As part of We Own The Laughs.com’s Comedian of the Day, have a few laughs and get to know comedian Taylor P. Miller. The Baltimore, MD native shares some of her favorite moments in stand-up comedy and lets us know how she always owns the laughs.
Name: Taylor P. Miller
Hometown: Baltimore, MD/Los Angeles, CA
Instagram/Twitter/Facebook/Snapchat/Tik-Tok: Instagram: @taylorpmiller TikTok: @Taylor_p_miller Venmo: @taylorpmiller
Years in Comedy: 5
Haven’t we seen you somewhere before: Funny or Die, Facebook Video, Burbank Comedy Festival (Best of the Fest), The Comedy Store, & Laugh Factory.
Comedic Influences: Sarah Silverman, John Mulaney, Dave Chapelle, & Ali Wong
Favorite Comedy Special: John Mulaney “The Comeback Kid”
Favorite Comedy Movie: Miss Congeniality
Favorite Comedy TV Show: Shameless
Favorite Comedic Character: Liz Lemon
Favorite City to Perform In: Los Angeles
Favorite Topics to Joke About: Personal Stories
Favorite Type of Audience for a Comedy Show: Young & drunk
Favorite Comedy Club: Supernova
How did you discover your passion for comedy:
I have always loved making people laugh: friends, family, and strangers alike. I went to NYU to study acting. I knew I liked being in front of people and I knew I liked storytelling, but something felt off about acting. When I was around 20 I would come home every day from class and watch a different special on Netflix. I thought: “That’s how I talk. Maybe I could do that”. I was scared shitless to try, but one day the fear just went away and I felt ready.
What do you remember most about your first time performing stand-up comedy:
I remember thinking “Wow. I am THE ONLY female in this room”. I walked into my first open mic and it was 35 men and myself. Even worse, I had planned to get up and tell a story about tampons. I was a living breathing cliche. I knew so little about stand-up and had no idea how male-dominated the field was. This was five years ago, and we have come a long way even since then. But my first year I was often the only female in the room. My set went okay. I talked to the guys after, everyone was surprised it was my first time because I had such a calm stage presence. I remember thinking, “these guys are all a little sad, but they’re nice people. I can keep doing this”.
How would you describe your comedic style:
I like to say I have one-way conversations with the audiences. If I do my job right, it should just feel like we’re talking… the only difference is only I’m doing the talking. I like it to feel off the cuff (it isn’t, but I like it to feel that way). Just come chill with me.
Describe your process for comedic writing:
I get this question all the time and I wish I had a better answer. I don’t really have a process, I so wish I did. What tends to happen is I just keep a very diversified life with a very diversified group of friends: I’m a preschool teacher during the day, I’m a total gym rat, I play pickleball, I host Shabbat dinners. When I’m with all these different, amazing groups of people I talk to them, if there’s a specific moment where everyone laughs a lot, I write down what I said that everyone thought was so funny. Then every few days I go through my notes and try to turn them into some jokes. I bring those jokes to open mics, record myself onstage, listen back and then see where people laugh. Then I trim all the fat and write a second draft. Rinse and repeat till the joke gets better.
Describe the comedy scene in your area:
I live in LA so I’d say it’s one of the biggest comedy hubs in the world. I am in love with the LA comedy scene. It is crazy how you can go to a parking lot and see Sarah Silverman perform (shoutout to Supernova). To a basement of a bar downtown and see Maria Bamford. You can stumble upon comedy. You see people just starting and people who literally shaped the craft all in one night. I just feel so blessed to be a part of it. I do think there is one fatal flaw of the comedy scene and that is that comedians are often not paid for their work, because so many are just hungry to get on stage. I’m hoping this gets better in the near future. Overall, you can’t get much better than the stand-up scene in LA.
How do you judge success in the world of comedy:
I think not having a day job is the first marker of success to me. I wish I had a deeper answer, like “someone who works on their craft every day”. But to me when I see someone making a living on comedy, they may as well be the luckiest person in the whole world. How cool! To just do what you love.
Who are some of your comedic peers that you enjoy watching perform or inspire you personally and professionally:
It is so special to watch someone literally make magic on the stage, perform some of the best comedy you’ve ever seen in your life, and then get off stage and just be so sweet and helpful. This career is tough and it’s almost impossible to navigate without allies. My most inspirational peers have been Micahel Longfellow, Willie Mac, Biniam Bizuneh and so many more. Thank you all for letting me watch you work and help me with my questions.
What’s been your most memorable moment in comedy:
There was one night that felt extremely memorable to me. I had cashed in a favor from a family friend to book a show in the Valley. I had recently had a mentor tell me not to cash in any favors too early before I was ready because I only got one chance. I didn’t think this show was anything special when I was booked on it, but boy was I wrong. I was the youngest comic on the show by 30 years. Everyone else had toured the country, written for letterman, done coke in the green room in the 80s at the Comedy Store. I thought “Oh no. I cashed in a favor way too early”. I got on stage and brought down the house. The crowd was happy to see someone younger, see someone female. They liked that my style of jokes was different: less premise to punchline and more storytelling. It made me really excited to see where comedy was going. The older comics were so nice to me backstage and all got a kick out of my set. I thought I can do this. I’m gonna make it. It felt great.
