We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Dede Lomenick a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Dede thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

I always loved comedy and since I was in my 20s I wondered if I had what it took to make people laugh. I studied how to write a good joke. I learned about timing, connecting with an audience and I loved the process. But like many people – real life has a way of redirecting us and convincing us that we can’t do it. The very first time I walked on stage to do stand up comedy, I was a 50 year old married pastor’s wife with three kids – two of whom still lived at home. Not the most ideal setting for a career in comedy. But let me tell you something – when I walked out there I felt like I was home! I wondered why I had wasted so much time being afraid. And guess what? I. KILLED. IT. The last few years of my life have been HORRIBLE! But my oldest daughter told me “Mom! Just think of all the material you’re getting from this!” And she’s right! That one sentence shifted my perspective!

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I have been a speaker for several years and always loved it. But doing stand up comedy is a different animal! For me, it required much more time, discipline and practice. The longer I perform the more I love it! I love humor! I love the sound of an audience laughing together. Comedy has an amazing ability to open us up and allow us to laugh at the human condition! There is certainly plenty of heavy stuff all around us and so sharing laughter – to me – is like offering an oasis in the middle of the desert. My goal is to be that oasis – to help us see how much we have in common and to use that to sneak in some wisdom. After a show an audience member came up to me and said “I was having so much fun I didn’t feel like I was learning anything. But I just realized that you taught me a lot!” We have access to such an overwhelming amount of information that we need to be creative and FUN in the way we communicate. I’m proud of my work and am proud that I am a clean comic. I’m not against other types of comedy at all! But I think being a clean comedian forces me to be more creative. I have clients that have hired me to come to their very serious conferences to be the surprise fun guest. It’s incredible to watch the reaction of a room full of people when they realize that it’s time to LAUGH instead of hearing another serious speaker!

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

Honestly, it really is the sound of laughter! When I’m writing material and then practicing it over and over and over again, I get to a place where I wonder if it’s even funny anymore! So hearing people laugh at a story or a new joke means that I’ve resonated with them in some way. Like I said, comedy opens us up – it makes us relax a bit and not take ourselves so seriously. Comedy also UNITES an audience. To see all kinds of people laughing at the same joke is a beautiful thing. It is a brief moment of unity and an acknowledgment that we really do have a lot in common.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Well I think all of us have demonstrated our resilience over the last few years – don’t you? I mean we have carried on throughout an unprecedented time. I’m actually really ready to enjoy some precedented times now! Right after Covid hit my marriage fell apart. As I said earlier, I was married to a pastor. He chose to leave the marriage and leave the ministry so my entire world was turned upside down. I felt lost and I didn’t feel like I knew who I was anymore. We had been together almost 30 years – it felt worse than death – at least to me. So the last several months I have been taking one step at a time and learning about who I am – not as a pastor’s wife or as a mom – just as DEDE. I realized that I didn’t know who I was and I had lost myself trying to please everyone else. So I am relearning a lot of things and I’m releasing a lot of things and I’m creating more and better material than I ever have before! And that’s RESILIENCE BABY! I’m pretty honest when I get up in front of an audience and I think people appreciate that and don’t feel so alone.

Contact Info:

• Website: dedelomenick.com
• Instagram: dede.lomenick
• Facebook: @dedelom
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCOtpERZHruDOWYBFgxtWsSg
• Other: email [email protected]

Image Credits
1313 Photography