In a world where it seems that we’ve seen it all before, a true original needs to be recognized, and such is the case with one Sam Wills a.k.a. Tape Face. From his appearance on “America’s Got Talent” and “America’s Got Talent: The Champions,” this comedian has traveled all over the world from the Edinburgh Festival Fringe to headlining at Harrah’s in Las Vegas (his current gig, by the way). When I discovered that he was actually coming to the Waterville Opera House, it was an opportunity to chat with someone new on the comedy circuit that is totally unique, and after chatting with the likes of George Carlin, Ellen DeGeneres and Emo Phillips, I was anxious to possibly interview him. Inquiries were made and soon I was calling him at his Las Vegas home.

Q: I first saw you on “America’s Got Talent,” and when I heard that you were scheduled to appear in Waterville, Maine, at the opera house there, I thought it would be neat to chat with you, but because your performance is all non-vocal, I figured you didn’t do interviews. I was surprised to learn that you were willing to talk with me.
Wills: (Chuckle) Yeah, well, that’s one of the reasons the tape came about because I talked too much!

Q: (Laughter) How did you develop this persona and this act?
Wills: I started out performing at the age of 12. I was an apprentice to a clown in a very small town in New Zealand, so I moved out of home and started studying at the circus school. At the school I learned different things from juggling to tightrope to all sorts of random circus skills. But I also learned about circus sideshows, all the freak show stuff, and that netted me: all the sword swallowers and the people who can eat light bulbs and hammer nails up their noses, all the grotesque sideshow things. So I developed a show during that where I talked a lot. I was lucky enough in 2005 where I won a comedy award, but the problem was that everyone expected me to keep doing more shows where I did disgusting tricks and talked more, so I challenged myself to do a silent character and nobody believed me because they couldn’t believe that I could shut up for that long.

Q: How long did that last?
Wills: I lasted about 15 to 20 seconds before I ruined it by talking to the audience (chuckle). But I came back the next night and I was lucky enough because there was another comedian who said to me, “The only way you could do a silent character would be if you could tape your mouth shut!” So that was where it sort of came from. I found a bit of tape, put it over my mouth, I went out and I did a five-minute routine without saying a word. It went from there, originally it was a bit of a joke: it was a five-minute routine just to prove a point, then I wrote more material and I hit 15 minutes and 20 minutes and 30 minutes. Then I thought, “I wonder if people would watch a whole hour or 70 minutes of this nonsense?” — and it turns out that people do (laughter)!

Q: And that’s been proved with this residency in Vegas that you’re doing and the 1,000 shows you’ve done in the last five years.
Wills: Yeah, we’ve been knocking out shows, it’s been insane, it’s been very, very busy.

Q: Have you performed up in Maine before?
Wills: I don’t believe we have. I think that this might be our first time coming into the area, which is quite exciting. But the thing is, this country is huge; whenever we announce that we’re doing a U.S. tour, I get hundreds of messages from people saying, “Why aren’t you coming to my town?!” — and I’m going, “The country’s too big!” — to tour the entire country would take ages! (Laughter)

Q: Well, you are doing something original in the comedy genre and have carved your own niche and are doing a fine job of it, to boot!
Wills: And I’m surviving quite well (chuckle). I’m able to keep my head above water.

Q: Now, just out of curiosity, was it a challenge when you first began expanding the length of your shows while continuing not talking?
Wills: Umm, initially I think it kind of was, because I was really anxious if the audience would stay with me for that long. But because there are small vignettes it means that if you’re not enjoying one little piece that I’m doing, I’m going to move on to something completely different within three or four minutes, onto the next gag, which is quite nice. But overall, I think I was reasonably confident that people would go for it because, like you say, it was so different. And in New Zealand, especially, we thrive a wee bit on alternative comedy, so I felt like I could develop such a weird character there.

Q: I imagine that you, like so many other performers, must be happy to be out touring again.
Wills: It’s been a while since we’ve been on the road now, so we’ve been looking quite forward to actually be getting back out and doing some shows with some different audiences. I can’t wait, I’m genuinely excited.

Q: Well then, what can folks expect when you arrive at the Waterville Opera House?
Wills: We describe the show as stand-up comedy without talking, so if you like stand-up comedy, you will enjoy the show, because I’m still using the same format as the stand-up comedians. But we always tell the people that they can expect me to bring John Lennon back to life, I’m going to have a fight with Darth Vader, and there’s going to be a whole lot of balloons involved (chuckle).

Q: Oh, man, it boggles the mind (laughter)!
Wills: (laughter) Absolutely it does!

Q: Well, Sam is there anything that you’d like me to pass on to the folks reading this article?
Wills: Just to come along and have a great night out!

Lucky Clark, a 2018 “Keeping the Blues Alive” Award winner, has spent more than 50 years writing about good music and the people who make it. He can be reached at luckyc@myfairpoint.net if you have any questions, comments or suggestions.

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