Nicole Blaine is great at sweeping
Nicole Blaine’s first stand-up special with Comedy Dynamics, Life’s A Bit, will be available on March 31, 2020 on Amazon, iTunes, Google Play, and a variety of cable outlets. She is thrilled to embark on a midwest tour this summer for Scary Mommy Live, and you can catch her on the upcoming season 3 of Laugh After Dark on Amazon Prime. Nicole has been seen on NBC’s The Today Show, E’s That Morning Show, SFSketchfest, Big Sky Comedy Festival, The International FringeNYC Festival, Laughing Skull Comedy Festival and HBO’s Women in Comedy Festival.
Nicole and her producing partner/husband/assistant, Mickey Blaine, executive produced and directed the stand-up special, Burning the Light, which debuted on HBO in 2016. You can see Nicole perform every Monday night at the Kibitz Comedy Show at Canter’s Deli in Los Angeles. LA Weekly describes her as “a remarkable performer with brains, beauty and rich comic delivery,” and her honest (and crass) observations showcase her “humor, passion, dazzling charm and a naturalness that many performers, or even civilians, would kill for.” (Backstage West) She lives in Santa Monica with her husband and two kids. They all suck so she has great material.
What were you like as a teen?
I was a total theater nerd in high school and as a freshman was madly in love with the senior who played Kenickie in Grease. I wasn’t funny, I wasn’t talented enough to get a part in the plays, so I learned how to sweep the stage just to be near the cool kids.
In college I realized I wasn’t going to be cast in any shows so I started producing plays and putting myself in them and giving parts to my friends who were super talented. For 25 years I’ve kept producing theater, film and live comedy shows so that I could promote other women who were also typically dismissed in the standup comedy world.
During the pandemic, I got laid off from my secure medical sales job and thought,”fuck it, it’s time to build and own that comedy theater I always dreamt of building myself.”
And guess, what…? I married that Kenickie from my high school’s Grease show and he helped me build that dream theater we now own together today! The Crow was founded in 2022 in our hometown of Santa Monica, California and is a nonprofit mission driven 501c3 theater aimed to elevate marginalized voices and impact culture with stories that build empathy and understanding for all humans.
Did you have an un-sexy starter job?
I’ve always been good at sweeping, so now instead of sweeping other stages, I get to sweep my own! After staring my own babysitters club when I was 10 years old, I was the lead cake decorator at Ben and Jerry’s through out high school. In college I was a kid’s camp counselor, swim instructor and lifeguard. And before I started my own business as a comedy club owner, I was was a medical sales rep for 21 years in Los Angeles who moonlit as a stand-up comic.
What’s your biggest comedy achievement?
One of my favorite programs I created at The Crow is Storyectomy* (*get your story out). It’s a 6-week fully free story-making mentorship that is a mental health initiative using the art of storytelling and comedy to provide light, love, and healing around different topics. One of our themes we do each June is Family Pride, telling queer stories that all age audiences can enjoy to help celebrate the queer family experience. We have been given grants by the City of Santa Monica to keep this program free and this past year the city also invited us to write and read the city’s Pride Proclamation with the Mayor. It was incredible to be able to serve my own hometown by doing such deep and meaningful comedic art for the community.
When you were coming up in comedy, what helped you stick with it?
I think my most true and happiest moments are making others laugh and cry. There’s so much rejection in this industry that I’m surprised I kept going. But I think for me it was my partner, I got really lucky marrying my Kenickie (real name Mickey), who is also a writer and director with as much passion for the comedic arts. His encouragement has been everything. Sometimes you just need one person in your corner, whispering to you that you can do it. And telling you that we can always have day jobs but at night we can have our dream jobs.
Have you ever dealt with trolls?
Becoming a comedy club owner and “boss” has been a huge learning experience for me. Figuring out how to work with my team and bring out the best in them has been a really fun and exciting challenge. It certainly comes with growing pains as you try to find the people who work best with your mission and work flow, but I’ve learned to be more clear, direct, and find people who are filled with the same passion and excitement to be a part of this magical club that I am building.
On your deathbed, what transcendent advice would you croak at a young comedian?
Be of service first: help others and use this art for good. That will be the most satisfying way to live as an artist.
Best comedy advice you ever got?
The audience is rooting for you.
How has being funny helped you in your life?
Being funny helped me most in my day job! I was a medical sales rep and used a lot of comedy to win over the doctors!
What specific things should a novice comic do to shape their voice?
I think finding a community is the best thing you can as a comic starting out. It’s important to find your people who are also excited to evolve as comics and you need a group to go to open mics with, help each other with writing jokes, and collaborate on getting to the next level. It takes awhile to find your people, so start by taking the lead in organizing open mics, and producing shows. Lead ethically by helping others out. You’ll grow much more if you take the risk to be a kind leader and develop a strong, supportive community.
Do you have a writing routine?
I’m more of an oral storyteller–the blank page has always scared me. So I do a lot of testing out jokes by telling stories to people I work with or friends at parties. I’ll tell the same story over and over again before I put it on the page and then test it out at an open mic.
What is your go-to show?
Friends, every time!
Any final word?
Don’t let you childhood self determine your success as an adult. Be open to all the different parts of a comedy career, you never know where your strengths will lead you.
