Annie Lederman talks The Comedy Store, her Papa Roach concert epiphany, and all other things comedy
October 30, 2020 Andrew Buss Annie Lederman, Features, Interviews
If you follow comedy closely whatsoever, there’s a very good chance you’ll know who she is. In just the last handful of years, Annie Lederman has quickly been moving up the ranks, making a name for herself through her work, and become a staple of the L.A. stand-up comedy scene. She is one of those people that’s breaking out through word-of-mouth on podcasts like WTF with Marc Maron or The Joe Rogan Experience, as well as appearances on MTV’s Girl Code, We Have Issues, This is Not Happening, @Midnight, or Chelsea Lately. She also contributed as a writer to one of this year’s most talked about comedies, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, and even has her own popular podcast Meanspiration. But no matter how you know her, we can all agree that she is a force to be reckoned with in the comedy world.
This past Sunday, she was featured heavily in Showtime’s new documentary on the Comedy Store (which is aptly titled The Comedy Store). In her episode, you’ll not only get a more proper introduction to who she is and hear her background as well as seeing her work, but you’ll start to understand just how much she’s become respected in the comedy circle. There’s a phrase (which despite how it initially may sound is totally complimentary) which is a ‘comedian’s comedian’. This is someone who other comics will drop whatever they’re doing to stand in the back of the room and just watch. The sort of comic who is on the rise that you will hear your favorite comedians start talking about on their podcast or in interviews. And we definitely think it applies here. And even if you weren’t all that familiar with her before, just give it time. You will be very soon.
We recently spoke with Annie Lederman over the phone about her involvement in the new documentary, her first time going up at The Comedy Store, having an epiphany at a Papa Roach concert, Jay Leno giving her unexpected praise, what she likes about being in comedy in this moment, her fascination with Randy Quaid, waking up early to have to do interviews, and the future of comedy via drive-in shows.
I just finished watching your episode of The Comedy Store documentary, and first of all, it’s crazy how fast this came together. In the fourth episode, there’s literally references to the Black Lives Matter of it all, which just happened in June.
It’s very interesting. In the fifth episode, if it’s still in there – I think it is-, there was like a roundtable on the roof of The Comedy Store. And it was Mike Binder, Jay Leno, Joe Rogan, Whitney Cummings, Bill Burr, Paul Rodriguez, and me. Just like going at it. So I’m very excited to see that. Very excited. But we did that just very recently. Like the end of last month maybe? Or the end of the month before.
It’s crazy how fast everything moves.
Well, did you see that documentary about how they make South Park? That’s the greatest example. Because South Park is to me the greatest show on television and has been since it started. Because they’re able to slam you with these topical things. Whereas other shows… Like I worked on a show called Sugar and Toys, it’s on Fuse. I think they actually moved to Netflix and have a season 2, which I’m not involved in. Not in a negative way, I just didn’t write on. But our main thing was all of these things were happening culturally that we wanted to make fun of, and it was like “When the show actually comes out, is it still going to be relevant?” And thank God it was. It actually was such a good show. I was so proud of working on it.
It’s so crazy. I’ve found things like that happening to me as well. And going back to the documentary, when they approached you to appear in it, did you have any idea that you’d become such a big part of the fourth episode?
In the beginning I didn’t know. I think Adam hit me up. Adam Eget, the booker. And he was like “Hey, can you come in during the day?” And I love going to The Comedy Store during the day, because there’s always an AA meeting – obviously not during the pandemic – in one of the rooms, and there’s people cleaning, and then there’s whispers of the ghosts. (Laughs). It’s just like a really fun place to be during the day. Have you been to The Comedy Store?
I was supposed to be there literally the week the pandemic hit. I had to cancel my flight last minute and all that stuff.
Well you know what I was supposed to do?
What’s that?
I was supposed to open for Papa Roach, the band. (Laughs). I mean, I would’ve bombed 100 percent. I met them on a heavy metal cruise. I did a heavy metal cruise with Big Jay Oakerson a couple years back, and I just bombed my f*cking ass off. And it was so funny. As a comic, I’m sure you’ve spent enough time with comedians that you understand that literally, the humiliation is the funniest part. So I remember going onto the cruise and going like “I’m not gonna bomb, am I?” And then in my head I’m like “Well if I bomb on this heavy metal cruise, that is the funniest story.” It’s a better story than “And then I killed and Sevendust now follows me on Instagram.”
