The CHInterview: Ever Mainard

Wondering what it’s like to kiss your Chicago comedy career goodbye in order to head out to one of the coasts? Chicago-based performer Martin Morrow recently spoke with some of the Chicago comedy community’s recent expats who have found success in improv, stand-up, comedy and/or performing since leaving the Midwest for New Yorkier or LAish pastures. We’ll be running his CHInterviews weekly.

MM: HOW LONG DID YOU LIVE/PERFORM IN CHICAGO?

EM: I lived [there] and performed for about 7 or 8 years. Yikes!

MM: WHEN DID YOU MOVE TO LA? 

EM: A year and a half ago. 

MM: WHY DID YOU CHOOSE LA OVER NEW YORK? 

EM: I knew more people in LA and had been here several times and honestly— f*ck the cold. 

MM: HOW WAS YOUR TRANSITION FROM CHICAGO?

EM: It was bumpy. I talked to a few other Chicago ex-pats, and they said the same thing. It went from performing every night in Chicago to having one or two booked shows in LA. It was a lot of hustle all over again. I am thankful for the contacts and shows that had put me up previously before I moved. Having established a good foundation was also key to moving out here.  

MM: ANY HARDSHIPS? 

EM: Finding venues that don’t charge $1,000 a night, plus a bar guarantee. Chicago! Don’t take that for granted. A lot of bars will charge for the “atmosphere,” and it’s like, “fuck you man, this is a dive bar and we’re bringing people.” But it’s LA, and bars can get away with that. 

MM: HOW LONG WAS IT UNTIL YOU BOOKED YOUR FIRST PAID GIG IN YOUR NEW CITY?

EM: I worked hard in Chicago before I moved here, so I think my case may be different than some—but I had my first paid gig in LA the first week.  

MM: WHAT ARE SOME MAJOR CREDITS (IE: CLUBS, PEOPLE WORKED WITH, TV, SHOWS, FESTIVALS) YOU’VE DONE SINCE MOVING? 

EM: Maria Bamford, Tig Notaro, Eric Andre, Neil Hamburger, Meltdown, Super Serious— I’ve been lucky to work on a show as a researcher for Michael Ian Black and Jen Kirkman, as well as Getting Doug with High. I’ve done RIOT LA, San Francisco Sketch Fest, Bridgetown. 

MM: BEST ADVICE YOU RECEIVED WHILE IN CHICAGO AND WHEN YOU MOVED? 

EM: GROW A BIG PAIR OF BALLS

MM: SOME ADVICE YOU’D OFFER COMEDIANS WANTING TO MOVE TO LA… 

EM: LA is a clean slate. Yes, you worked hard in Chicago, but now you have to work twice as much here. LA is huge. There is so much to this city that it’s hard to conquer. And everyone is doing the same thing as you are, so try not go get stressed, but just know everyone wants you to quit. So quit. Right now. BYE! Just kidding.

LA is awesome in that there is so much competition, but there are so many more opportunities out here. Competition and collaboration make us better, and LA is great for that. Also, there’s a fucking beach and mountains.

MM: WHAT’S IT LIKE TO COME VISIT BACK HOME/WHAT IS REWARDING/HOW DOES IT FEEL TO DO JOKES YOU CRAFTED IN YOUR NEW HOME? 

EM: I love coming back to Chicago! It’s great and it feels like a playground. I feel like every time I come back, I get more and more inspired to be better. 

LA  crowds can be a little weird.  A lot of my set is riffing and just talking to the crowd, and it’s a bit harder out here. But in rooms like Meltdown—where the audience comes to see comedy— it’s a rush. I came back to Chicago and was excited to be able to do crowd work and riff, and some people were kinda shitty about it. I think that’s the most hate I’ve ever gotten, and it wasn’t even hate. A few comics were like, “well, I could be lazy and just do crowd work, but I want to hone my craft.”  

I just gave them that Prince look from the Grammys. 

Do you know how starved I have been to riff off of crowd work??  Bro, do you even lift? Also, do you know how long it took to “hone my crowd work craft”? You go be a chubby lesbian and talk to a 60-year-old conservative white male who is one of 10 people in a quiet room who hates gays and make him laugh. Then come back and tell me how easy that was.

MM: WHAT’S ON THE HORIZON? 

EM: Festivals, auditions, shows, shows, meetings, beer, festivals, self-hate, despair, meetings, shows, etc.

MM: PLUG YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA

Twitter: @evermainard 

Instagram: @evermainard

Web: evermainard.com

Read our previous CHInterviews with Ian Abramson and Saurin Choksi. 

Martin Morrow is a member of The Second City’s Bob Curry Fellowship program. Get the latest on his whereabouts via his website or by following him on Twitter @martinMmorrow.