The Liz Miele Story & Interview
Interview
1.What was your latest inspiration behind your latest book "Why cats are Assholes?"
Honestly, I write so much about my late cat named Pasta who recently died about 2 months ago. So its a little bittersweet because she is so much a part of my book. I have always been an avid cat lover. Both of my parents are veterinarians and my mom is a cat specialist. So i have always been a cat lady even though i never owned more than one cat. Pasta was such a headache and she was honestly a Bitch, So the very first years of her life she tested my unconditional love for cats and i grew to just appreciate how ridiculous they are and no matter how much you hate them you still love them.
Why Cats Are Assholes (Amazon)
She eventually softened and we were besties until she died at 16 a couple of months ago. What i like about the title of the book in general is that if you dont like cats youll agree with the title but if you love cats youll still agree with the title. Its no suprise to anybody but the book is about why we love cats.
2. Who has been your biggest influence when it comes to comedy?
You know, theres has been so many comedians and people that have been an influence. Its been a mix and mash of people. I would say being authentic to myself and writing about whats sad or personal stuff in my life is tributed to David Sedarus the writer. I read his stuff as a teenager and just had a huge influence on me about what you can joke about and how you joke about it. I have always been a huge fan of Wanda Sykes, I think Wanda Sykes being able to joke about everything especially in her first couple of comedy specials she would just joke about almost any topic and that was very powerful to me.
Ted Alexandro is a big comic in the comedy world, im not sure how big he is outside the comedy world but he opens for Jim Gaffigan alot. Hes done tons of specials and he is just a briliant comedian that really made me feel that i could take my time and that i didnt have to rush.Ted very much still inspires me and is just a brilliant comic that im grateful to be friends with. And lastly Mitch Hedberg, i know im very different from him in a lot of ways for example he is a one liner and just very silly. But i just found his jokes to be so everlasting to me and i just think of them every single day which makes me feel that comedy can have an impact even if it made your day or made you smile.
3.who has been your greatest support throughout your journey?
God! Theres like so many amazing people and most are comics that i started with and honestly all my friends i have from high school since i started when i was 16. So i have girlfriends that were there when i was 14 years old who came to my first performance when i was 16. Many of them still come to my shows and tell people to come see me. My friends Amanda and Ashley have always been there. I have some close college friends who have been supportive. My friend Maria Shehata who is a brilliant comic who is U.S born but is now based out in london actually meet a couple years into my career and i dont know where i would be without her support.
My parents as well. I remember borrowing my dads car every weekend for 6 years. He never complained and when i saved up enough money to get a car he ended up suprising me by giving me the car i borrowed all the time. My parents maybe didnt always understand what i was doing but they have always been incredibly supportive and never made me feel like i shouldnt be trying what i was doing . Also they would always try to make it easier when they could like borrowing their car and just being there for me. In between Family, friends and other comics including my girlfriends there were some great comics like Adrienne Lapalucci and Carmen Lynch who i started with and known forever who have been a part of my great support system. I think you really need that to be seen or successful in this business.
4.If you have the opportunity to star in your own film, what actors would you like to work with with?
I love Will Ferrel! Im such a huge will ferrel fan and i just think hes a joy. Ive always had a comedian crush on Bill Murray I think hes so fun and just silly and i also heard hes a sweetheart. Ive always been a big Monty Python fan like Eric idol and John cleese would be cool to work with including John Oliver. Im missing tons of people but there are so many comediansid like to just be around since i grew up watching them. Also Sandra Bullock, shes a different actor now than she was in the 90s but i just feel like i wanted to be her when i was 12 and it would be really nice to be around her.
5.what was your reaction when your first comedy special "Self Help Me" reached 1 million views?
Honestly, its so funny because it trickles in. I honestly think hitting half a million had more of an impact then 1 million because it happened much quicker. My goal was to hit a quarter of a million because that would have been beyond my goal. But 1 million is is a great number and has made a huge impact and i am very proud of it but wierdly half a million made more of an impact which made me think that i made the right choice.
Looking back I didnt know how things would turn out. When i first recorded my first special right before the pandemic on November of 2019 I was trying to sell it around Febuary of 2020 and wierdly alot of things came together despite not being abke to sell it because of the pandemic. But overall im really grateful that people have enjoyed it and have shared it to 1 million views.
Liz Miele-Self Help Me (Full Comedy Special)
6. In the begining what motivated you to pursue your career as a stand up comedian?
Sadness. Wanting to feel accepted. Lonliness. I was 16 and loved comedy so much. It was the only thing that made me happy and made feel less alone. The choice that led me to writing my own jokes at 14 and 15 and performing at 16 was the hope that maybe i could make people feel the way other comedians made me feel which is less sad. It was a real driving force to feel passionate and excited about something at a time when i was feeling depressed and useless as a teenager. Its not really an answer people want but it was all to feel less alone and to find my calling.
7. When was your first comedy stand up performance and how did it turn out?
It happend on March 28th, 2002. I was 16 years old at the time when i did a bringer show which means you have to bring 5 paid guests to come and see you and in return you would get 7 minutes of stage time. So i did a show at the Comedy Cellar in New york city. I ended up bringing a couple of friends that i mentioned earlier, Carmen, Ashley and Amanda imcluding my friend Briana as well as her mom. We had planned this the whole spring break at the time we were sleeping on Amandas Aunt's floor in Brooklyn.
