When not doing stand-up, New York-based comedian Sean Crespo reviews TV shows for his Web series, “No Prior Knowledge.” He has also written for a number of publications including Cracked, Comedy Central and the Chicago-based The Onion. Crespo recently took time out of his schedule to speak with the Northern Star about his acclaim as a stand-up and offer advice to those interested in a career in comedy.

Northern Star: You do stand-up. Has that experience been rewarding for you?
Sean Crespo: I’ve been doing stand-up for a long time. The reward is essentially the set that night, and if something comes out of it longer term, that’s great. But, for now I’m trying to just get paid gigs, which come pretty regularly, so that’s not bad. Then eventually trying to get a “Comedy Central Presents:” or a “Live at Gotham” set, something like that. Pretty standard.

NS: Would you say that’s your goal as a stand-up comedian right now?
SC: Yeah, I mean, that’s the immediate goal. The long-term goal is just to have a career that I’m proud of so that when other comedians talk about me, or my jokes, I want them to say something like, “I loved that bit.” I would just like my fellow comics to really like and admire what I do, because I work with so many very funny, very smart people that if they like it, I know I am doing something good. That’s kind of the overarching.

NS: Is there anyone or anything you draw your inspiration from as a comedian?
SC: Guys like Paul F. Tompkins, Maria Bamford, Patton Oswalt. You’ll hear the same names from everyone. That’s kind of the current batch of people I really love and would love to be at the same level as.

NS: You’ve also starred in a number of sketch comedy videos on YouTube. Has producing videos always been something you’ve been interested in?
SC: Yes and no. It’s fun to do them, but I’ve got a stand-up career and plenty of writing submissions that need to get out there and lots of auditions, as well.

NS: Do you have any advice for those interested in comedy, or comedy writing, stand-up, anything like that?
CS: I’d say pick one thing and do that. Be really good at it and don’t stop. I’ve kind of fallen into this through a combination of my different interests. But the best piece of advice I could give anybody is don’t do 10 different things; do one thing and do it really well.

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