Q&A with Iliza Shlesinger of 'Last Comic Standing'

July 31, 11:13 AMWomen of the Web ExaminerBrit Horvat

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Iliza Shlesinger works her magic on stage.

25-year-old Iliza Shlesinger, of Dallas, is the only woman still standing strong in the sixth season of NBC's Last Comic Standing, which airs on Thursday nights.

"Funny is funny and cream always rises to the top, no matter what genitalia you're packing," says Shlesinger, a perfect role model for any local woman trying to get into stand up comedy. I recently had the chance to ask this funny lady about what it's like to be in the comedy world and what advice she has for other gals trying to break into the scene.

If you weren't doing comedy, what would you be doing?

I wouldn't be me if I wasn't doing comedy, BUT if you're asking if I could have a different job, I think I'd like to be a cat.

Have you ever completely bombed a routine? 

In all honesty, I've never completely bombed. I've had bad sets, but it's never been like "insert joke here" and then crickets. I had to do a show once at a country club in front of a bunch of hammered doctors and lawyers that were my dad's age. They were trashed and there were naked strippers everywhere and I had to tell jokes. Hard to compete with naked ladies and alcohol.

Got a secret on-set story for your Last Comic Standing viewers?

Hard to say without breaking any NBC rules. Well, at night some of the comics will shed their human forms and reveal themselves to be 12-foot lizards. They usually hang out in their natural lizard bodies until it is show time, then -- back on with their human outfits. (I shouldn't have answered these questions when I was tired ...)

If Bill Bellamy was a contestant instead of the host of the show, how far do you think he would get?

That is a good question. I have worked with Bill before and he's a pretty funny dude. However, he's had a pretty good career, so I doubt he would be on the show because he wouldn't need the exposure.

Shlesinger entertains troops in El Salvador.

On your myspace profile, the "Tyra Banks Thinks I'm Ugly" post is hilarious. Have you received any other bizarre phone calls or e-mails since being on Last Comic Standing?

I've gotten some requests for like autographed head shots. If I were super famous I could understand that, but I'm not. I just go ahead and assume that most people are serial killers or trying to punk me into thinking I'm important so they can make a dart board out of my picture. Normal thoughts, I know. I do get quite a few people that myspace me a few times a week about their lives. I don't respond. But sometimes people like to feel like someone is listening to them, so as long as it's seemingly harmless, I'm okay with it. I think most people mean well.  

When did you realize that, well, you could really make people laugh?

I think I was making people laugh before I realized what I was doing. Guess that's been for a while now -- probably my whole life. I always remember teachers having a particular fondness for me because I could always make them laugh without being disruptive. My yearbooks ever since I was in like first grade are all things about how funny I was in class. 

Where are the women comics? Why do you think stand up is so male-dominated?

That's like asking, "Where are all the white pigeons?" They are around, they are just dwarfed by the number of grey pigeons. And the further outside you get from a major city, the rarer they are. Stand up has more men because I think men tend to be a bit more outgoing than women. The term "dominated" is an interesting one because it brings to mind the idea of superiority. There are more male comics, so the chance of a male comic being better than a female comic is greater.

BUT ... what most women fail to realize is that being a female in a male "dominated" industry is an advantage. That makes you a rarity, a novelty. I know plenty of female comics who aren't that good but are given more opportunities than guys who are better than them, simply because the industry is so desperate to find somewhat attractive women who can show a modicum of comedic ability. That being said, funny is funny and cream always rises to the top, no matter what genitalia you're packing. I think there have been more men in stand up, historically, because women weren't really encouraged to be performers or do anything, really besides have babies and be burned as witches. Within the past 70 years, there has been a steady increase in female comics/comedians in show business - Joan Rivers, Phyllis Diller, Bette Midler - the list goes further back. There is a cool documentary about Jewish women in comedy called Making Trouble. It's about female comedians, starting from like the 20s, because prior to the 20s there were no comics. No one laughed. You never hear about people in history being funny. It's never like "Napoleon was a great ruler, strong leader and had a great sense of humor."
 

One of the many fun photos on Iliza's myspace page.

What advice do you have for women trying to break into the comedy world?

Make no excuses. Never blame your sex. If you are not funny -- write better jokes or work harder. Never ever blame others for your shortcomings. Be the best comic you know how to be and go for it with all that you have.

What women comics just breaking into the scene should people know about?

Me, hi, my name is Iliza Shlesinger.