The 26-year-old comic and native of Bloomington, Indiana, arrived in Chicago just last August and already performs at some of the city’s best comedy venues, including the Playground Theater and UP Comedy Club. The self-proclaimed son of “a great lady and some Indian guy I never met” brings his absurdist humor to Comedians You Should Know, a weekly showcase at Timothy O’Toole’s, on May 7.

On becoming a comic: The Comedy Attic [in Bloomington] opened about five and a half years ago, and it was this call to arms for every comedy nerd and sociopath in town who wanted to perform. I ate it hard my first two times up. The third time, I did OK. And from that moment on, it kind of by accident became my life.

On creating material: I go out of my way to not listen to podcasts or music for a while, and then I’m forced to entertain myself. In those moments of silence, my brain seems to flip a coin to decide if it’s going to go towards depression or comedy.

On meeting his comic hero: The first time Maria Bamford came to Bloomington, she had all the local comics come into the club and do a joke, and she gave people notes. I was probably two months into doing standup, and that’s still one of the nicest things I’ve ever seen a comic do.

On looking forward to summer: I’m going to try to do as many shows as I can fit in. I will spend a lot of time cherishing the weather and promising to treat it right so that it won’t leave again like my ex-fiancée and dad.