Before she moved to the city of bright lights and fame, this comedian already established a career that many would kill for. Now, she’s ready to use her successful comedy experience to take Tinseltown by storm. As part of We Own The Laughs.com’s Comedian of the Day, have a few laughs and get to know comedian Becky Braunstein. The Eagle River, AK native shares some of her favorite moments in stand-up comedy and lets us know how she always owns the laughs.
Name: Becky Braunstein
Hometown: Eagle River, AK/ Los Angeles, CA
Instagram/Twitter/Facebook/Snapchat/Tik-Tok: @BeckyBraunstein
Years in Comedy: 9
Haven’t we seen you somewhere before: I’ve appeared in Shrill (Hulu), Trinkets (Netflix), Chad (TBS/Roku), and have a half-hour comedy special, produced by Wanda Sykes, as part of Unprotected Sets on MGM+. I recently directed and have a cameo in the music video for ‘Hey New Zealand’ by The Exbats on Goner Records.
Comedic Influences: Suzy Eddie Izzard, The Mighty Boosh, Lena Dunham, Russell Brand, Judd Apatow, Seth Rogen, and my mom.
Favorite Comedy Album: Maria Bamford has about 4 in a row that are all 10/10. She will get you through a hard day
Favorite Comedy Special: I’m supposed to say mine, but the one that sticks with me after… oh wow, 20 or so years is Suzy Eddie Izzard’s ‘Dress to Kill’. I’d never seen anything like it. I didn’t know you could talk about history and go off on tangents and act-outs like that in standup comedy. It made me want to give it a try someday when I watched it as a teenager.
Favorite Comedy Movie: This is a TOUGH tie between The Road to Wellville and Pineapple Express. No, wait, Get Him to the Greek. Sh*t, this is way too hard to choose.
Favorite Comedy TV Show: Anybody who can pick just one is a serial killer. I love Ted Lasso, Our Flag Means Death, The Mighty Boosh, The IT Crowd, Taskmaster, The Other Two, Toast of London, What’s My Line, Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace, Queer as Folk, Travel Man, Cats Does Countdown, Gavin & Stacey, and twenty other British quiz shows & sitcoms that no one else in America has ever heard of. And Shrill! I was on Shrill.
Favorite Comedic Character: What absolute psycho is able to answer these questions with just ONE ANSWER? Not me, that’s who. Richard Ayoade as Moss on the IT Crowd: 10/10, no notes. There are 3 or 4 Mighty Boosh & Luxury Comedy characters that could get a spinoff, just believe me, America. Nick Mohammed (Nate) and Brendan Hunt (Beard) on Ted Lasso are fantastic. Matt Berry as Steven Toast. Matt Berry as Laszlo Cravensworth. Actually Matt Berry as anything at all, I’d watch him read the phone book.
Favorite City to Perform In: Portland! Why not.
Favorite Topics to Joke About: The stuff the algorithm doesn’t like. Silly observational stuff, history, or stories with weird tangents.
Favorite Type of Audience for a Comedy Show: A packed crowd that knows there’s about to be comedy.
Favorite Comedy Club: I’ll always love Helium in Portland, but the independent / alt shows are always the best in every city
How did you discover your passion for comedy:
I started out as an actor; then I did improv because it’s all we had in Alaska. Then I realized I could do essentially that but without having to answer to other people through stand-up.
What do you remember most about your first time performing stand-up comedy:
I didn’t expect to do as well as I did. The video is hilariously bad to me now, but for a first time comedian, it was a good showing. I wore a purple sweatshirt and cried in the club kitchen after my set.
How would you describe your comedic style:
Animated, clever, verbal, stoked. I have a comedian friend who calls it “unreasonable enthusiasm.”
Describe your process for comedic writing:
I’ll usually just riff in conversations and then write it down if something was funny, then expand on it. Wow, nothing ruins a joke like explaining how it’s made.
