Calling all 90s kids! On Thursday, November 17th, TCNJ students came to relive their childhood when Kel Mitchell performed at Mayo Concert Hall. Mitchell danced his way on stage wearing an All That jacket, a tribute to his iconic 90s TV character. Mitchell was also sporting a backpack covered in classic Nickelodeon cartoon characters, including all the Rugrats. The throwbacks didn’t stop there, after pulling out a bottle of orange soda from his backpack and taking a sip, Mitchell was ready to start the show.
Mitchell talked about his start on All That, Good Burger and his return to Nickelodeon in his new show Game Shakers. The show wouldn’t have been complete without Mitchell dusting off his Good Burger character’s signature catchphrases. Audience members came on stage to repeat that famous line, “Welcome to Good Burger, home of the Good Burger! Can I take your order?”
In addition to stand up comedy and Game Shakers, Mitchell has also been touring the country, producing concerts and giving speeches to encourage kids to follow their dreams and the power of faith.
VH: “I noticed on your website you wrote a testimonial about how your faith has helped you through everyday struggles and stressors. What advice do you have for college students who face enormous stress of a daily basis?”
KM: “I’m a Christian and I’m very dedicated to that. I feel like it’s not about me, it’s about Him, and waking up every morning and just being positive. Especially for college students you deal with a lot of stress. You’re trying to figure out what you want to be, what type of adult you want to be, what degree you want to go for and you’re dealing with people and living on your own and out of your mom’s house. It’s a lot of things you’re dealing with, but you have to understand, that He’ll show you the right plan and what the right thing is to do. And how He feels about you is awesome, and if you look into the word He speaks just highly of you and if you get that in your heart then you don’t have to worry about all the stress and all the craziness of the world and all those negative things. People will see your energy like they’ll gravitate towards you. It’ll help in your business, your career and everything.”
VH: You’ve been traveling the country, putting on concerts and giving speeches to inspire kids, what’s been your favorite part of your experience working with kids?
KM: “Seeing them laugh, because kids are really honest. When you try to be funny in front of some little kids it’s way different, because if they don’t laugh it’s like “oh man, let me fix this up.” But I do get laughs from kids so it’s fun. Kids now think my character, Double G, is real like they think I’m a real rapper with a helicopter that flies around, and they’re like “where’s your helicopter? Where’s your private jet?” so they’re like really into it, and they hit me up online which is really cute.”
VH: How does doing stand up compare to filming your show, “Game Shakers”? Do you prefer one over the other?
KM: “They’re both so different, the reason I even started doing standup was because I wanted people to see a different side of me and get to see me just very conversational. It’s fun, how we are now is how I am on stage. But then with a television show, all that goes on with the script and the different takes, it’s very different. But I enjoy both, I’ve been doing acting for years now and I’ve been working in the business for years so I’m kinda used to it.
Mitchell concluded his visit to TCNJ with a Q&A session and was available after the show for selfies, otherwise known as “Kelfies.”