show the more personal side of this documentary?
Sam Morril: I think Matt [Salacuse] was pretty pushy about it and I very much wanted Taylor to be a part of it. She had so many great moments where she was so funny but then also says some really wise things about the pandemic. Matt also wanted to keep in Sam Jay roasting me, so I knew I was going to have to address everything. Luckily, Taylor and I worked our stuff out so that made me feel better. It was tough because I didn’t want to be indulgent, but I also didn’t want to be withholding.
The Interrobang: Out of all the obstacles you faced during the pandemic what was your biggest challenge?
Sam Morril: Finding other things to live for that weren’t comedy and finding alternate ways of doing comedy while also dealing with mental health stuff that I think everyone else was dealing with. I think we all kind of lost a part of ourselves in the last year.
The Interrobang: I’m glad you mentioned mental health. In addition to being a big comedy fan, I’m also a school counselor. You had a really funny joke in this doc about having depression that stood out to me. How long have you had depression?
Sam Morril: I feel guilty even saying it because there are people who have it so much worse than me. I’ve never been medicated for it and exercise is a big part of my life and it helps me deal with it. I see Gary Gulman’s special and I’m like, that’s depression. You know?
The Interrobang: Sure, but like most things, there’s a spectrum and just because there are people suffering from more severe cases of depression than you, that doesn’t take away from your experience. It’s great that you’ve found a healthy coping skill like exercise to help you. Have you ever seen a counselor?
Sam Morril: Yes, I’m in therapy and I have a really good therapist who I’ve seen on and off for many years. Therapy is good. I’m not saying everyone needs it and it’s not for everybody but for me it’s been helpful.
The Interrobang: When I’m working with students who are struggling with feelings of depression, negativity or are just feeling unmotivated one of the things we do is try and remember the people, places and things that bring them joy. What brings you joy?
Sam Morril: The things that bring me joy are my partner, my family, seeing a classic movie, a good meal and watching basketball. There’s a lot of things. I have such bad ADD but when I find things that fascinate me, I become obsessive with them. I love looking up weird statistics in sports. I can’t tell you certain things about yesterday but, I can tell you what Ron Artest averaged in 2004 with the Pacers. I’m obsessed with sports. I love sports and old movies.
The Interrobang: I’m obsessed with music and comedy. You had so many amazing comedians in this documentary! Who was “the get” that you were most excited to film with when you were making it?
Sam Morril: There were so many but because it’s New York, it was definitely important to me to get Quinn. Colin Quinn is New York to me. The wisdom he has not just about life, but the city is just ridiculous. I mean, he did an entire special about New York. Colin had a great line that didn’t make the final cut for whatever reason, but I loved it. It was during the pandemic when New York was pretty dead and I asked him if he had ever seen New York worse off than this and he goes, “Ah, yeah. When people used to get pushed onto the subway tracks and it wouldn’t make the news… Now it does.” Getting Colin’s wisdom and having him be a part of this was great.
The Interrobang: That’s awesome! For better or for worse the pandemic has definitely changed us and you did a great job telling the story in this documentary.
Sam Morril: Full Capacity is not only funny; it also brilliantly captures the devotion Sam and his fellow stand-up comedians have for the artform they have dedicated their lives to creating. This documentary is a love letter to comedy and for those comedy fans out there who are hungry for more of Sam Morril’s hilarious brand of stand-up, I just saw him perform his new hour in Chicago and he made the unofficial announcement that he’ll be back this March to film his third special so stay tuned! Woo-hoo! I can’t wait!!!
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Sara Dahms
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