Interview with comedian Laura Connell

Q: What is your favorite part about being a comedian?
A: Making people laugh brings me so much joy is something that I feel like I was put on this earth to do. When you’re laughing you’re not thinking about the “crap” going on in your life. I mean, there’s so much good, but there’s also so much that people deal with on a day to day basis. So, for people to be able to just let it all go and laugh with me… that I’m able to do that for someone is something I’m really proud of. I’m honored that people find me funny.

I have had some really bad moments though where I’ve gotten off of stage and not felt good about it. So I’ve gone home and cried myself to sleep in a Taco Bell Nachos BellGrande. But hey, I’m not going to let that keep me from getting back up there. I love what I do.

Q: What comedian(s) have inspired you to succeed with comedy?
A: I try to avoid watching a lot of comedy specials and other comedians performing - I don’t want it to influence what I’m doing and I want to be authentically me. However, I really, really respect the old school women comics like Gilda Radner from SNL and Joan Rivers. They were doing it before other women were really able to talk about things. Like, Joan Rivers got kicked off of stages because she talked about her period. My sets aren’t completely PC, so women like them kind of paved the way for me to be fully creative and say what I feel on stage.

Q: Tell us a little about yourself. Where are you from, when did you become a Clemson fan? 
A: I’m from Clemson and grew up there, so I’ve always been a Clemson fan. My parents both went there for college. I think anyone who has been to Clemson knows that there is something really cool and special about that place. Then when you go there for school you kind of understand that on an even deeper level.

A little bit about me… aside from Comedy I also work at Visit Greenville SC, which is the destination marketing tourism organization for Greenville, SC. I do get to be creative there in my daily life as well as in my standup life. So that’s good for me because I need a lot of creative outlets.

Q: What has/have been your favorite Clemson experience(s)? 
A: I had so many great times when I went to school there and have a close tribe of women friends that I made at Clemson. I’m still close with them today, and I wouldn’t change that experience for the world.

I’d also say that there was a lot of craziness that happened while I was in school there which always contributes to my story and what I talk about on stage. I had a lot of fun in school, let’s just put it that way…I graduated though. 

Q: What is one of your favorite experiences as a comedian?
A: Once, I actually performed in an open-mic show with a famous comic from Greenville who was in the movie Trainwreck with Amy Schumer, Rory Scovel. He had some friends there with him and a couple of his friends on the way out said, “Your set was really good!” and I was like, “OMG, famous people’s friends like me!”

Q: What does it mean for you to be a part of the Clemson Family?
A: Clemson’s faculty actually cares like a family. I had some hard times with mental health during one particular semester in college.. I also was taking 21 hours of credits during that time which was a lot. I was super open with my professors about it. I just remember one of my professors, Karen Jones, she was just so supportive during that time and I’ll never forget that.

Q: What advice would you give to anyone looking to accomplish something similar to what you’ve done?
A: Don’t wait around to do something you know that you’d really love to do and enjoy. Sometimes I wish that I had pursued comedy sooner and not waited until someone said “Hey! You need to go to this open mic.” I also think that if you don’t know what you want to do, that’s ok too. Sometimes it’s scary and uncomfortable going after what you want to do, but it takes a little discomfort for growth.

For more information about Laura Connell or for a schedule of her shows, please visit the Laura Connell Comedy Facebook page or www.lauraconnellcomedy.com.