Vince Valentine on Playing a Caveman for 11 Years

Valentine in “Defending the Caveman.”

Vince Valentine is no stranger to Philly audiences: The performer has split funny bones as a contestant on NBC 10’s “Best Summer Gig Ever,” has performed at Philly Fringe, and is well known for his standup comedy. He’s also toured the country in the long-running Broadway one-man play Defending the Caveman, a comedy about the battle of the sexes, for 11 years. This week, he returns to the role at the Penn’s Landing Playhouse for a summer run through August. We caught up with Valentine to discuss how he keeps the magic in a solo show.

On how he got started performing
I always was a fan of comedy and I always made people laugh. We’d go to comedy clubs and my friends would say, “You’re funnier.” One day, a thing came in the mail advertising Camden County College’s comedy workshop, and I took it. I started standup, and six months later, I auditioned for a show and got it. I didn’t even have a headshot. I had heard they were looking for a new Caveman, so I went up to New York City, auditioned, and got it. It’s my 11th season of Caveman and I’ve been to Sacramento, Seattle, Atlanta, Chicago, New York, Atlantic City, and Vegas. I love coming back to Philly. I can really reference to the locals.

On why Defending the Caveman has played so long
The show has evolved, much like the caveman evolved. It’s so appealing. First and foremost, guys think they’re coming to standup, and women think they are coming to see a Broadway show, which they are. It’s a mashup. Guys in the audience can relate to me, and women can relate to the appeal of the show. People get into relationships and they expect things from other people. You don’t have to be married for 50 years to understand all the crazy stuff going on in the show. We all go through the same things, and we find a way to laugh about it.

On how he keeps it fresh
You can never repeat a performance. I want to say everything differently, but, as they say, you have to be in the moment. A friend once told me, “Your only job is to seek the jury of your own experience.” I can’t take a night off. I have to do my job.

On the Caveman 2.0 set
We’re debuting the new set that’s updated. The basic set was just a chair, a TV, and a few banners. We’ve really upgraded it now. There’s new formulations and we incorporated two cave wall paintings. It’s a really neat set. We constantly update the show, because it was written in the 90s. There was a VCR joke back then, and now there’s a joke about Twitter and Facebook.

On teaching that same Camden County College comedy course he once took
I love it. I’m actually teaching the same class at Penn’s Landing Playhouse during the run of the show. It’s Standup Comedy 101, and it will save people years of doing painful open-mic nights. It teaches people how to write a joke, how to break a joke down, and how to produce a show. Competition for the entertainment dollar is so strict, and I want people to go and put on good shows. I want people to see things live. I can be writing jokes for a retired school teacher or a single mom or a teenager: As a writer, I see the world through their eyes. Everything can’t be about me. My students help me as a writer and as a performer.

‘Defending the Caveman’ plays the Penn’s Landing Playhouse July 9th through August 30th. For tickets and more information, visit their website.