Alicia Lutes has sniper-like skills
Lutes is a writer—all kinds—based in Los Angeles, who has written extensively on culture, entertainment, and mental health. Her work has been featured in places such as Playboy, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, MTV, Cosmopolitan, Rotten Tomatoes, Bustle, and more. Previously, she was Managing Editor at Nerdist, as well as creator/former host of the web series Fangirling. She has been known to perform comedy and is also her own grandpa, so biographies are incredibly hard for her.
After a stint in digital marketing and social media management, Alicia found herself moving to Los Angeles and working as an entertainment journalist at Hollywood.com, doing exclusive reporting on things like “Is Catfish Catfishing America?” (it was!) and “Why Isn’t a Woman Being Considered for Late Night?” (complete with an interview with Joan Rivers). This led to a string of bylines at places like Bustle, Elle, Cosmopolitan, Playboy, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, and many more. Her success as a freelancer led to her working as an Associate Editor at Amy Poehler’s Smart Girls (where she worked in the writer’s room on Cameron Esposito and River Butcher’s series She Said), and later as Managing Editor Nerdist, where she also successfully created and hosted her own chat show, Fangirling, for three seasons—bringing in hundreds of new subscribers to their short-lived streaming service.
Since returning to freelance life, Alicia has found continued success writing about entertainment, culture, mental health, politics, and more at places like Vulture, Stylist, Backstage Magazine, Well + Good, and even got very personal on Longreads. (There are more outlets to list, but nobody likes a braggart, right?) She has produced and directed videos for Elle UK, working with the likes of Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Guirira, Letitia Wright, Lizzo, and Haim. Her scripts and interview skills have been praised by Emmy and Academy Award winners alike, with her work bringing her around the world to conduct interviews and make stuff. She one day hopes to have some accolades to add to her biography, but in the meantime will say she is many of her 30+ foster dogs’ top 3 favorite people, and that is enough of an award. Just please don’t confuse her with her father’s other daughter named Alicia Lutes. (Yes, it’s a whole thing and she is finally writing a memoir.)
What were you like as a teen?
I was VERY ANNOYING but like…in a fun way! I was often too smart/quick for my own good and a tad dramatic, which was often funny (but I flopped a lot, too). At the same time, I was also wildly insecure, being the financial aid/work study/scholarship kid at an elite private high school where I felt deeply out of my league on a social level. I wrote and performed constantly: in plays, musicals, bookstore openings, and the National Anthem at the local ball games (shout-out to the New Haven Ravens), and I one day dreamed of becoming the next Barbra Streisand/Nora Ephron/Tina Fey.
Did you have an un-sexy starter job?
SO MANY! I worked in retail; I worked for a home health care agency; I interned at a record label (OK that one was a little bit sexy, I will admit), and my first “adult” job after college was scheduling commercials at MTV. I learned so much from those jobs—and gained heaps of material (working at MTV in the mid-00s was a TIME). You have to live life in order to have a creative life, so I cannot recommend having a normal, un-sexy/glamorous job enough.
What do you consider to be your biggest comedy achievement to date?
I made Amy Poehler laugh twice (put it on my tombstone).
When you were coming up in comedy, what helped you stick with it?
Making other people laugh/the joy I felt doing so.
Have you ever dealt with trolls?
Kill ’em with kindness…and FACTS.
On your deathbed, what transcendent advice would you croak at a young comedian?
In the words of my grandmother, “Don’t try, just do.” (my grandmother was a Nike-wearing Yoda).
Best comedy advice you ever got?
“If it’s funny to you, it’s probably funny to someone else.”
Worst comedy advice you ever got?
How has being funny helped you in your life?
Being funny has saved my life AND gotten me work. As a kid, my sense of humor diffused many a testy situation, that same sense of humor and comedic timing has made me the sort of writer with “a singular voice” that editors are drawn to and know they can rely on to be both insightful and humorous.
What specific things can a novice comedy writer do to shape their voice?
BE AN ACTIVE LISTENER! Seriously, not enough people listen, to anyone, ever. Pay attention to what and how people say things, and if you find it funny or interesting (or idiosyncratic or worthy of being needled) lean into it. Truly, cannot recommend enough: being an active participant in your life when it comes to shaping your voice.
Was there one person who inspired you to go into comedy?
Honestly? Barbra Streisand. Listening to the sketches and comedic interludes during 1994’s “The Concert” (a MAJOR moment for me, personally.) made me realize being funny is a sniper-level skill that—when utilized by an unexpected source (be you a glamorous young songstress or an awkward and dramatic teenager with a dream)—can change your life.
Do you have a writing routine? )
I try to write every day. I do not have a specific time for writing, though I used to do morning pages and those were great. But I tend to do my paid writing work in the morning and my personal projects in the late afternoon/evening.
What is your go-to show or movie when you’ve had a bad day?
Season one of Ted Lasso is a perfect combination of hilarity and heart, so no matter the day I have, I know that one will make me smile.
What single word always cracks you up?
