New York-based comedian Ben Miller is planning a blowout show in Oneonta.
Miller, a self-described scientist turned stand-up comedian, is touring the country with his “Stand Up Science Presents: Volcano” show, which will premiere at 7 p.m. Saturday, July 13, at the Foothills Performing Arts and Civic Center in Oneonta.
Miller said the exhibition was inspired by an artist residency he will be hosting at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park in February 2023 through the National Parks Arts Foundation.
According to a news release, Miller is the first comedian to be selected for the show, which typically features “painters, poets and Grammy-nominated musicians (and, you know, bona fide artists).”
“I just applied and I got it,” said Miller, 28. “I never really thought I’d get it, because it seems like such a ridiculous combination, but I think I was the only one who applied and cited all of their sources.”
“Part of your duties as an artist in residence is to give a one-hour presentation at the end of your month-long stay,” he continued. “A singer-songwriter might give a concert, an artist might have an art exhibition, but in my case, I had to write an hour-long joke about volcanoes in exactly one month. It was quite a challenge.”
According to a news release, Miller spent an entire month on Hawaii Island, exploring national parks and learning about Hawaiian science, culture and history from volcanologists, entomologists, archaeologists and local Hawaiians.
Miller, who spends most nights watching the flames of Kilauea, the roaring lava lake at Halemaumau Crater, also writes jokes, said the sophisticated show debuted in the spring.
“I was on the road with[my previous show]The Science Comedy Hour until last March,” he says, “and in the little time I had off the road I was back in New York writing volcano jokes, and then in April I started doing a full-fledged volcano show.”
According to the release, “Volcano” builds on Miller’s “experience with his previous Science Comedy Hour, which toured 50 cities across the U.S. and Europe, as well as a sold-out run of 23 shows at the 2022 Edinburgh Fringe Festival.”
Miller said the July 13 performance will mark the band’s return to Oneonta.
“Some of the comedians I worked with in New York did shows at the Foothills and had a great time, so I reached out to them,” he says, “but I’d actually performed at the A.J. Reid Science (Discovery) Center in Oneonta before, which was a really cool, fun science center.”
Miller said the impetus to combine his two loves, science and comedy, was born out of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I’ve always had a deep love and passion for science and I’ve definitely pursued it academically for a long time,” he said, “but to be honest, for the first five or six years of my comedy career, I kept the science and comedy separate. I was a little scared to talk about it and thought people would call me pretentious or unrelatable and boo me off the stage.
“During lockdown I started to realise that this makes me a bit unique,” Miller continued. “One of the fun things about comedy is that you can speak to the masses about things that you might be scared to talk about and make it accessible and funny.”
Miller holds a degree in Materials Science and Engineering from Columbia University.
Miller said the show is “obviously rated R” and therefore not suitable for children or families.
“But[the feedback]was overwhelmingly positive,” he says. “No one got mad at me or threw me into the volcano. And there are no prerequisites — you don’t have to know anything about science or volcanoes to have a good time.”
For more information, Ben Miller ComedyTickets are $15 and can be ordered at foothills.ticketleap.com/volcano.