But I ended up befriending Papa Roach and I ended up staying friends with one of the drummers and the guitarist and stuff. And I actually credit them, I went to one of their shows at the Roxy like a year ago, and I had this really life changing experience. It’s so funny. I always say Papa Roach changed my life. But Jacoby, the main singer, the way he was approaching the audience. He went “We love you L.A.!” And he drew a heart with his fingers. And I went like “Oh my God. I have been getting onstage upset, like preemptively mad at the audience, projecting onto them that they are like everyone that’s ever hurt me in my life. Just this weird attitude towards the audience. And I didn’t even realize it until I saw Papa Roach not having that attitude towards their audience, and I was like “Oh my God.”
And the other thing they said was… You know how you hear all these quotes and it’s advice throughout your life and you just hear it at the right time and you get it? He goes “L.A. we love you. You know, we came here 20 years ago and all we got were ‘No’s. But the work starts at no!” And I started thinking about myself and I went “I came to L.A… I started comedy in New York in January of 2009. I moved to L.A. in 2013. I was doing Chelsea Lately. When I first moved to New York to do comedy, I had quit drinking. I had just been a bartender, like a go-go dancer. I had a crazy life. I moved from New Mexico and I quit drinking. Just put all of my alcoholism and my obsessiveness into stand-up. Was doing all of these open mics, busting my ass. And then two and a half years later, I already had gone to Montreal and the New Faces. I had reached all of these incredible goals, and I think I didn’t realize… You know you’re in it and you don’t realize that you’re succeeding and you’re getting all the things you want until later and you’re looking back. And in that moment, I was like “Oh, I didn’t get ‘no’s. I didn’t come to L.A. and get ‘no’s. I got a lot of ‘yes’s. Like the only person that said ‘no’ was me, myself. I kind of was in my own way.” So I had this epiphany, this religious experience, at a f*cking Papa Roach concert. And I went to The Comedy Store, which is down the street.
I walked down to The Comedy Store that night to do my spot in the main room. And what you’ll get to do when you finally come see us all is there’s three different rooms. There’s the Belly Room upstairs, which is a smaller room. It’s very intimate. Then there’s the Original Room, which a lot of people say is hard, but I really feel like in the Original Room I can really be myself. But the Main Room was the hardest one for me to get. It was very nervewrecking for me because it was brighter and it was bigger and the room went back further. So I walked to my Main Room spot from the Roxy with this newfound knowledge of how I was treating the audience, or how I was projecting myself onto them. And I walk in and they call my name – I think it was Ian Edwards – and the audience, I can hear them. I can hear part of the audience shouting louder than the rest. And I went “Oh my God. People are here to see me.” I didn’t even realize people knew who I was. And then I was onstage and I had a heckler. And he said something and I said “Shut up. I’m from Philly. I’ll fight you.” And he goes “We know that you’re from Philly.” And I was like “Oh my God. This whole time I hadn’t been, like, noticing what’s happening. And it just took one Papa Roach concert.
Anyway you did not ask a question that I did answer.
But I love that. That’s an amazing story. And I’ll tell you, I did not have “Ask about a Papa Roach concert” in my notes, but I feel like the best stories come from those unexpected moments.
The Papa Roach moment… And it really is so funny. I did Brody Stevens’ podcast right before he passed away. And I was telling him that because Brody was such a pillar of positivity and kind of like a coach almost of me. And I was like “Brody. I get it! Papa Roach spoke to me.” And Amir K, we kind of had this talk, too about positivity. So now every time we see each other, we’re like “Are you still positive?” There was a night where I got in a fight with him and he was like “You’re not being positive!” (Laughs).
But going back to your question, it was just an interview. It was “Come to The Comedy Store during the day”. I knew it was on camera so I put on an outfit that was good. And I went over and I did my makeup and everything. And they had me sit on the stairs going up to the Belly Room. And they interviewed me for maybe an hour. And I really got along with… I think that was when I first met Mike Binder [who directed the documentary]. And Mike Binder had his son, Burt, and this producer Jonathan working on it. And they were the ones who followed me around the most. And I loved them. I really got along with them so well. It was such a pleasure, the time hanging out with those dudes. So Binder interviewed me. And I remember thinking he kept asking questions that were… And I’ve done a lot of talking heads shows. So I’ve done a lot of… I did Girl Code on MTV and I did Chelsea Lately. So I know how producers want you to answer questions where they ask you a question and then you’re supposed to answer it with the question and the answer. So if they say “What was the first time you came to The Comedy Store?” I would have to go “The first time I came to The Comedy Store.” But with Mike Binder, he wasn’t doing that. And I was kind of like “What is he doing?” And I was kind of like “Does he know what he’s doing?” But then I realized that he was going to put his own voice in it. I didn’t know that that was going to be the narrative. So that was really cool.
