As part of We Own The Laughs.com’s Comedian of the Day, have a few laughs and get to know comedian Amanda Fritz. The Sacramento, CA native shares with us some of her favorite moments in stand-up comedy and lets us know how she owns the laughs.
Name: Amanda Fritz
Hometown: Sacramento/Los Angeles, CA
Instagram/Twitter/Facebook/Snapchat/Tik-Tok: @fritz_comedy (Instagram/Tik Tok) Amanda Fritz (Facebook)
Years in Comedy: 4 Years started at Groundlings but fell in love with stand-up.
Haven’t we seen you somewhere before: I produce and star in a digital sketch series called “Second String Comedy”, and we are FINALLY getting back together after that big flu thing that happened last year. Hoping to release new stuff in October on Youtube, IG, and TikTok.
Comedic Influences: Tina Fey and Amy Pohler on SNL Weekend Update was really the first time I really saw women be smart and funny simultaneously. They weren’t “funny moms” or sexualized or slapstick, they were telling jokes at a desk and that just really stuck with me.
Favorite Comedy Album: John Mulaney “The Top Part” I know this isn’t a very popular answer right now but it’s the truth. I listen to it when I clean my house.
Favorite Comedy Special: Ilzia Shelsinger “Freezing Hot” The Party Goblin bit hit me in my SOUL.
Favorite Comedy Movie: Step Brothers…If you know you know.
Favorite Comedy TV Show: I can watch Bob’s Burgers at any point in time and giggle. I got my BF Bob’s cookbook and we’ve been eating our way through the show!
Favorite Comedic Character: Detective Boyle from Brooklyn 99. He’s just so heckin wholesome!
Favorite City to Perform In: Sacramento because it’s my hometown. *NorCal is notorious for hating SoCal so I can also poke a little fun at LA while I’m there.
Favorite Topics to Joke About: I love making fun of people, usually myself. So part stories and part observational humor.
Favorite Type of Audience for a Comedy Show: Couples, they’re super fun for crowd work.
Favorite Comedy Club: Flappers Comedy Club has the best food hands down.
How did you discover your passion for comedy:
I’ve always watched stand-up and SNL as a kid and of course, I joined drama in high school. But I remember being in media my sophomore year and being a news anchor and all I wanted to do was make the crew laugh and say silly versions of the school news. Like just trying to replicate what I saw on the Weekend update where it was a fact but with a twist always had me intrigued.
What do you remember most about your first time performing stand-up comedy:
Junior or senior year of high school I did a talent show and I roasted the football coach for wearing polo shirts that were too small for him. A football player booed me and I just remember roasting him too. The principal thought it was funny. I came in second. I don’t think the coach ever forgave me.
How would you describe your comedic style:
Soft edges. It’s important to talk about the things going on around us politically, socially, globally, etc. but I’m not going to make it my whole set. Usually, start with the topical controversial issues then head into some stories about why my sister is dumb.
Describe your process for comedic writing:
I carry around a notebook with me at all times and will 100% pull it out mid-conversation if you make me think of something funny (it’s a compliment). Then I usually put off writing about it for a week. Dry run at a mic where it bombs. Go home, listen to my tape and actually structure it out. Then take it back to the same mic so I can prove to the host I am actually funny. And if it’s a golden nugget I will take it everywhere with me and add new tags until it’s a Netflix special.
Describe the comedy scene in your area:
More supportive after quarantine (in my opinion) I’m in the Burbank/Glendale/Hollywood scene and I’ve made some really great friends, something I didn’t think would be possible in 2019. I will text comics just to hang and it’s really improved my life both in and out of comedy. I also really encourage feedback after my set, please come talk to me after and tell me what worked, what didn’t, and why! This is how we get better as a person and a community! IDK, maybe it’s just me, but the scene feels more social and genuine.
How do you judge success in the world of comedy:
Does it pay a bill or two? Does your reputation proceed you? Do you book consistently? I help produce the Witty Titties show and having an established name and brand is a big thing to consider. Getting to a point where I am paying my bills with comedy is a huge goal for me.
Who are some of your comedic peers that you enjoy watching perform or inspire you personally and professionally:
Genesis Sol – She’s the founder of Witty Titties and I like how she talks about sad stuff but in such an energetic way. Like she could legit read the obituaries and make it funny.
Margaeux Hamilton – Another spiritual comic who can poke fun at how silly we all are for paying psychics to lie to us! Such a great outlook on life when usually the lineup is filled with rants and self-deprecation.
Effie Meadows – Comic first. Trans second. Her sarcasm has won her numerous rounds of Comic Wars and I just think her cynicism is so pure and relatable.
What’s been your most memorable moment in comedy:
I did a set about abortion at a women’s mic, and a few ladies came up to me after and thanked me for talking about that. They said I gave them permission to laugh at something that they didn’t know how to talk about. And I was going to bail on the set, I thought it was too revealing and scary so that has just really motivated me to keep writing from the truth and trust the funny will come.
