If Molly LaFlesh did Qi Gong every day she’d EGOT
Molly LaFlesh (she/her) is a writer, performer, and producer based in Brooklyn. You can find her work on the Internet and on stages across New York, most recently as part of Boogiemanja Sketch Collective. You can follow Molly on Instagram @mollylaflesh or on eBird @peeppeepwhatsthatcheep.
What were you like as a teen?
I was, and still am, a lot. I know now there is power in that. I did every club, was president of my senior class, Class Thespian in the yearbook. I was fortunate enough to have a strong mentor in my Creative Writing teacher, Vicky Nordlund, who helped me win awards and scholarships, mostly for poetry. I get really independent and hard-headed if I have a vision, but otherwise I go along with what everyone else is doing. So without a role model for comedy, I didn’t understand it. SNL in that era was amazing, Tina and Molly Shannon and everyone, but I didn’t understand how to get into sketch or improv.
All the guys would quote Key and Peele and it didn’t feel like it was for me. I wanted to do comedy but I didn’t know how. I remember watching MTV’s Made and thinking “oh, maybe they can make me into a standup.” That was the only way I could understand how to get in, by some kind of big break. Meanwhile I was being taken very seriously as a poet simply by saying I was a poet. It’s only recently I started tying this all back together: you can just wear a title. I still balk at calling myself a “comedian,” like that title is reserved for people who deserve it more. But I am a comedian because I say I am. And because I work hard, but for me, that’s always been the easy part.
Did you have an un-sexy starter job?
I wrote and studied literature and poetry at Emerson College. I graduated with honors and connections…and immediately got a job at LensCrafters. I had to blow the puff of air in people’s eyes. I was there for years. I had no idea how to make a resume or get a writing job.
Again, it’s a role model thing. Even though they are all supportive and proud of me and so loving, no one in my immediate family has jobs that align with their passions, so I didn’t understand how to do it. It was like, “college was fun, time to get a job I hate.” I really believed that. I stayed in Boston for 15 years. I worked at a bunch of tech startups that became my life.
I was so stressed I blew out my thyroid. I stopped writing. I drank a lot. I also saw my friends every day and fell in love with and married the best person I’ve ever met. I did tons of therapy, grew up a lot, and gained 100 billion professional and leadership skills. I loved Boston. I felt like I knew everyone. Life was okay. I was doing sketch and improv in Boston, but it took the pandemic to fully shake me out of it. I got out of the tech grind, stopped drinking, and my partner and I moved to New York in 2021. I got to New York and two days later I started taking sketch and improv at Squirrel. Everyone in the community here was like, YOU’RE HERE NOW, YOU’RE IN A REAL CITY, WE SEE YOU, WE LOVE YOU. YOU ARE SAFE. I get to be a theater kid again. Turns out that is just who I am.
What is your biggest comedy achievement to date?
TBD.
When you were coming up in comedy, what helped you stick with it?
Remembering that at the end of the day, no matter how hard it gets, it’s just fart jokes.
Have you ever dealt with trolls?
Empathy I guess. In a perfect world, I have done all my yoga and gotten good sleep and had a good meal. Then I just send the haters some loving kindness and laugh about it with my friends. I went to a clown class on Inauguration Day and the super-amazing Tallie Medel had us direct the Loving Kindness meditation to Mitch McConnell or whoever we thought needed it.
On your deathbed, what transcendent advice would you croak at a young comedian?
You’re okay, you’re safe, you’re enough. Not long before he died, my dad said “I love you because you’re Molly.”
Best comedy advice you ever got?
In writing, just because you can do something, doesn’t mean you should. That was general writing advice from my poetry mentor in college: don’t try to be too clever. It’s a good way to avoid cliches.
How has being funny helped you in your life?
Being funny is a survival skill that so many of us have to develop growing up. It’s actually learning how to not be funny, or not be THE MOST FUNNY ALL THE TIME, that I think has been the most helpful. Just being me. Sometimes she is funny, sometimes not, it’s all good. It takes the pressure off. I hope/plan to get less funny with time.
What specific things should a novice comedy writer do to shape their voice?
There’s a lot of physical stuff that has helped (and continues to help) me. Yoga, meditation, walking. I want to do more voice training. The more you understand your physical voice, the more you understand your voice as a writer. Go take a clown class. Anything that gets you to know yourself better. If I did Qi Gong every day I would probably EGOT.
Do you have a writing routine?
I have a two-year-old. I have no time. The best routine for me is just get it done. Trying not to procrastinate. But also knowing procrastination is part of the process. Getting up to make yet another cup of tea before anything meaningful has been accomplished: that’s writing.
What is your go-to show when you’ve had a bad day?
Gilmore Girls, Seinfeld, videos of birds.