Lisa Curry [Interview]

Hello Folks! We are kicking off the week and month with a true banger of an interview, with an absolutely hilarious and multifaceted human being. It’s Lisa Curry, Everyone! Over the last few years, Lisa has become a staple in the world of comedy. Not only was she a globe-trotting stand up comedian in the before times, but Lisa wrote and worked on hit shows like The Office, The Jim Jeffries Show, and TruTV’s hilarious comedy competition show Comedy Knockout, which featured appearances from several hilarious people who have also graced our digital pages. Lisa has had a career with a list of achievements that only begin to reflect just how absolutely god damn funny she is.

If I am being completely honest (I mean, what’s the point of lying?), my first realization of Lisa’s brilliance came from a place that is sometimes the most uninspiring digital place on earth. Of course, I mean Twitter. It was a couple of years ago when I began to notice that everybody on that wretched site that I actually admired was sharing Curry’s witty and hilarious tweets, and that I should jump on board. And it’s been a hell of a ride since. In addition to that, she also became a regular attendee of You Up with Nikki Glaser, alongside our dear friend and past guest Tom Thakkar. So, for all of you regular readers out there, you can probably guess that she runs with the same wonderful folks we have bene known to showcase in the past. So you know she’s damned hilarious!

As Lisa will mention below, Lisa has a new podcast! It’s called Long Story Long with Lisa Curry. It is currently premiering on Sirius XM’s She’s So Funny Channel 771 each Thursday until February 11th at 12 p.m. PST, 8 p.m. EST. After that, look for her brilliance on iTunes! Read on for more deets.

So Folks, please enjoy some wonderful words from the hilarious human being, the great Lisa Curry!

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

I kind of slowly stumbled into comedy. I always loved performing – I was in dance as a kid and I’d often put on little recitals with my friends at home, but I was in my twenties before I really realized that comedy is a viable line of work. My family is working class and so I grew up thinking jobs in the arts were a mere fantasy. I watched a ton of comedy with my family, mostly sitcoms, but because it was the only genre of television we watched, I didn’t realize it was comedy. As in, I thought everything was funny. It didn’t occur to me that there were shows without jokes in them. I don’t think it really sank into my brain that anyone on TV was making money, or at least I didn’t consider it. I thought Johnny Carson and Jerry Seinfeld had somehow been ordained as comedians.

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

I couldn’t even guess what my first paid gig was, but I’m sure it didn’t pay much. I started standup in Los Angeles, which is about as good a place to start as Antarctica. Nothing pays and everyone’s waiting for a celebrity to drop in and do some time. I’m glad that’s the case, because it’s part of what drove me to go on the road. The gigs I’ve done outside of LA have been incredibly impactful to my life and career.

I always like to ask comedians who (used?) to travel across the globe making people laugh this one question: What are some of the more obscure cities and/or venues that you have enjoyed performing in? What are some places that most people may not realize are wonderful places for live comedy?

I had one of the best shows of my life in a theater in Copenhagen. I couldn’t believe how good the crowd was. Of course, that’s not really an obscure city, but I certainly wasn’t anticipating the very warm welcome I got. Another unlikely place I love is Wales. I was the first American to perform in the Mach Comedy Festival, and so I’m very partial to Wales. The people there are very warm and welcoming and love to laugh.

Can you tell us a bit about your new show Long Story Long with Lisa Curry, currently on Serius XM? While it seems just about mandatory for comedians to have a podcast these days, I am still always curious to know what makes them want to do their own specific show? So what made you want to do this project?

I had been sitting on the podcast idea for a while, but wasn’t quite bored enough to follow thru with it. Separately, I had become a regular guest on Nikki Glaser’s show on Sirius. The producers liked my appearances on the show and offered me the opportunity to launch my own podcast on the network. I love working with Sirius. It’s great to be able to reach their audience, especially now with standup comedy on pause.

If you were greenlit & received an unlimited budget to create the biopic (series, film, etc.) of any figure from the days of comedy past, who would you choose?

Carol Burnett. She’s incredible! Has been for decades. To my knowledge, no one has made a flashy documentary about her. Those are all reserved for men and serial killers.

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

Who knows! I’m dying to get back to standup, but I’m unwilling to put people’s lives at risk to tell jokes. I have a couple projects I’ve been shopping around. Hopefully, one will take off soon. In the meantime, you can subscribe to Long Story Long on iTunes, so you’ll get new episodes as they drop there beginning February 18th.

Your readers can find me at my website: lisacurry.net / on Twitter: @lisa_curry / on Instagram: @olympianlisacurry . 

What was the last thing that made you smile?

My dog. Every morning I wake up, I’m so grateful to get to spend another day with her.