Describe the comedy scene in your area:
I literally JUST moved from Portland to Los Angeles, so I can tell you about Portland. It’s scrappy, creative, progressive, and they hold one another to a high standard. We are also weirdly supportive of each other for the most part. Other city scenes have commented on it.
How do you judge success in the world of comedy:
This is a big question. I mean… if they laugh, that’s a good sign.
Who are some of your comedic peers that you enjoy watching perform or inspire you personally and professionally:
My friends are funnier than your friends: Amy Miller, Hannah Einbinder, Sean Jordan, Gary Gulman, Curtis Cook, Danielle Perez, Joe Mande, Caleb Hearon, Zach Sherwin, Ian Karmel, Toussaint Douglass – there are many others. I just smashed through all of Joe Lycett’s standup specials in one weekend, we’re not friends yet but we clearly should be.
What’s been your most memorable moment in comedy:
Performing for a sold out theater crowd of 3,000 people is hard to beat. Filming my special was pretty amazing too.
What have you learned most from your failures in comedy:
Failures often lead to successes. Jokes that don’t exactly kill the first few times out can become closers if you keep fine tuning.
How do people react toward you when they realize that you can make people laugh:
People often say they’re surprised how different I seem onstage to how I am in regular life. It would require an IV drip of caffeine to have that much energy at 9am on a Wednesday though, you know?
Describe building a career in stand-up comedy:
Blood, sweat & tears for a thousand years, then you think both ‘how did I get here in the blink of an eye?’ and ‘how am I only halfway up the mountain?’
If you could change one thing in the world of comedy, what would it be:
Fewer hecklers, more masks & hand sanitizer
Best advice you’ve ever received from a comedian:
Gatekeepers aren’t as powerful as they want you to think they are.
If you were releasing a comedy special this week, what would it be called:
“Central Air At Last”
Funniest encounter you’ve ever had with a celebrity:
Right before the pandemic shut everything down, I met Fabio at brunch. We have the same brunch spot. Me and Fabio’s last brunch before the world ended was together.
Weirdest place you’ve ever performed any form of comedy:
In the office of the mayor of Anchorage, Alaska.
A Becky Braunstein Fun Fact:
I won the Alaska state spelling bee in 1997 and competed in the national finals in Washington DC. I did not win.
Where would you like your laughs to take you:
I don’t have one specific ultimate goal necessarily. I would love to do some British panel/quiz shows, and to be a series regular on a tv show that a lot of people really like. Create & act in some great films. And 50 other things, who knows?
What would you tell a potential comedian if they ask you how they can own the laughs:
Can laughs (or anything) ever truly be owned? Property is a construct, man
What are your thoughts on the future of comedy:
It changes too fast to predict now. Just like ten years ago, ten years from now we will be consuming comedy in a totally different way than we do now. I have no idea what that way will be, maybe we’ll dip back retro and bring back silent films. I’d be great at that. Big eyes, animated face. Pale. They’d have loved me in 1924.
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:
An episode of Frasier where the Cranes go stay with the Moons in Manchester. Comedy ensues. Fun fact; Brian Cox (Succession) played Daphne’s dad on Frasier so with him in it, my episode is an Emmy shoo-in.
If you could choose ONE comedy club and THREE comedians to perform with on your perfect comedy show, how would it go:
We open a club on the Mars colony. Joe Lycett and I do a half hour each, then the show closes with a Mighty Boosh reunion.
What’s next for you:
The move to Los Angeles was a pretty big thing. As soon as I’m unpacked, I’m working on a comedic short film about cancer.
Why should a person always laugh at life:
I’d never say anyone “should always” do anything, necessarily. Except breathe. Always breathe. Laughing at life won’t change anything, but it’s a more fun use of your time than the alternative.
Follow Becky Braunstein’s comedic journey on these social media websites:
Instagram/Twitter/Facebook/Snapchat/Tik-Tok: Becky Braunstein
Youtube: Becky Braunstein
Personal Website: Becky Braunstein
