PHOTO CREDIT: LARRY HAMILTON
After Episcopal
LOL
Larry Owens ’08 lives for his art. At Episcopal, Larry Owens ’08 was a presence on campus. These days, he’s a presence in the New York theater scene, comedy clubs, a new game show, and his first feature film, due out this year. In December 2017, TimeOut New York named Larry as one of their “comedians we’re obsessed with right now.” “The world is changing for the better,” he told TimeOut. “The hateful ideas we’re seeing flare up are old; but how we radically accept one another is completely new.” Larry’s latest gig is in the writer’s room of Paid Off, a new academically focused game show for TruTV. Contestants on the show will compete for money to pay off their student loans. “I love it so much,” he says, “because in addition to doing what I would be doing anyway — which is making people laugh — this is going to help out a lot of people and hopefully change the culture surrounding how we pay for education in this country.” The 2016 Hollywood Writers Report found that minority writers make up about 13 percent of all writers, and just 4 percent of minority writers are African-American. Larry is proud to join the ranks and bring more diversity to the profession. “When you think about all of the work that’s been produced and that gets broadcast into rooms all over the country — now I’m going to be contributing my voice to that,” he says. Last year, Larry had a supporting acting role as a college student in To Dust, a feature film starring Matthew Broderick, which he expects will be on the festival circuit this year. But Larry didn’t always see a future in show business.
At Episcopal, “I was in every club. I was on so many committees,” he says. Larry was involved in artistic groups like Daemon, a capella, and choir, but also the EHS Young Republicans and the Service Council. “I wanted to make the most of being exposed to all different types of people,” he says. He saw himself pursuing a career with an academic focus. All that changed one summer break during high school when Larry attended the renowned Stagedoor Manor theater camp in the Catskills of New York. “I learned that I could take my art seriously,” says Larry. “It could be a valuable profession — not just a hobby.” His discovery did not come without reservations. “I had a huge conflict about committing to the artistic lifestyle because you hear about the starving artist, but it’s actually one of the noblest lives to lead because it is about creation.” After Episcopal, Larry continued to pursue theater at the School of Steppenwolf in Chicago, and then moved to New York City where he immediately began working on scripts for musicals. Larry’s “big break” came when one of those scripts, then called Fat Camp, made it to industry readings and was performed twice Off-Broadway, where it was picked up and renamed Gigantic. “That was my first experience with originating a role and having writers write for me.” Larry attributes his success to taking his career into his own hands and not waiting for others to give him opportunities. He works hard to make his art. “I had to open the doors myself; I learned about how powerful I am.” See Larry this summer at Joe’s Pub at the Public Theater, where he will be headlining his own shows in June. Paid Off premiers this summer on TruTV. EHS
THE MAGAZINE OF EPISCOPAL HIGH SCHOOL
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