Today we’d like to introduce you to Vanessa Gomez Pereyra.
Vanessa, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Comedians are some of the funniest and grittiest people I know, and I just didn’t feel that the local San Diego comics were getting the attention they deserved. So, I decided to shine the light on them.
Paradox Comedy gets its name from the paradox that makes good comedy. Initially, good comedy should both attract and repel its audience. There is a truth-telling that happens in those dark comedy clubs that gives us permission to laugh at our own human absurdity. At the same time, the truth can be so repellant that we need that dark room to laugh in safely. But there are a lot of paradoxes in comedy. Some comedians live in their cars, battle health issues, struggle with addiction — but they continue to show up and write and sparkle on a stage for three minutes at a time to make strangers laugh. Some of them up to six or seven nights a week. The sad clown paradox doesn’t always apply, but I see it often, and it kind of blows my mind.
There is also something so difficult to understand about why some of the most talented and funniest comedians don’t get the same chances I see others get… For example, I can see a comedian who is obviously unfunny and not skilled at writing jokes at all but is gifted at flattery and networking, and boom – they get booked on shows. It’s wildly frustrating because some of my favorite local comedians are the ones I want people to go and see in clubs, but they get stuck doing oddball shows where nobody goes to see them.
So, I figured if there’s no justice in comedy that I’d make it myself. It really inspired me in a way much like the old DIY punk scene I grew up in did. That’s how Paradox Comedy was born. I post comedy club reviews, shows I’m looking forward to, comedian interviews, and more. Almost four months later, Paradox Comedy has over 2200 followers, a podcast coming out next month, and is continuing to grow.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
If it was easy, I wouldn’t do it. The struggles are what makes it interesting. Sometimes I go to an open mic, and I’m the only non-comedian sitting through everyone’s three-minute sets for the third time that week. It’s not always easy to keep laughing in those moments. Or sometimes, I’ll check out a show at a really seedy location and wonder, “Hmm, was this really worth it?” Sometimes it is, sometimes it isn’t, but it’s all part of the journey.
Also, my vision for Paradox continues to change as I hear feedback from local comedy fans and the comedians themselves. Every day I wonder, “What can I do to make this better?” while allowing space for “Maybe just continue to do what you already know will work.” I really want people to l believe me when I say a comedian is talented. I believe in these folks because I see them getting better and funnier and trying new stuff and taking chances.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
A lot of things in comedy are very thrown together or disorganize so I naturally wanted to help. I’d see comedy flyers and cringe like, “You couldn’t pay me to go to that thing based off this weird flyer.” So, I hoped adding some aesthetic to comedy would make it more interesting to other comedy fans. In addition to writing about comedians and actually hosting IG live interviews, I think that when a community understands more about each other as humans, we can better understand each other as artists. Even if that art is just standing on a stage and telling jokes.
Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc.?
I really rely on some of my favorite journalistic writers like Joan Didion, Ben Fong-Torres, and Lester Bangs to inspire some of my more journalistic attempts at highlighting the comedy scene.
But obviously, a lot of comedy podcasts like Tiger Belly and Trash Tuesday are important to me because they do tend to have frank conversations about their LA comedy scene.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.paradoxcomedy.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/paradox.comedy
- Other: https://www.instagram.com/vanessaonearth
