Demetri Martin brings his comic chops to Philly tonight in two sold-out shows

WHAT DO YOU do when you're an Ivy Leaguer who's halfway through law school and you realize that it's just not for you?

Go into comedy.

That's what comic Demetri Martin decided to do. How it worked out will be on display Wednesday when he performs two sold-out shows at the Helium Club.

Martin had a full ride to New York University Law School in 1995 after graduating from Yale University with a degree in history, but just a month or two into the first year, "I realized I didn't want to pursue law," he recalled in an interview this week. "It was a mistake, it seemed, but I didn't really have any other plans, so I stayed in law school through the first year."

Around that time, "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" was just starting to have studio audiences, and Martin called in to buy tickets. On the fly, he asked if the show happened to need interns. He was invited in for an interview that led to a spring internship.

"I had to kind of fudge it as a law student, but I got to see how a TV show worked and meet writers," Martin said.

Falling into opportunities that others might have to work hard for seems to be a pattern in Martin's life.

He had been wanting to try out stand-up comedy before he finished law school, so he did, and it stuck. He dropped out of law school in 1997 and kept doing stand-up, supporting himself with temp jobs.

"Saying jokes in front of strangers, half the jokes worked, and I thought, 'All right, this feels good. I like this,' " he said.

Fast-forward a few years, and now he's a touring comedian, an actor and a writer/performer who's done work on "The Daily Show," "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" and Comedy Central's "Important Things with Demetri Martin." He's also an author whose first effort, last year's This is a Book - a mix of essays, short stories, one-liners and drawings - was on the New York Times best-seller list.

In 2001, Martin got his first big gig doing a spot on "Premium Blend," Comedy Central's stand-up showcase. Around the same time, Martin also performed on Conan O'Brien's late-night talk show. Two years later, he was hired as a writer on the show.

"After that I didn't have to do any non-comedy jobs," Martin said.

Despite his success, Martin's path to comedy was definitely nontraditional. "I started kinda late, starting at 24," Martin said. "Some people start when they're kids."

Not surprisingly, walking away from a law-school scholarship didn't sit well with his family. His father died when Martin was young, and his mother thought that he should get that law degree just to have some options. Martin disagreed.

"I wasn't worried about convincing anyone," he said. "I had the audiences to give me approval or [disapproval]. When a parent dies young, you realize, 'I can't get his disapproval or approval. He doesn't really know what I'm doing.' You think, 'Who am I gonna live my life here for? I'm gonna just get on with it.' "

Always working on his next sketch or story, Martin draws his inspiration from everyday life.

"I think I'm probably in the observational category of comedy," Martin said. "I just spend a lot of time thinking about stuff, walking. That finds itself into my notebook, and then onto the stage or into a short story."

His current Point Your Face at This Tour also celebrates the release of his second book, Point Your Face at This.

Martin views his elementary scribbles as supplementary material to guide his stand-up. "I'm not really a great draftsman," he said. "I'm not trying to do fine art, so it's just fun to think with a marker."

Martin has done a bit of acting, showing up in "The Rocker" and "Taking Woodstock." He'll appear in the upcoming film "In a World," directed by and starring Lake Bell.

So, Martin's a comedian, writer, artist and actor. What's left? Well, he'd like to direct.

He's adapting one of his short stories, "Sheila," for the screen, and he hopes to be able to direct the film. Martin is also already getting started on his next book, which will include some short stories.

Martin said that he particularly looks forward to his stop in Philly, especially the opportunity to roam South Street and get away from the big-box, franchised world he sees across the U.S.

"When I'm on the road, I go to a lot of places and it's crazy how much the country has just become Target, Panera Bread," Martin said. "It's weird, you see the same things in different combinations. But in certain places, like Philly, Portland, Massachusetts, there are still pockets where I can go to a record store or used-books store."