Alex King Sees Quick Success in Charlotte’s Comedy Scene

Alex King owes it all to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. He himself does not live with the genetic disease, though it was his experience performing stand-up comedy at a fundraiser for the organization that sparked his love for the art … an art he had previously shrugged off.

His performance at the 2024 LOL4CFF event, which earned him the Judge’s Choice Award, validated his natural talent and convinced him to pursue stand-up more seriously. Just a year later, in Queen City Nerve’s 2025 Best in the Nest issue, he was voted Best Comedian by our readers, confirming he made the right decision.

He said he was shocked to learn of his Best in the Nest win. He knew he was up against some skilled competition and he hadn’t even lobbied for votes following his nomination, which “made the win that much sweeter.”

It’s not about the awards for King, however, it’s about the crowd reactions.

“It’s probably one of the most fulfilling things that I’ve found to do,” he said. “I thoroughly just enjoy the ability to go on stage and make people laugh.”

King moved to Charlotte from Virginia in late 2019, shortly before COVID clamped down on the country. He began taking improv classes with Comedy Arts Theatre of Charlotte as soon as it was safe to do so and quickly became hooked.

In the improvisational spirit of “Yes, and…,” this experience led to more improv classes and eventually a stand-up comedy class taught by local comedian Jason Allen King (no relation). He wasn’t sold on stand-up, so he took a hiatus until he decided to sign up for LOL4CFF, which features first-time comics training with established performers before taking the stage for their debut.

While the experience was Alex King’s first with stand-up, he was able to use what he had learned doing improv classes to his advantage — remaining comfortable onstage, embracing the pause between some jokes rather than stepping on the laughs from the crowd.

King has jumped into the local comedy scene headfirst, producing shows as King Comedy Productions. On Jan. 21, he’s teaming up with Mike Byrd Comedy to host a Terrible Takes show, which asks comics to prepare their most unpopular opinion on a given subject or theme, then try to convince the crowd to join them in their thought process.

In other words, Terrible Takes is a place “where comics dig a hole then talk their way out.” Taking place at Seaboard South End, the upcoming bill includes Nathan Baker, Loic Adjevi, Jonathan Williams, Joy Surles and Caleb Troxell.

Trust the process

While some comics shy away from consuming too much stand-up comedy for fear of subconsciously stealing ideas, in King’s early years pursuing the art he’s been a big believer in taking in as much comedy as he can.

He’s a big fan of Rory Scovel, a native of Greenville, South Carlina whom King considers a master at making stand-up feel like improv through riffing. Household names he’s a fan of include Nate Bargatze and the late Norm MacDonald.

He also credits a book called Finding Your Comic Genius by Adam Bloom with helping him learn joke structures and tighten up his sets a bit.

King also believes an important way to get better is to surround yourself with people who are better than you. He has a few friends in the field whom he can run a bit by for ideas on how to punch it up or take it in a different direction.

Stage time is the best teacher, however. King goes to open mics to hone his material around three or four times a week and averages as many paid shows per month. To get those paid shows, though, he emphasized that you have to be proactive by asking for stage time.

That’s how the opportunity came about for him to open for Nashville comic Hugh Howser at The Comedy Zone in Charlotte. He thought his comedy style matched well with Howser and DMed him to ask if he was bringing an opening act.

He included footage of his own performances and asked that he be considered to potentially host if Howser needed him. The effort paid off and King opened for Howser at the Music Factory venue in August 2025.

King said he sets a goal to spend 30-45 minutes a day writing and coming up with new premises. He said his material comes from life experiences, often utilizing family and friends to add to his repertoire.

“The best comedy is writing material that only you can do,” he insisted. He tries to make his act as true and unique to himself as possible.

A perfect example was in turning his wife’s pregnancy into material. He joked with his wife that he was only going along with it all so he could mine the pregnancy and his impending fatherhood for comedy bits.

“Pregnancy is a very easy way to get an audience on your side,” he said.

Balancing life and comedy

King describes his comedy as an “authentic view of himself” that’s anecdotal and at times self-deprecating. One example from a recent set went something like, “I don’t like driving my wife’s car because there’s a stigma around Subaru. I feel it’s either lesbians or guys named Kyle who drive them. And I’m just mad that I look like a lesbian named Kyle.”

A recent flight cancellation led to an out-of-town Waffle House, where he ended spending more hours than someone likely should in such a place.

“I saw fights, relationships start and end, all while I enjoyed a Grand Slam breakfast at an ungodly hour,” he told me. “It felt like some out-of-body experience as I saw all these different walks of life come together. I ended up turning this into a bit about Waffle House and how they’ve built close quarters for hand-to-hand combat. No one wants to mess with a Waffle House staff.”

Still just over a year into his comedy career, King understands there’s a lot of ground between what he’s doing and becoming a self-sustaining comic. A touring act usually lives on the road for much of the year playing small venues to work their way up the ladder before the bigger gigs come in.

“I have a kid coming in May,” King said. “I’m probably not going to be on the road 48 weeks out of the year. I’m not naïve enough to think that I’ll be some headlining superstar anywhere.”

And yet the accolades have come quickly, and with Charlotte’s fast-growing comedy scene and the evolution of how the internet has made certain acts able to succeed from anywhere, there isn’t a ceiling to what he can accomplish in the Queen City.

His 2025 Best in the Nest Reader’s Pick award showed that all he has to is keep getting on stage to have his voice heard. And as long as he can draw comedy gold from his everyday experiences, the laughs won’t stop.

Read more: Steve Hofstetter Makes a New Home in Charlotte’s Comedy Scene (2025)