Right. I thought it was neat how he did that. Especially because, I think it’s one of those things where the only kind of person who would be able to make a documentary about The Comedy Store that’s worth doing would be someone who was there in the trenches with it, if you will.
Yeah. And it’s interesting to see him kind of relearning about The Comedy Store, too. It’s cool. It’s literally cool. I didn’t know who some of the people were. Obviously, the huge people I know. I knew Joan Rivers. I had a show on E! the same time that she was on Fashion Police and stuff. I knew Joan, and obviously I knew of Joan before because she’s Joan Rivers. And I knew Pryor and all those guys and stuff. And then there’d be people like Tim Thomerson, who I’ve never heard of, who was like this breakout star. I had no clue who he is. And then to Binder, he’s like this hero. He’s like “How do you guys not know him?” I kind of wish that was in the documentary. Like “Why don’t I know him?”
I wish that there was an episode just about feuds. Because comics, we have such arrested development. We literally have like high school arguments. But then people get rich and successful and they’re having high school arguments, but there’s like millions of dollars involved. And you’re like “Oh my God!”.
Absolutely. And there’s a tiny bit of that in there. The Jimmie Walker story about Freddie Prinze shooting arrows through John Travolta’s door immediately comes to mind.
I know! It’s crazy. And because Eddie Van Halen died yesterday, I was over with Elanor Kerrigan, who’s going to be in the fifth episode a lot more, I believe. She’s my neighbor and just one of my really good friends and the funniest. She has so many crazy stories about The Comedy Store because she’s been doing comedy for like 12 years, but then she was a waitress there forever. And she was very close with Mitzi and she used to be engaged with Andrew Dice Clay. And she just has all of these stories and she really… I mean it was really nice of them to get more of us in the documentary, but they really could have just sat Elanor down. (Laughs). It could’ve been a one person documentary. But I went to her house and she had a picture with Eddie Van Halen and she was in her Comedy Store uniform. And she was like “Oh yeah. He came one night and he was wasted and he was like hitting on me.” She just has a story about everyone.
And that’s what’s so cool about The Comedy Store. Even right before the pandemic, there was a night where Chappelle was doing a secret show in the Belly Room. And the people that were in The Comedy Store, it was the most amazing… Okay, there was Leonardo DiCaprio in there, Paul Rudd, a bunch of girls from The Bachelor, Rami Malik – who apparently has a twin brother which I didn’t f*cking know until I was looking at two of them. I was like “Oh my God. There’s two of you.”-, John Mayer. It’s just so fun at The Comedy Store. It’s so fun.
That is a crazy audience. Do you find yourself getting starstruck still in those moments?
Do you know what I do… I have a puppy, so I’m looking at it in my puppy training terms. They always say to dominate you, the puppy tries to stand as high as possible, tries to get on top of the couch and stuff. So I feel like an underdog in this, so I just stood up on the bench and just stood taller than everyone and watched everything happening. (Laughs). I was just staring at everyone.
I think I’d have to be the same way as well. And as you listen to all these crazy stories about the old school Comedy Store, do you ever find yourself wishing you had been around back during the comedy boom of the 70’s or 80’s? Or do you think that may have all been too crazy back then?
I mean, I quit drinking when I first started doing comedy. So I don’t know what the coke and booze would’ve done for me back then. I don’t know how far in comedy I would’ve gotten. But I do also think that right now is such a great time to be in comedy, because if you look at what happened with this pandemic, this illusion of control that we all have does not exist. So now we all have to go “What can we do?”, without waiting on Hollywood to tell us when it’s okay to start performing again or waiting on these deals that they used to get. They made it because you’d go to Montreal and get a television deal. And now it’s not like that. Now it’s like you can Andrew Schulz this sh*t. And Andrew Schulz, he’s self-made. I don’t think he even has any representation. He just makes what he wants. I do feel like we’re all able to kind of create our own thing. And the Tim Dillon’s of the world. We’re all able to sort of have our own voice. We don’t have to necessarily have to follow any rules, which I think is great for comics. I think when you let comics go, that’s when crazy sh*t happens. Because we’re willing to kind of like say the things. But if we were all so dependent on Hollywood, we’re owned by that. We’re not able to say what we think.
