Sparta Comedian Derik Zoo Has Spent His Life Making People Laugh

From the day he was born, to his days as a class clown, Sparta comedian Derik Zoo has made a career out of making people laugh.

Zoo was recently nominated for the Best of Branson award in the comedian category for his work with Dolly’s Stampede. After winning the award the past two years, Zoo said that it means so much to have support from his hometown community.

“Obviously it’s amazing to be nominated and recognized for it,” Zoo said. “But also since it’s a popular vote, it means the world to me that so many people would not only vote once, because you can go back and vote everyday that people will go back and vote as often as possible. Just to know that I’ve got fans and friends and family that are making that a priority, it really does just kind of validate everything I’ve went through.”

Zoo said the first time he made someone left was the day he was born, when his dad made a comment about him that made his grandma laugh. He officially started his stand-up career ten years ago, the stage is one of the few places in the world where everything makes sense.

“Sometimes it can be my therapy,” Zoo said. “It can be the thing that keeps me going. It’s one of the coolest things that I’ve ever had the experience to do.”

Zoo describes his comedy as introspective, as talks about his family and the struggles of being in his thirties. He said he enjoys working the crowd to ensure his audiences feel part of the show.

In his role as “Skeeter” at Dolly’s Stampede, Zoo said that they can perform up to four or five shows a day. While it does get wearisome, Zoo said soon as it’s time to perform adrenaline kicks in and he’s ready to turn it on.

After college, Zoo started working at the Vaudeville Cafe in Chattanooga. There, he honed his craft doing improv with the murder mystery dinner theatre. Zoo said that he made his debut ten years ago this month, and that he’s thankful to be able to do it full-time.