Her Story
About Hanna
I got into comedy when I was in college at USC, where I studied film and graduated in 2014. After 12 years in the field, I've developed an established hour of material that I've been running. My first job out of college was as Pauly Shore's assistant, and he gave me my first big opportunity when I opened for him on the road just a year and a half into my comedy career. On a good week, I perform 8 to 10 shows, and on slower weeks around 5 shows. I try to write every day, constantly working new material into my sets, usually 3 to 5 minutes of new stuff to see what sticks. If it's not working, I go back to my usual material that I know works. I have a full-time job that I balance with my comedy career, and I also produce a podcast. My typical day involves getting into the office by 9, going to Pilates, and then hitting a show. I've had a lot of traction this year with my online content, though the internet is volatile and it's hard to gauge what will work. The algorithm can be unpredictable - sometimes I think something is really funny and it doesn't do well, or I think something isn't that funny and it blows up. I'm still in the grinding phase of my career, juggling my full-time job, podcast production, stand-up performances, and creating online content.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Hanna
01What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I would say just write as many jokes as you can and tell them to as many people as you can. And make sure that you really love it, because it is not financially rewarding until it is. I've had some success, but I'd say you have to really love it, because otherwise it's brutal. It's important to really love it.
02What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
I would say the challenges in this business and the industry is that comedy is very subjective. For the first 8 years of my career, it felt like a lot of my success relied on one person or a couple people. With the internet, it's changed because now you can just put out all your own stuff, but you're at the mercy of the algorithm, which is also tough. Sometimes I'll think something is really funny and it just doesn't do well, or I'll think something is not that funny and then it blows up. It's hard to gauge what's gonna work all the time. The internet's so volatile. I've had a lot of traction this year, but it's hard to know what works. As for opportunities, I would say just establishing yourself on the internet and putting out content consistently. The only way you're gonna get better is if you keep trying and figuring out your voice. The internet is a really good way to do that. Even if things are not blowing up immediately, you just kind of have to trust yourself.
03What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Hard work and authenticity. I'm a comedian, so I don't really have those traditional professional values, but I guess hard work and authenticity are what matter to me.
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