Interview with Harriet Braine
CB: How long have you been writing and performing comedy?
MW: I’ve been doing stand up for just over 5 years. Before that I did improv for awhile.
CB: Where was your first gig and what was it like?
MW: My first gig was at this small room beneath this now closed club in NYC called Comix. The room I performed in was called Ochi’s Lounge. You had to buy a drink to get 3 minutes of stage time. I bought a blue moon.
CB: How often did you start to perform comedy after your first gig and what was the comedy environment like in terms of how easy it was to find places to perform?
MW: I tried to do it every night. One comic told me once that if you aren’t doing it every night, you’re not doing it. So I just stuck to that. NYC is a dream for stand up . You can find at least one place if not five to perform every night. You jus have to hustle.
CB: How do you feel that your material has changed since when you first started to perform comedy?
MW: I used to do a long bit about cats wearing pants. Thankfully I don’t do that anymore. Now I talk more about things other people can actually relate to.
CB: What is your process when you write your material?
MW: I stare at the news. Then I write a tweet. Then I take it on stage. Then I see what people laugh at. Then I think about it. Then I try it again the next day.
CB: You recently wrote for the 88th Academy Awards hosted by Chris Rock. Does the way you write stand-up material for yourself differ at all to the way you write for other performers?
MW: When I write for other people, I try to say the words in my head the way they would say them. Also, you can write different things for a black man to say than you can a white woman. That’s always fun.
CB: How does the New York comedy circuit compare to the rest of the U.S.?
MW: If you’re willing to hustle in New York, you can get a lot of work done and improve quickly. In other places, they’re just aren’t as many opportunities to get up. Also, you’re working alongside the best comics in the world. That’ll make you better for sure.
CB: What is your favourite type of audience to perform comedy?
MW: An audience that wants to laugh. Other than that, no preference.
CB: Where is your favourite venue to perform comedy?
MW: The Comedy Cellar. It’s my home and I love it more than anything else in the world.
CB: What is your advice for comedians and new acts who have recently started out in comedy?
MW: Get up as much as you can. And don’t try to be like any other comedian. Be like you. That’s different
Michelle Wolf will perform her new show So Brave at the Edinburgh Festival. Tickets
Related posts
