The Marquette Journal

Name: Charlie Bury
Age: 22
Year: 2011
Major: Broadcast & Electronic Communication
Minor: Theatre Arts
Campus Activities: Mainstage productions at the Helfaer Theatre, intramural basketball, Improv Club

My Journey

In my time at Marquette, I’ve gone from being a 300-pound freshman without much direction or ambition to a 200-pound senior without much shame or humility. I use the term “senior” loosely, as my diploma rests mainly on the compassion of my remaining professors and a looming statistics requirement that seems to have been taunting and inappropriately gesturing at me for the past four years. Academics aside, college has turned into an amazing educational experience that I’ll cherish for the rest of my life. I’ve been able to form relationships, share experiences and accomplish goals that I never would have thought possible when I first arrived in Milwaukee. Perhaps most important, that drive and ambition I lacked as an 18-year- old finally surfaced, leading me to my passion and a career I aim to pursue for the rest of my life: entertainment and comedy.

I’ve played Shakespeare’s lovers, gotten nasty with stand up comedy in the Big Apple and studied the art of long form improvisation. But before all the fun stuff, I had to roll up my sleeves and learn some lessons about loss, resilience and hard work. My journey is living proof (well … still living by the time this is published) in the power of self-belief and determination. Just in case, I’ll go ahead and request R. Kelly’s “Remix to Ignition” be played multiple times throughout my memorial service.

The roads I took to get there:

My first big break arrived when the kindergarten circus came calling, and I was just the portly little clown for the job. After the circus parade rolled out of town, I decided to step away from show business and pursue other interests, until it was mandatory that I participate in my 6th grade’s production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. I was cast in the role of chunky Egyptian backup dancer without any lines. In case you couldn’t tell, being an overweight kid is a theme here. It’s not like I had a tortured childhood, but growing up fat definitely wasn’t easy.

Finding humor (unlike the 50-yard dash or climbing fences) was never a challenge. At a young age, I developed a knack for imitating voices and accents. I grew up idolizing John Candy, Chris Farley and other overweight funny men who reminded me of myself. As hard as those guys made others laugh, I knew that being that heavy really takes a toll on you, inside and out. My goal was to be the funny fat guy who lost all the weight.

After starting at Marquette in Broadcast & Electronic Communication, writing about basketball for DraftExpress.com and taking on a sports radio internship, I found something else that struck a chord in me. It was in “Acting for Non-Theatre Majors” that my professor, Heidi Mueller Smith, helped nudge me in the direction of performance.

The more I focused in on entertainment as a career, the more I began to appreciate all Marquette offers as an institution of growth and learning. From classroom conference calls with Henry Winkler to alumni like Michael Kelly and James Bailey flying back to Milwaukee from Hollywood — the extended Marquette family really pulls out all the stops for students (even the ones who drop lots of classes and are frequently on academic probation).

I knew it was time to get serious about myself. I was able to lose more than 100 pounds through a change of diet and lots of exercise. It’s going to be a lifelong battle, but my weight is never something I’ll let get out of control.

In the midst of all my excitement and success, I lost my uncle Mark Patton to cancer. Markie was the author of a humorous and helpful book that guided other people with his incurable disease, multiple myeloma, which he survived a staggering 18 years. Mark was like a father figure to me and the source for much of my comedic inspiration. Somehow losing Mark made making decisions like choosing honey mustard instead of mayo seem much easier. Mark, along with my late aunt Pat Dane, taught me that no matter how tough life is, there is always room for laughter.

Continuing the Journey:

Along with my partner in crime Michael Gau (who has played a huge part in everything I do) I hosted a professionally filmed stand up comedy event on campus and co-created a new campus improv organization, where things are very laid back and everyone is welcome to learn, enjoy and share in the art of long form improv. Mike and I are heading to LA for spring break, hoping to gather as much knowledge as possible, and maybe even try to holla at Lindsay Lohan or one of those shawties from Laguna Beach.

As far as the future goes, all I can control is how hard I work and the way I treat other people. I have an awesome extended family, a tight-knit group of friends I can trust and the best parents anyone could ask for.

I’m goin’ after it.

Become a fan of Charlie Bury on Facebook, or watch his stand-up comedy special on YouTube.

Tags: acting, charlie bury, college, comedian, comedy, drama, entertainment, humor, improv, new york, student, theater

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 25th, 2010 at 1:45 am and is filed under Carousel, February 2010, Journeys. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.