Playing arenas ‘mind-boggling’ for Aziz Ansari

Since Aziz Ansari played The Mirage a year ago, he has moved his stand-up to arenas such as Mandalay Bay Events Center. “Parks and Recreation,” the TV series that introduced him to many of us, now seems like it would be holding him back if it wasn’t wrapping up.

“It’s a bit mind-boggling still,” the 31-year-old says by email. “We did this arena in Dallas and I saw ads for Katy Perry and Justin Timberlake and it still didn’t compute that I was doing the same venue those folks do. So I guess I’m more in the ‘This is pretty nuts’ mentality.”

Ansari is filming the seventh and final season of “Parks and Recreation,” which NBC will save for a midseason run.

“It’s going out on a high note, but man I’m really going to miss seeing that group of people every day,” Ansari says of the Amy Poehler-led ensemble cast including Chris Pratt, whose star also rose with “Guardians of the Galaxy,” the year’s top-grossing movie to date.

“I’m just trying to be around on set and not just goof off on the Internet in my trailer,” he adds. “I know I’m going to miss seeing them all around. That’s truly an amazing group of people to call your co-workers, and I’m trying not to take it for granted. After seven seasons, the cast and crew are really tight. It’s going to be a bummer to leave, but the show is going to end on a fantastic note.”

But he is also excited to move on to new projects, including a book. A real book, not the jokey bathroom reader of transcribed monologues so many comedians put out.

“Yes, those books are exactly the reason I turned down all previous opportunities to do a book. It just felt like it didn’t make sense for me,” he says. “Any ideas for essays or whatever would be better saved for stand-up, and I just like that as a form more than books or essays.”

So instead, he and sociologist Eric Kinenberg teamed up to add “a real element of social science” to an upcoming book about modern dating and how single life has been transformed by new technology.

“I believe I pulled it off. It’s a funny book, but it’s not purely a humor book. It’s more like a really funny social-science book, I guess.

“If anyone says this book is just my act transcribed or a cash grab, I’ll go (crazy), because I worked insanely hard on it,” he adds. “Eric and I designed a massive research project that took over a year. We interviewed hundreds of people from New York to Tokyo to Qatar to Wichita.

“I spoke with the top academics involved in love and romance, so it’s way different than just jokes or stories about love. We did something that I believe hasn’t really been attempted before, and I’m excited for people to check it out.”

Contact reporter Mike Weatherford at mweatherford@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0288.