348: Laura Merli and Belly Slappin' Fun

Laura Merli! Comedian! Delight! Human with a new standup special out now! ABOUT THE NEW SPECIAL WHICH IS ALSO HER DEBUT SPECIAL, "BELLY SLAPPIN' FUN!"   After cutting her teeth for 8 years in the indie comedy scene, Brooklyn comedy-favorite Laura Merli has amassed over 2 million likes on TikTok. Laura specializes in set-up/punch-line jokes and one-liners rather than storytelling, in the vein of her influences Mitch Hedberg and Maria Bamford, although Laura adds her own distinctive and unique flavor. This style lets her cover A LOT of ground: drugs, sex, family/childhood, her ADHD/autism, and her dog. While the jokes emanate from a wide array of departure points, the humor centers around the awkwardness and absurdity of being alive. Laura’s delivery is distinctive as well - people describe her voice as deadpan but she promises she is being very expressive!    Since childhood Merli has been enamored with acting and writing. Although to Merli, improv initially seemed like “paying to embarrass yourself”, she finally followed the lead of some friends and tried classes at ImprovAsylum. She had a great experience and ended up obsessed, but was still wanting the ability to write before stepping onto the stage. Realizing this pointed toward stand-up, Laura got her start at a friend’s variety show called “What Else You Gonna Do Wednesday Night” and never looked back!   Merli has taken her art and career in her own hands, refining her material all around NYC, and on the road via The Awkward Route Tour with fellow stand up Freddy G (Sirius XM, NPR). With  comedy well-suited to the TikTok format, Belly Slappin’ Fun is eagerly anticipated by her large online following who, along with fans-to-be will get their dose of Belly Slappin’ Fun on July 18!    ABOUT LAURA MERLI: Laura Merli is an NYC-based standup, actress, and writer. She amassed over 2 million likes on TikTok, was “passed” at New York Comedy Club, has headlined the “Don't Tell” and “Modelface” comedy shows, and appeared at the New York Comedy festival as well as the Women in Comedy Festival. Every third Thursday, she hosts the Good Girl stand up show at Friends & Lovers, one of the hottest alt-comedy spots in Brooklyn. She has performed at top-tier venues across the city including The Bell House, Littlefield, Caveat, and more.   As someone who didn’t start comedy until their late 20s, Laura has held a wide variety of odd jobs including cashier, ebay store photographer, project manager, zombie in an escape room, business analyst, and carnival worker (her grandparents family business). She has since written for and acted on sketch house teams at the PIT and Improv Boston as well as Reductress, The Hard Times, and McSweeney’s. Merli has hosted/written/produced videos for the female-focused humor brand Cheezcake.  ABOUT THIS PODCAST!: You can listen to it! We had a great chat! You can have a great listen! And this is only the first HALF of our conversation! For part two, subscribe via Apple Podcasts OR just head on over here to Patreon!