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

Hi Dawn, thanks for joining us today. Can you recount a story of an unexpected problem you’ve faced along the way?

I will share the story of how I graduated with a Theater Degree two weeks before 9/11. This means that I began my creative career at a time when the value of entertainment and humor was in total re-evaluation. My navigation of that terrain and commitment to continue to pursue a creative career, despite how different it was compared to what I had prepared for, is a big part of why I am where I am now.

Dawn, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I have had a wide variety of jobs over the past 25 years, but they have all exist at the confluence of history and entertainment. I have been a tour guide at several historical sites, I have been commissioned to create and perform historical theatrical pieces for museums, I am currently a talking-head on two series on the History Channel.

I am also the creator and host of a hit podcast called HILF: History I’d Like to F*ck. Each episode I am joined by a new guest who assigns me a history subject they find fascinating (aka: f*ckable). I do extensive research and then strip the history naked and serve it up raw. Guests include Emmy-award winners, authors, lawyers, comedians and even my dear ol’ ma.

HILF has approximately 50 episodes and we’ve hopped into bed with everything from Frankenstein to the Titanic, from Cleopatra to Monica Lewinsky.

I am most proud of the reach that HILF has had over its two-year lifespan. Each episode breaks the download totals of the one before, and I am regularly contacted by listeners and potential guests from around the world. It is a joy and a privilege to bring the real events from our shared past to be marveled (mocked, re-imagined, celebrated) in the present. Indeed, History is a party and everybody’s coming.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

I think if someone considers themself a ‘non-creative’ (which is a term I’d take a cup of coffee with them to define) then they would likely struggle most to understand the Why of my journey.

There were a lot of forks in the road for me along the way that presented a smoother and easier path if I simply left the art behind. Why didn’t you take the ‘day job’ the ‘security’ the ‘sure thing’ instead of all of these ‘what-if’s’ and ‘might work’ and ‘give it a try.’

I lived aboard a houseboat on the Mississippi River in St. Paul, Minnesota (year-round) for nine years.
I moved to LA in an RV and lived in it in a trailer park in Van Nuys for four years.
I performed stand-up comedy 8 months pregnant.

Why the hell…

Easy answer. Same answer for all of them and many more (and may there be more ahead).

I love it.

It makes my heart flip. It makes me proud of myself and happy to be on earth. What else is there?

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

I think we must recognizing the swell of creative work around the part that is the most visible.

So certainly one should go see stand-up comedy live at a comedy club – and while doing so open one’s eyes to the infrastructure that made the event possible. Tip the staff, recognize the importance of parking/transportation to the success of an event.

People you follow are producing dope content because they’re brilliant, of course – and they also have good wifi, functioning tech, a space to create.

In general, we can all open our peripheral vision to see how the system holds up and holds back and how we can impact that positively.

Contact Info:

• Website: dawnbrodey.com
• Instagram: @dawn_brodey and @hilfpodcast
• Facebook: Dawn Brodey
• Twitter: @dawn_brodey
• Youtube: @hilfpodcast6927

Image Credits
Podcasting with Jim Jefferies (IDKAT Podcast) live at Flappers Comedy Club in Burbank. Cactus dress – Michael Schwartz Photography.