What have you learned most from your failures in comedy:
You can’t keep every joke. And you have to feel/believe what you’re saying. I had a friend pass away recently and it was hard to perform my usual sets. I was writing dark stuff and it did better than my usual stuff because it was authentic at the moment. Now, will I keep all those jokes? Probably not, but it’s a fluid art form.
How do people react towards you when they realize that you can make people laugh:
“I could never do that” As my tattoo artist was working on my arm he was like “Wow That’s crazy you do that, aren’t you scared?” Like, you mark people’s bodies permanently, aren’t YOU scared? It’s usually them telling me how they hate public speaking then asking for a joke. Which I much prefer to the guys who are like “ahh you’re a comic, lemme just do bits on you the rest of this conversation so you can tell me how funny I am” So I try not to bring it up right away!
Describe what it’s been like building a career in stand-up comedy:
Consistency and confidence. I would hit like 20 mics a week then burn out after a month. It’s like going to the gym, you have to make it a part of your schedule so you can eventually see results. And just know you’re not always going to have a great set, bombing is really important, but you have to keep coming back.
If you could change one thing in the world of comedy, what would it be:
I don’t care about your dick or why women won’t f*ck you. Especially on the open mic circuit, it’s a lot of half-baked blue jokes about genitals and its basic. Even at the more professional levels, the degradation of women as the material is so common but usually unnecessary for the joke.
Best advice you’ve ever received from a comedian:
Be honest. Don’t write it because you think it’s funny, write it because you know it’s true and the funny will follow.
If you were releasing a comedy special this week, what would it be called:
“Don’t Tell My Mom” and would be about why I’m considering joining the satanic temple (f*ck Texas), being pepper-sprayed by the cops, and my dad let me watch movies way too young.
Funniest encounter you’ve ever had with a celebrity:
I was a cashier at Whole Foods and a man with the curliest hair I’ve ever seen and his son with an equally glorious mane walk over to me. We have an extensive conversation about our curl routines, I ring him up for an obscene amount of product and even write down notes for the kid. My manager comes out from her hiding spot from behind a display and shouts “Do you know who that was?! That was Kenny G!!!” I shrug. She storms away and I hear her retelling the story to our store manager screeching “She didn’t even know who he was! Kenny Freaking G!!!”
Weirdest place you’ve ever performed any form of comedy:
When my grandfather turned 80 he asked all of us to roast him. We’re greek and no one knew what a roast was so it got dark FAST. I remember going up last and being like “Well, good to know I don’t have to split the inheritance with these monsters anymore” I was literally 12-years-old and I was the only one who understood the assignment.
An Amanda Fritz Fun Fact:
I have SWAT training. My dad is a firearms instructor and was working with Sacramento SWAT for a while so I got to do the range course and driving course. So in the event of an apocalypse, try to find your way to my place.
Where would you like your laughs to take you:
I would love to do a European tour and/or be a series regular on a sitcom. Two very different goals but either way I have to get an agent.
What would you tell a potential comedian if they ask you how they can own the laughs:
You are going to bomb. You just have to get back on stage after. Embrace the idea that failure is part of success and you will be fine.
What are your thoughts on the future of comedy:
Right now we seem to be in a polarizing place in comedy. It’s either “You can’t say that” or shock comics that love slurs for the sake of saying them. I would love for over-correcting PC culture to butt out and for comics to just take more accountability in their sets. Controversy and ignorance are different, and we can tell which one you are, Chad.
If you could write one episode for one classic TV sitcom which show would it be and give a brief detailed sentence on the episode:
The Nanny. Fran and Gracie want to help Brighton come out to his father by signing him up for the school play, but he is cast as an ensemble which just upsets Maxwell because his son is a broadway flop! He doesn’t care his son is gay, he’s mad he can’t sing!
If you could choose 1 comedy club and 3 comedians to perform with on your perfect comedy show, how would it go:
The Comedy Cellar with Dana Carvey, Leslie Jones, and Donald Glover. We break the world record for the number of act-outs done in a single show. We each do our individual sets, and at the end play improv games together. We solve world hunger and cause a few couples to break up.
What’s next for you:
Planning a comedy tour for myself next summer. I’m calling it the Reunion Tour because I’m going back home for my high school reunion. I don’t usually invite friends and family to go see my comedy, I have a very Batman vs. Bruce Wayne style of living so this is going to be fun.
Besides helping produce a Witty Titties show in October I also am producing a solo show called After Dark in October as well.
10/22 at Raven Comedy House. (@AfterDark_LA on IG)
Why should a person always laugh at life:
Life inherently gives us tragedy, it’s the comedy we must make ourselves. If you have ever nervous-laughed at a funeral you get it. Sorrow isn’t contagious, laughter is. Self-healing with laughter is important as we get older and the world demands more of us, we have to remember to not take it so seriously that we forget to laugh.
Watch Amanda Fritz at The Fourth Wall in Los Angeles, CA:
Follow Amanda Fritz’s comedic journey on these social media websites:
Instagram/Twitter/Facebook/Snapchat/Tik-Tok: @fritz_comedy
Youtube: Amanda Fritz
