Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Kristina Banks (please List Me As “kbanks”). We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Kristina, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?
I was in my 20’s when I first attempted stand up comedy and was scared shitless {terrified} of seeing what I was up against. I had no handle or awareness of my ADHD, anxiety, or my underlying super powers. I quit after going up twice. So when I was in my early 30’s, working as a wedding planner, and recruited into comedy, I rolled my eyes, threw up my hands and asked how anyone even learns that. Little did I know, that was my surrender to the craft. The person who recruited me was the Professor of Stand up Comedy at UNLV and was ready with a book in hand and offering mentorship. I immediately dove in, reading and writing for about 8months to sharpen my material and find friends to join me. While I was creating good habits on the backend of the things, the challenge was I needed to just go do it, and I needed to go alone. The skills from my corporate sales past were the biggest things I relied on–always network up, never laterally, find the good habits you want to copy and add to yourself, and always ask for feedback. Being new, I knew expectations, rushing the process, and being rude wouldn’t get me anywhere, so I had to teach myself the largest lesson of patience.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I always day dreamed about being a stand up comedian, but we all know the many sad stories of the greats struggling with mental health and/or dying extremely early due to their vices. So when I got recruited because I had “innately good habits of a seasoned stand up”, my first reaction was a long exhale with a couple of swear words–I knew I had homework and couldn’t avoid it anymore. I knew comedy would kill me. Staying out late, eating bar food, drinking, smoking, staying out late–as sexy as that is, if I’m going to leave my comfort zone, I want to at least make sure I can make it out alive. I had already started intensive therapy to help get my mind right, and by the second month of reading my first comedy book, I hired a physical trainer. I knew I would need to watch footage of myself and didn’t want to hate watching myself. When I started comedy, I knew I wanted to suck–I’d rather be bad a good habits than rely on a crutch and need to wean off it of it later, so I gave myself the rule I wasn’t allowed to drink before going up on stage. I wanted to go in the most professional and treat this like a job, so I could treat it as such. Going about my time, it was because of my small daily “hard” habits that built me into the person they all know today–prompt, professional, and the queen of the under ground. I’m most proud to say that I can walk into any club and know a majority of the people there, be named one of the biggest hustlers in the scene, and I dropped 60lbs along the way. Showing my work in every avenue helped propel me into hosting and co-producing an open mic (Manic Monday at the Huntridge Tavern), creating, producing, and hosting multiple gameshows (Stumpin Stoners for Nuwu Dispensary and Figure It Out for The Composers Room), and becoming the new co-host and co-producer for the Comedy Rumble at Wiseguys. It’s been extremely rewarding and exciting to watch each brand evolve and grow the more I dig deeper into what makes each one special, and trust me when I say this is only the tip of the iceberg of all the ideas I have.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
The most rewarding thing about being a creative is that everything works in my favor. The good, the bad, the confusing, the ugly, the missed, and the rewards. I get to monetize the culmination of my past, enlightenment discovered in the present, and plans of the future. The more I share, the more I discover, and the more I evolve. I remember reading the greatest artists are always defined by their limitations, so it makes it easier to see each fire or complication as an option for a different avenue to present itself. There’s 14 different ways to get to LA and one of them is walking backwards. It’s been an amazing journey of learning to trust the fall, embrace the present, and use the negative in your advantage.
How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?
In trying historical times, people have always looked towards the poets, songwriters, and creatives as a way to escape and expand a message to something larger. Comedy as an artform almost died–we were almost canceled out entirely. I fully feel that after Covid, society wasn’t trusting of big companies while simultaneously getting back to what we missed the most–wanting to be entertained. Everything fun in life had stopped, and a majority of what they craved was art and straight forward, honest people. With that time, comedians had to turn into something more than ‘just being funny’, now expanding into a brand that’s much larger than the stage, the best way to support us (or any creative) is to show up. I know this isn’t always a possibility in person, but we have so many more avenues to help support from afar too. The aim for any artist/creative is to share a good mood, and to me, comedy is a verbal tickle. Come out, become a friend, and let’s play!
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @KThanksKBanks
- Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61559908520366
- Other: Etsy: KThanksKBanks
Image Credits
Photographers: Eric The Red, Tay Ilise, and Kiya
@EricTheRed.jpg
@SmokinMirrorss
@KiyaOfTigris