What have you learned most from your failures in comedy:
Just keep going. It’s a failure in comedy not a failure in surgery or failure flying a plane. No one can die, no one can get hurt, worst that can happen is no one laughs and it’s okay, it happens, just keep going.
How do people react towards you when they realize that you can make people laugh:
There are always follow-up questions when you tell someone you’re a comedian. Tell me a joke, where do you perform? I thought you would be funnier. It is aggressive and sometimes I am in the mood to talk about it, sometimes I am not, and those are the times when I just talk about my day job because it’s easier.
Describe what it’s been like building a career in stand-up comedy:
Every day is truly an adventure. There is no path to becoming a stand-up comic, I wish there was. I think my first 2 years I just said yes to everything: every single show or opportunity was thrown my way. Let me tell you, that is a quick way to get burned out. Now I think of standup as my long-term career so constantly making informed decisions that feel like gambles: Is this show worth driving 90 min in rush hour to do 3 min unpaid? Should I cancel my weekend trip to Vegas for this show? Is it more efficient to sit at a 3-hour open mic after working all day or should I just call my best friend and run some jokes by her? Sometimes these opportunities are 100% worth it and sometimes they are not. And sometimes I sit in anxiety purgatory trying to decide. The reason it is so anxiety-inducing is that there is no right way. And sometimes in that three-person audience, one of these 3 people might know someone who can change your life. Those are the thoughts that haunt me when I say no. But if you are consistent I truly believe that no one night can change the course of your career.
If you could change one thing in the world of comedy, what would it be:
I wish comics were compensated earlier on in their careers, especially if they’re performing at clubs. I understand that you have to pay your dues, but I also think young comics are being taken advantage of. Therese clubs that are making a ton of money and not only do they not pay you for your work on stage, but they will charge you if you want footage from the show. Sometimes it can feel like a pyramid scheme and if you complain or express your feelings you are seen as whiney. I also want more female comics everywhere. Girls are funny as f*ck!!
Best advice you’ve ever received from a comedian:
Record your sets. It is insane to me that I did not do this for a few months. And also it’s okay to try new material at shows, just sandwich your new joke between two jokes that you know will work.
If you were releasing a comedy special this week, what would it be called:
Hmm. I always thought my memoir would be called “That Was More Dramatic Than it Needed to be”. Because I am a drama queen and it is often unnecessary.
Funniest encounter you’ve ever had with a celebrity:
I used to work as a receptionist at a big talent agency so I saw celebrities every day. One day Daniel Radcliff came in and he brought his bodyguard. When he went to his meeting his bodyguard stayed at reception and over the course of that hour me and the guard became besties. I asked him about all the harry potter gossip, learned what it was like to be a bodyguard. We were laughing and bonding. When Daniel came back out he couldn’t believe how chummy we were. Then the three of us had a good laugh. That was a fun day at work.
Weirdest place you’ve ever performed any form of comedy:
In a storage unit in Van Nuys to 5 people, 2 of which I brought with me. I will not explain this further but please understand this kind of shit happens all over LA and sometimes the weirdest venues are the coolest ones.
A Taylor P. Miller Fun Fact:
I was in an abstinence PSA radio commercial when I was in 7th grade. I got called in for an audition at a local Baltimore casting office. My mother and I were not told what it was for and then we learned too late what it was. And I booked it. Made $700 in 30 min which was pretty sick at that age.
Where would you like your laughs to take you:
I mean the sky is the limit. Bare minimum: I want to make a living making people laugh. But I wanna go on tour. I want my own TV show. I want random cameos in moves, maybe my own movie. I wanna make content with my favorite creators and friends. I want it all.
What would you tell a potential comedian if they ask you how they can own the laughs:
Just start. Don’t take a class. Don’t wait till you have a perfect set ready to go. Just pick an open mic and get on stage. Learn as you go. TBH no one knows what they’re doing. Just start. And be nice to everyone.
What are your thoughts on the future of comedy:
More women. More people of color. More stories. We’re done with white dudes saying a premise and then a punchline. People love learning about who the comics are now. People love that relatability. I’m excited, I think comedy is a golden age right now. I love what I’m seeing.
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:
I don’t know if Modern Family is a classic. But my extended family (18 people) once all stayed in a house together on vacation and every single one of us got food poisoning. Everyone was throwing up, just taking turns. I think it would have made an excellent episode of Modern Family.
If you could choose 1 comedy club and 3 comedians to perform with on your perfect comedy show, how would it go:
The Comedy Store: Sarah Silverman, John Mulaney, and Dave Chappelle. It might happen.
What’s next for you:
I’d like to do a tour of Southern California over the summer. I’m a teacher so I have summers off. It would be perfect. I need to start booking it now.
Why should a person always laugh at life:
Because is funny. It’s all about perspective and we have to get through it one way or another, so why not laugh?
Watch Taylor P. Miller at The Laugh Factory in Chicago, IL:
Follow Taylor P. Miller’s comedic journey on these social media websites:
Instagram/Twitter/Facebook/Snapchat/Tik-Tok: @taylorpmiller
Youtube: Taylor P. Miller
Personal Website: www.taylorpmiller.com