And the thing that I think this year proved is the importance of a comedian having a podcast. Because now you could funnel all of your energy into that other thing, instead of just sitting around waiting for clubs to open up.
Right. And it was so scary in the beginning, because we’re all so used to… For me, telling jokes is like a trauma response. I just compulsively tell jokes, and I figured out that I could do this other job. And I would say that almost all comedians were just compulsively performing. Like we were performing multiple times a night every night for years and years and years. And we never would’ve taken this time off, ever. And now that there’s this time off to reflect, it was scary in the beginning, but then it’s like “Alright. Here we have this opportunity to really take control of our careers.” And then you have people like Rogan who, I don’t understand how he’s not a piece of sh*t. I really can’t understand it. Every time I talk to him, I’m like “Why are you not an assh*le?” He’s just such a good dude. And Whitney Cummings, too. Just so willing to take what they have and what they’ve earned and help all of us come up. And it’s just so f*cking cool. It’s really, really cool.
And it’s the people that you perform with that see you, that believe in you, that are seeing you grow. It’s not an exec that came to one show. And is basing whether you have a career off of whether they liked your seven minutes. It’s just so neat. So that’s the only reason why I wouldn’t have wanted to be from then, but also I do think you had an opportunity to get like really famous back then and be like a star, in a different way than you would now.
There was such a weird, smaller window, though. Like you had to go on Carson. Now there’s nothing like that, except for maybe Conan, who is also taking comics sort of under his wing and help getting them exposure.
Yeah, he does. I think Conan’s really cool. I’ve never met him or anything, but he always seems like very, very cool. I was really excited to meet Jay Leno. There are people that I met where I’m like “I can’t believe this!” This is me fully bragging, I’m going to be completely honest about what’s happening. I don’t give a f*ck!! So I go to do this round table on the roof, Mike Binder invites me. And we’re all getting tested and we all have our masks on, but obviously I recognize Jay Leno. And he goes “Oh Annie. It’s so nice to finally meet you. I saw your stuff and you are the real deal. You’re one of us.” And I’m like “I can’t believe that Jay Leno knows who I am and knows me name.” And it was such an honor to be in that group of people talking about things. It was just really cool. Even Paul Rodriguez… I used to live in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and Paul Rodriguez came through and did a show at the Route 66 Casino. And at that point, one of my jobs was I was a Route 66 girl. So talk about the opposite of having power onstage. I was just dressed like a slut and ripped tickets. And that was my job. It was like the opposite of being a comedian where it’s like “Here is my word and my take on life.” So I had been the ticket girl for his show. So it was so cool to see him and be sitting next to him and talking about the history of comedy. It was really neat.
And the thing is, so many people do view comedians as just being sort of isolated and competitive. Not a lot of people know about sort of the love and the bond that is also there, especially at the point that Leno is at.
I also feel like the competitiveness, it goes away with more success… I hope! I think it’s the same as just growing older in life. As you’re growing older, you’re just gaining knowledge I guess that’s the analogy. So instead of gaining success, you’re gaining the knowledge of growing older. Some people they kind of fold inward and become sort of smaller. And then some people when they get older, they bloom out. And I think that the majority of people with success in their careers, they bloom out. They get more open. Because they go “Oh, I’m not living paycheck to paycheck. This isn’t a question of whether I’m going to eat anymore. This is my job, and now I can sort of have the time to work with other people and help other people come up.” Does that make sense?
It definitely does. And the thing that I find interesting as well is the fact that you’ve talked about before how you had no idea just how important or influential The Comedy Store was and what sort of sacred ground it was before you started playing there.
I just thought it was a club. It’s so funny now, knowing what a big deal it is. I just started doing comedy in New York… Hold on. My dog’s peeing on the carpet. Well, not on the carpet. But on the tiles. Hold on. Oh my God. This puppy is so cute.
I saw him on your Instagram. He’s adorable!
Oh he’s so cute! I love him so much! I haven’t named him yet, because I’m like “I don’t want to do him a disservice.” I’m thinking Randy after my favorite Quaid. Is there anyone funnier or crazier than Randy Quaid?
He’s certainly entertaining these days.
