How did you get into comedy?
I was always into watching funny shows – what was on TV that I could sneakily watch after my mom went to bed. I would put on Comedy Central or MTV, Monty Python reruns, Kids in The Hall, The State, In Living Color, Absolutely Fabulous and, of course, SNL. I would write and film my own sketches and I joined a sketch troupe in college. From there I got the crazy idea that I could just speak, sans ensemble, alone on a stage. So I started doing standup. The rest is a blurry history.
Can you recall a gig so bad, it’s now funny?
I was probably around 24. A country club outside LA requested “all female comics”. When we got there it was a room full of 50 to 60-year-old men, having a party where they had also hired strippers who were dancing and sitting on laps while we told jokes. We were told whoever did the best won $200. At the time, all of my material was about LA traffic and pizza … I didn’t win the money. I’m still sore about it!
