In addition to being a comedian, for the last decade, she’s been a performance coach and hypnotherapist helping performing artists who suffer from stage fright, anxiety, imposter syndrome, negative habits etc. She has worked with Emmy award-winning and Grammy-nominated artists, Hollywood actors, comedians, singers, and more. As part of We Own The Laughs.com’s Comedian of the Day, have a few laughs and get to know comedian Holly Shaw. The Oakland, CA native shares some of their favorite moments in stand-up comedy and lets us know how they always own the laughs.
Name: Holly Shaw
Hometown: Oakland, CA
Instagram/Twitter/Facebook/Snapchat/Tik-Tok: @hollyshawcomedy @hollyshawcreate
Years in Comedy: 3+ Years
Haven’t we seen you somewhere before: I starred in an ABC Afterschool special when I was 16 years old. If you saw that, you’re dating yourself, (Laughs)
Comedic Influences: Wanda Sykes, Ali Wong, Maria Bamford, Richard Pryor, Whoopie Goldberg, Tina Fey, & Amy Poehler
Favorite Comedy Album: Maria Bamford’s One Hour Christmas Comedy Special
Favorite Comedy Movie: Baby Mama
Favorite Comedy TV Show: Hacks
Favorite City to Perform In: Oakland, CA
Favorite Topics to Joke About: Dating, sex, motherhood, & reading people’s relationship auras against their will
Favorite Type of Audience for a Comedy Show: A slightly drunk one with nothing to prove and nowhere else to be.
Favorite Comedy Club: Cobbs Comedy Club in San Francisco
What do you remember most about your first time performing stand-up comedy:
I always wanted to try stand-up and so at the urging of some friends I wrote about 5 min of jokes and went for it. People laughed and it felt amazing. One of those jokes, through lots of revising and expansion, I’m pleased to say that I still tell today. I remember one of the comics told me, “hey today is your comedy birthday. Remember this date because you will be doing this for a while.” He was right.
How would you describe your comedic style:
Audacious, visual, physical, bold, and sometimes goofy. I’m like a mouthy toddler lady.
Describe your process for comedic writing:
If I’m needing some inspiration I’ll watch some comedy specials. In the process of hearing their jokes, I’ll get inspired and think, “oooh how can I tell a joke like that.” Not that joke, or even their premise, but something that does what that joke accomplishes. I appreciate the mechanics of their joke or the rhythm of it, and then I mimic that. My muse will also often wake me up around 3 am with some stream of consciousness downloading entire bits into my mind. I try to honor this and get up and write them down.
Describe the comedy scene in your area:
The Bay Area is very supportive and robust. We’ve got a plethora of open mics as well as tons of showcases, and a number of really good clubs. So I feel that from the time you start to as you progress and get better you are supported by the natural next step. As long as you work hard and keep improving the scene provides new opportunities.
How do you judge success in the world of comedy:
If you are able to write things that satisfy you, make an audience laugh, bring a room together, and get paid for it consistently then this is a success.
Who are some of your comedic peers that you enjoy watching perform or inspire you personally and professionally:
I love Chelsea Bearce – she’s a mad beast on stage and has this way of doing crowd work that just tells the truth like she opens up her mouth and just goes and somehow people aren’t offended but are just in awe and in love with her.
What’s been your most memorable moment in comedy:
I’ll never forget the time I got boo’d by about a hundred people. It was one of those situations where I told a really risky joke for the room I was in and it made some people fall out of their chairs laughing and other people got really triggered. I don’t tell that joke anymore because I sat with it and ultimately felt it was just too divisive. But looking back it was one of my most alive moments. I just remembered feeling that tension in the room when half the crowd HATED me and instead of feeling afraid I actually felt alive. They were paying attention and the fun came when I was able to sit in that tension, turn it around and win them back. That’s when I knew I could be good at this thing called live stand-up.
What have you learned most from your failures in comedy:
I’ve learned about the kind of material I want to write. I like to shock and ignite, but not to the point where it divides the room or leaves people feeling bad. In the beginning, it takes a minute to figure this out. But I’m grateful for all of those awkward sets in small rooms because that’s where you get the best workout and learn to fail gracefully.
If you could change one thing in the world of comedy, what would it be:
I’d like to see more voices in comedy. Diversity. Women, transgender folks, people of color. Especially women of color! And also different styles of comedy. There tends to be a certain “trend” of what’s “cool” and I’m really drawn to comics when you watch them and you’re like oh wow that’s special. There like nobody else. And that’s cool. I think we need more of that.
If you were releasing a comedy special this week, what would it be called:
“Ask for What You Want,” or maybe, “Mouthy Toddler Lady”
Weirdest place you’ve ever performed any form of comedy:
During the first year or so of the pandemic, we performed so much comedy in the park. One mic was held on Lake Merritt in Oakland underneath the “Fairyland” sign. David Dominguez ran that open mic nearly every day. It was so cool to know that in the middle of all the strangeness and scariness of the pandemic you could go over there to the lake, grab a set, see some friends and just let off some steam.
Where would you like your laughs to take you:
I would love to continue doing stand-up but I also see myself combining my coaching/speaking career with comedy like as a talk show host or a reality TV host. I also have started auditioning for film, commercials, and TV again and am eager to move back into film and T.V. again as well. Whatever I do with comedy I hope to use it as a tool to ultimately inspire and ignite people.
What would you tell a potential comedian if they ask you how they can own the laughs:
Don’t be afraid to own your weirdness. Lean into what’s different about you. That being said, make sure you make it funny. Make sure the audience is laughing. If you’re just up there ranting to rant and no one is laughing you should just become a poet or a speaker.
Follow Holly Shaw’s comedic journey on these social media websites:
Instagram/Twitter/Facebook/Snapchat/Tik-Tok: @hollyshawcomedy @hollyshawcreate and Holly Shaw
Youtube: Holly Shaw Comedy