He’s just out of his damn mind. And I love to be entertained.
Have you met him yet?
I never have, but he follows me on Twitter. And my dad has been using Randy Quaid as a punchline my whole life. Just for some reason, we always bring it back to Randy Quaid. So when he followed me – I have no clue, I think I was retweeting him, ironically but he didn’t realize it and he followed me back -, I have a whole video of me calling my dad to tell him. “Dad. Guess what!” I made it. That’s how it was when Pat Sajak followed me. “Pat Sajak follows me!”
But yeah, so I didn’t really know [about The Comedy Store]. So I started doing comedy in New York, and all I did was just do open mics all the time. I worked during the day as a waitress, I’d get off of work, I’d squeeze yoga in, and we all just had this little network around. “Alright, I’ll sign you up here. You sign me up there,” and we would just make sure we could do as many open mics a night as possible. So I was just immersed in it, I had no clue what was happening in Los Angeles. I had no clue. And I knew about Pryor and them, but I didn’t know that they came from The Comedy Store. I just didn’t know. To me, The Comedy Store was a club, but I just didn’t know that it was this amazing, historical place. I just had no clue. So when I came to L.A., I just went “Can I get up?” And it was closed. There was no one there. So I was like “Alright.” So the next time I came into town, I don’t know if I had moved there yet or was thinking about moving there, but I had been opening for Marc Maron. And I had just done Montreal, and I was doing panel on Chelsea Lately. And then Marc recommended me to Tommy, who was the booker at the time. And he was like “Come by on Monday and we’ll see you perform.” Because I just wanted to get spots. I mean, just the currency for a comic coming up is stage time. That’s all you want. Because you can’t sit home and write and become a good comic. You just can’t. It’s just all about the time onstage, and the learning, and the failing, and the changing one little word or whatever. I was desperate. I would do anything for stage time… Well, not anything. (Laughs). Not like that!… But I was just really looking for stage time.
And Marc was like “Oh, I’ll rec you over at The Comedy Store.” So when I did my audition… I’m trying to remember my set. It was a five minute set, and I was just in the back of The Comedy Store pacing and trying to think about what my jokes were. Regular nerves. And someone came up and was like “Don’t be nervous. Just treat it like a regular set. And I was like “It is… What’re you talking about?” And then I did my performance and I got passed right away. So once I got passed, I just thought “Oh of course I got passed. I’m a comic and I work a lot. Why would I not get passed at this club?” And then when every one hated me, I went “I wonder why every one hates me?” And then I went “Oh. Because they spent a lot of time trying to get passed.” (Laughs). And I just had a very quick trajectory, which is very flattering. And looking back, I didn’t realize what a big deal that was. I mean, I’m flattered and honored and I think I fit in there so well.
I realized it when I was coming to park in the parking lot, and the guy working the parking lot was like “You can’t park here.” And I was like “Oh, I think I can. Tommy said I could.” And he was like “No he didn’t.” And I said “Are you sure??” And he was like “Alright, go in and talk to him. But you’re not supposed to park back here.” So then later I come back out after talking to Tommy and the guy in the parking lot goes “Oh, I didn’t know you were passed as a paid regular. Why didn’t you tell me that?” And I was like “Oh, because I wanted this moment to happen.” I didn’t know what being passed meant. I had no clue. And that’s when I realized it. I was like “Oh shit. This is a big deal.”
And it being so close to Halloween, I’ve got to ask have you encountered anything haunted there?
I have not encountered any ghosts or anything. But I believe it. It’s a creaky ass building. There’s wind blowing when there’s no windows. And you’re like “Where is this draft coming from?” But I always want Jeff Scott, the pianist, I always want him to take me on a ghost tour. But he’s said that since the renovations, he hasn’t seen any of the ghosts. They’ve gotta still be there. They renovate it and they leave? That’s how annoying hammers are? Even the ghosts leave. They started too early in the morning. They’re like “We’re comics! We sleep ‘til noon.”
(Laughs). It’s always interesting when I’m doing an interview with a comic and it’s like 7 or 8 A.M. for them. I’m always thinking “You can’t be enjoying being up this early to talk to me.”
