Today we’d like to introduce you to Lauren LoGiudice.

Hi Lauren, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.

Can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today. You can include as little or as much detail as you’d like.

I got to where I am today because I didn’t give up. Period. Most of the people I started with quit a long time ago. But the main thing is that I was going to become a performer, whatever that might look like.

Elizabeth Gilbert talks about how in every endeavor, there’s always a shit sandwich. And you gotta decide if you’re ready to eat that. Me? I was ready to eat all of it.

I knew this creative life would be challenging, but it’s also been incredibly rewarding. I’ve got to where I am because I relentlessly continue to grow. I’ve had to take a lot of pivots. When I started, I was much more of an actor doing solo shows. It was simply the only thing I thought available to me. I didn’t think comedy was an avenue I could pursue, because when I would go to a comedy club I saw mostly dudes standing on stage making everyone feel terrible. That’s the opposite of what I wanna do with performance, so I thought “I could never.”

After two solo shows I was burnt out and unsure what I wanted to do next. I knew I wanted to be in front of a live audience and I was frustrated that a solo show format provided limited staging possibilities. Then my friend brought to a standup open mic and I was hooked. I had discovered an art form that allowed for a direct connection to the audience and the opportunity to perform every night. Concurrently I started work on sketch characters and continued acting on screen. One endeavor fed another, and then next thing you know, a career was born.

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?

Has it been a smooth road? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?

No creative road it smooth.

You never know what’s gonna hit. Sometimes I say a joke or try a bit or put out a video, and I think, “Meh.” But then it hits! I’ve had to accept that I don’t have control. You do the best you can, you put things out there, and you hope for the best.

For example, I was planning a 23-city tour for a variety show starring my Melania Trump impersonation. Comedian Jesse Sneddon and I worked on it for a year, and we had it all set up. I was also publishing my book “Inside Melania” at the same time and then… COVID.

But that’s the nature of this business.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?

We’d love to learn more about your work. What do you do, what do you specialize in, what are you known for, etc. What are you most proud of? What sets you apart from others?

I create comedy. And that can take many forms. It’s stand-up. It’s characters. It’s audience interaction pieces. I simply want to make people laugh and get very granular about the particulars of the human experience.

What binds us together is that we try so hard and fall so short; we can’t quite get it right. We’re all misfits. I came to this creative priority after years of observing how audiences resonated with what I presented. Once I figured that out, I ran with it.
Now I have lots of misfit-themed comedy creations, for example: my podcast Misfits Makin’ It: Oddballs Doing Cool Stuff; Capish?! Club Misfit Comedy Space; and The Misfit Variety Show, a touring show that I’m about to bring on tour in the Midwest (Chicago, Kalamazoo, Caledonia, and Cleveland).

All of these things, I hope, serve my audience because that’s the most important thing – that I am bringing value to my people, to make their day brighter.

Of course, I’m always open to being in other people’s projects, but I’m not going to wait to be asked. I feel like that’s time I could be getting better by creating my own stuff.

Because at the end of the day, you wanna be creating at the highest level you can. And for that to happen, it takes practice.

Alright so before we go can you talk to us a bit about how people can work with you, collaborate with you or support you?

How can people work with you, collaborate with you or support you?

All information about what I do, what I’m up to and what I’m planning, is on my website www.LaurenLoGiudice.com. I’m most active on Instagram, but please don’t let social media be what keeps us in touch. The algorithm changes every day and chances are low that you’ll see my posts.

So I highly recommend that you sign up for my email list. I send it once a month, and that’s where I put inside info and also where I’ll post discounts. I share things on my email list that I don’t share anywhere else. I consider my email list my misfit tribe.
You know, art outside the mainstream is supported by people who believe it should exist. So, yes, when you contribute to crowdfunding (shoutout to everyone who contributed to my Honestly short film Seed and Spark campaign!), when you come to a show and buy a ticket, when you put money in the tip bucket, when you buy some merch or participate in anything else I’m putting out there… you are enabling me to continue to put out the message that it’s okay to be different, that it’s okay to be unique, and it’s okay to be a misfit.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.laurenlogiudice.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laurenlogi/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/laurenlogi
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@LaurenLoGiudice

Image Credits

1st photo and last photo Photo Juice
2nd photo: Trapper of Colorado