The whole thing was put togther so that i could do stand up for the first time. I actually have the VHS tape that a friend made into an mp4 for me a couple of years ago. Its not good but my goals and expectations were at a reasonable place where i just wanted to get some laughs and i actually got some laughs . For what it was the first time performing it went better then i could haver ever imagined. Since alot of people where laughing at my jokes i knew that was enough to keep me going.
8. How do you mentally prepare right before each show?
So alot of it is just prepping on what im going to talk about . I have a set list on what i have been talking about and i usually just add to it when i come up with new material or im just re-ordering my list durring the week when im doing shorter sets like 16 to 20 minutes or in the weekend when im doing longer sets like 20 minutes to an hour . So its usually just going over my set list and if im working on new material. I sometimes listen to audio files that i have from previous shows. Its all just making sure what im going to talk about.
9. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
I love my life and what im doing. I just want to do it at a bigger level if possible. I also have a fan base that i would like to continue to grow. I have toured the country and world and i would like to keep doing that more often as well as make more money. Im actually working on a script right now about a historical-fiction drama and comedy that im really passionate about. I spent a year doing research and trying to figure out how to write this and i would love for it to just get seen or made or for myself to star in it. But definitely more writing for TV as well as bigger tours and just doing what im doing.
Almost getting into car accidents. People following me. Im sure i have more crazy stories but i cant think of any at the moment.
11. Have you ever had stage fright?and if so how did you overcome it?
I dont know if i have stage fright in the sense that its delibitating but i do get nervous and anxious including having nightmares about things going bad. And honestly i do think i have anxiety like i said before on question 8, I always over prepare and constantly know what im going to do, practise in order to get my head straight. Now i have 19 years of expierance to show that i have forgotten jokes or bombed but i figured it out.
Its been fine but in every bad expierance that can happen to you has already happened and it really calms your nerves because you have already gone through it before. So i think alot of stage fright is thinking your going to make an ass of yourself but i already done that and its fine. So you got to prepare so it doesnt happen again. I dont know what people are scared of when it comes to stage fright but i think for me it was always looking stupid and embarassing myself so i do my best to not do that.
12. If you can use 1 word to describe your fans what would it be and why?
Really thoughtful. Im really grateful that i have alot of thoughtful fans that actually hear what im talking about and really appreciate it. Im a comic that talks about mental illness, real emotions, sadness and usually make sad jokes if im being honest. I make things that people would normally be sad about and make them into jokes that really works through them and because of that i get so much beautiful fan mail that makes me feel seen and really good.
13.You have a podcast called "2 non Doctors" How did that come about?
That was all the pandemic. So i mentioned my friend Maria earlier so shout out to her. She is one of my longest comedy friends of 15 years now. I was in a middle of european tour in March of 2020 and Maria was supposed to be opening up for me and i was borderline getting on a plane realizing i was probably not goint to be doing comedy for a while and thought "We should start a podcast" So i literally landed and 3 days later we started 2 Non Doctors.
It kind of stemed from we are both researchers and i remembered a term of an inside joke because when Maria was staying with me in New York a couple of years ago she had this rash in her arm and i was like " Lets look up rashes on the internet" and mom who is a veterinarain and someone who i always show my wierd stuff to, said "Maria, you have to go to the doctor" and Maria said "Im not going to the doctor."
And i just remembered being like " Okay as a non doctor i think you should do X, Y and Z" then Maria Replied "well, also as a non doctor i think im going to do X,Y and Z" we both started to laugh so hard that 2 unimformed idiots were making these grand decisions about eachothers health. I also diagnosed her misophonia by remembering an article i read and cutting it out and handing it to her while eating dinner and feeling scared like " I think you might have this thing" and it changed her life. She now writes jokes on misophonia and actually our first episode was about misophonia.
Are you going to learn stuff, we dont know. We literally talk about health with little to no accuracy. Were morons. But we like talking and starting conversations as well as doing research meanwhile learning something. We just wanted to bring our silly version to the podcast.
14. What advice would you give to someone who wants to pursue their dreams as a stand up performer?
First and foremost start watching as much comedy as possible and try to watch everything wether you like it or not because you can learn from the things you dont like and the things you dont want to be doing. But you should be watching everybody and every type of comedy . I have become more energetic on stage but i started out really monotone but i always liked high energy performers although im kind of in between now of my monotone version of myself and this kind of more animated angry version of myself. But difderent types of comedy whether its one liners or story telling, high or low energy, women or male, LGBTQ plus different ethnicities or backgrounds or even reading comedy, watching movies or plays just so you can kind of get and understand different ways you can present comedy.
Also you have to write and you can only get better at writing by writing performing by performing. So start now and figure it out. I actually record every single set and been doing so since i was a teenager and you have to listen to it evwn if its painful at times. You also have to have an honest look at whats getting a reaction and what people think is funny as opposed to being that person who says "I killed" and nothing got a laugh nor do you want to be that person who says "I suck"and your actually doing great. You want to have an honest self aware perspective on what your doing . You cant replace being an observer and you cant replace being actually writing and performing
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