I mean it’s so crazy. Tomorrow I’m doing an interview with Larry the Cable Guy on his Sirius show, and it’s like 8 in the morning. So I’m like “Wow. This will be interesting.” But you know what I realized? I used to panic about that. “I’m going to be too tired. I’m not going to be able to do well.” And those are the times when I get myself into a panic and I can’t sleep and then it’s worse. And then I realized “You know what? Just give yourself this, Annie. That you are gonna be funny no matter what. You know how to be funny. So just be in the moment and just be how you feel. If you’re tired, you’re still gonna get through it.” So I’ve kind of taken the pressure off of myself. And it’s like sometimes if you’re a little tired, you’re more off the cuff and you’re not as guarded. (Slight pause in conversation).
Are you still there?
Yup. I’m still here. I know, I talk so much that when I take a break, people think I’m gone. I’ve never stopped talking, not since I was born. People think I smoke cigarettes because of my deep voice. But it’s like “No, I just literally never stop talking.” I have not felt one earthquake because I’m always talking through them. I know that sounds like a bit but that’s completely the truth. People go “Did you feel the earthquake?” And I go “Are you kidding?” I thought my story was just killing.
And so the last thing I want to ask is, I know you’ve done a few of these socially distanced and drive-in shows recently. I just saw my first the other night with Nate Bargartze.
I love Nate! I remember being in a green room in the UCB in New York, and I knew Nate a little bit, but he had been doing it for much longer and I was such a fan of his. And he said to me “Oh, you’re doing really good. Your voice is being honed. I can see it. You can see it on your Instagram and onstage and your jokes are really good.” And that was one of my big gets. Having someone I admired so much say something nice to me.
He’s such a nice guy. And what I want to ask is, with these shows now, have you found that the crowds are more gracious at all just to be seeing comedy again?
100 percent. I think people are so excited. I think sometimes people come to a show and they’re like “I dare you to make me laugh.” And it’s not like “I can’t wait to laugh.” And there isn’t that anymore. I don’t feel that at all anymore. It’s people being like “This is going to be so fun.” And I think because of the tailgate environment, it just feels more like a party. It’s meant for Bert Kreischer. Like everyone’s having a Bert show pretty much. It’s just a party with a bunch of drunk people sitting in a car.
What were you thinking going into it?
I was so nervous. I’ve been having nightmares through the pandemic where I was like “Oh my God. I’m onstage, I can’t remember my jokes, I don’t remember the punchline, I’m just up here and everyone’s staring at me.” And then the first show I did, it literally was that living nightmare. I literally lived the nightmare. I was like “Oh my God.” I just couldn’t remember how to do this thing because I had done it every day for so long and then took six months off. And once that happened – I was able to save it. It wasn’t like a complete bomb. – I went “Oh, okay.” We all start off bombing, so a good little bomb is a nice reminder of how you have to get to work. And I realized that the beeping is usually such a negative thing. Like when someone beeps, you’re usually about to get hit by a car or you’ve cut someone off and they’re mad at you. So to have someone beeping and it’s a positive thing, you just have to adjust your brain to it. You have to make sure like when you’re in traffic and someone’s beeping at you, you’re not like “Thanks! I just wrote that one!”
It’s potential. That’s what it feels like when I’m onstage. I haven’t had a set where I’m like “This is the most amazing…” Well actually, that’s not true. Over at Whitney’s house… Whitney’s been doing these things where we all get tested and then we do these sort of small shows for like 20 people, if even that. Maybe 10. And we’ll do an open mic the day before and then we’ll do these shows. And it’s really amazing. It’s so fun and comfortable and calm in a way that I haven’t been able to be, because I think that this time off has helped me chill out and hopefully other people, too.
I think potential is the right word. It’s giving people hope.
You can work on your jokes. Okay, so if every show is a performance is like you’re almost preparing to have a better performance the next time. Like each show, you’re like “I just want to get better for next time.” And this leads to bigger shows and then a special. So you’re essentially always open mic’ing. You’re always workshopping and working on a joke. I see where there’s potential to do that. And even though you’re not getting that immediate reaction that you get when you’re on a regular stage inside, you are getting something and you are going “Okay, there’s something there.”
And now that I’ve done like three of these, I opened for Rob Schneider the other day at the Irvine Improv on the rooftop, and now I’m like “Oh. I think you can do a full special set and kill at one of these things.” And you just have to gauge it differently. The kill just feels different, but you can see it.
I can’t wait to see the future of this.
Exactly. That’s why I could never be suicidal, not to take it dark, but I could never suicidal in this time because I’m so nosy and I’m so curious. I’m like “I want to know what the hell is going on? What’s going to happen here?”
