Brandie Posey [Interview]

Hello Folks! Today we have some wonderful words from a full blown KILLER in the world of comedy. It’s Brandie Posey, Everyone! I have been a fan of Brandie’s comedy for quite some time, ever since I first heard her on the Trainwreck’d acclaimed podcast Who’s Your God, hosted by our dear friends Amy Miller and Steve Hernandez. It’s been close to two years since this one singular episode, but it has been a staple in my mind, as I have followed Brandie’s career closely ever since and it has been an absolute delight.

Brandie has co-hosted the incredible podcast, Lady to Lady, for going on 9 years. It’s a wonderful program, and has featured some of our wonderful friends in the past. She also hosts the truly original show Face to Face, that is an absolute must see as well. She digs into these projects and much more in this wonderful interview below. We are so excited to have Posey join the TWS family. It’s truly an honor. With that, please enjoy some amazing words from the great Brandie Posey!

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What initially drew you into the world of comedy? Was it something you had aspired to do since your youth, or did you happen to find yourself in this world one day?

I’d always been a big comedy fan – me & my friends in middle school would watch SNL & Seinfeld with notepads & write down our favorite lines, then bring them into lunch the next day. I wanted to write sketch & went to film school where I argued with my professors about the genius of Ace Ventura (I’m a 90’s kid, sue me) then when I graduated I moved to LA & fell in love with alternative stand up at places like the UCB. Paul F Tompkins & Maria Bamford blew my mind & I wanted to be in that world.

What was your first paid gig in the world of comedy? And were there any sort of lessons learned from this experience that still impact your work to date?

I’ve always treated every gig like I was getting paid, even though I’ve done a LOT of free shows over the years, ha. My first paid gig out of town was probably on my first solo tour in 2014 & I learned a ton during that 6 weeks on the road. I am always thankful for a paying audience, they’re more invested a lot of the time than a free audience because they want to get a good night out of what they pay for. I think more shows should charge, and more comedians should really think about what their act is worth to their audience.

As a comic who has been across the country making folks laugh, I am curious to know about some of the more obscure places across the land that you have managed to perform at?

I’ll play just about anywhere, last week I did my first outdoor show in quarantine at a minor league baseball stadium an hour outside of LA. But I’ve playedcemeteries, bowling alleys, dance studios, yoga studios, a truck depot in Central PA – you name it I bet I’ve done some version of it.

And what have been some places that were surprisingly great for stand up comedy? Places that people would not believe are gold mines, or at least good, to perform? 

My favorite show a few years back was in Whitesburg, KY. I’m a huge fan of the Leftist podcast Trillbilly Worker’s Party & had an extra day on tour so I reached out to see if they wanted to meet up & throw a show that night, we were close to Halloween. My openers were a Dolly Parton cover band & a Latinx gal painted like a skeleton dancing to Dia De Los Muertos songs. The audience was a bunch of Appalachian witches & college kids from the surrounding area, it was a total blast. I’m the first comic to ever come through Whitesburg & I’d recommend it to anyone worth a shit.

I am very intrigued by your show that you have taken across the country entitled “Picture This”. Could you tell our readers a bit about this project? How did this idea come to fruition?

“Picture This” is a show that I co-created with Sam Varela my producing partner, it pairs up comedians with animators who draw their jokes during their set. It’s like dealing with the most talented heckler of all time! Remember that old Bugs Bunny costume Duck Amuck where Daffy keeps getting erased & redrawn as different things? It has that vibe haha. We’ve been doing the show in LA for over 9 years now to sold out crowds & in NY for about 6 years now too. We’ve taken it to a ton of festivals & even played the Kennedy Center twice. Now we do the show monthly over Zoom which has been great because we’ve been able to merge our artists & comics from around the country onto the same show. It’s the most fun I have in comedy.

And since it almost seems mandatory these days, you have a wonderful podcast entitled Lady to Lady, which you have had several guests that were also kind enough to grace the TWS pages (Martha Kelly, Blair Socci, Steph Tolev, Christine Lakin, & more!). Can you tell us a bit about the show for those readers out there who may not be familiar?

Lady to Lady is myself, Babs Gray & Tess Barker. We’ve been going for over 9 years now too & every week we feature a different female identifying comedian (although every once in a while we’ll have on French Stewart haha). We goof off & play games & answer advice & it’s like being at the funniest brunch of all time. We also do ridiculous stunts like we were sent a sex machine by a PR company a few years ago & we sold it off to raise money for a party bus for some listeners & us to go to Magic Mike XXL in Last Vegas, which was a total blast!

What does the future hold for you? Anything you would like to plug to our readers?

I’m waiting patiently for live stand up to come back, so you can’t really see me live any time soon, but Lady to Lady drops every Wednesday & we have been doing really fun Zoom shows even 2 months as well – our next one will be on 12/6! “Picture This” is on Zoom every 2nd Saturday of the month & you can get those tickets at https://www.littlefieldnyc.com/. Plus just come follow me on twitter & insta at @brandazzle, I have a cute dog & goofy jokes.

What was the last thing that made you smile?

This morning I was looking at this old picture of my dog with me dressed up as the East Bunny, it kills me every time.