We were lucky to catch up with Diane Jorge recently and have shared our conversation below.

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

I’ve always dreamt about being a full-time performer. However, in 2020, with the pandemic, is when I really made up my mind about pursuing comedy & acting more seriously. I unfortunately lost my mom during the pandemic. She was the best mother anyone could have asked for. She always put things off for later, but in doing that, she never got to do a lot of things on her bucket list. I didn’t want to have the regret to not pursuing comedy because of my fear or waiting for the right time. I don’t know what time I have left, but for whatever’s left, I’ll be making people laugh!

Diane, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am a lot of things – actor, comedian, improviser & storyteller. I’m born and raised in Miami from Cuban immigrant parents. I’ve performed all over South Florida & the country for over 15 years. As an improviser, I performed, taught and directed improv with various groups including Just the Funny, Front Yard Theatre Collective and ImprovU. I have a solo improvised telenovela called Solovela, which is based on an interview with the audience and turning that interview into a telenovela made up on the spot. I’ve taken Solovela to various comedy festivals including the Miami Improv Festival, Omaha Comedy Festival, Twin Cities Improv Festival, and more.

I also perform stand-up and when I’m not performing stand-up as myself, you might catch my alter ego Mercado de la Fortuna. This character is loosely based on famous Latin astrologer Walter Mercado & recently headlined at the Miami Improv. As a storyteller, I recently won The Moth StorySLAM in Miami.

I love to amp up the sillyness and the absurdity of every day life. I love bringing my Cuban culture and Miami to my performances. Even when I leave Miami, trust, Miami doesn’t leave me. If it’ll make you laugh, I’ll do it!

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

PAY. ARTISTS. FOR. THEIR. ART. Artistic labor is labor. PERIOD. Try to imagine your life without art. It’s impossible to do that.

Artists are people trying to make a living. And many of us paid for training so that we can perfect our art. Paying us in exposure isn’t going to help. Last I checked, your landlord or student loans don’t accept exposure as a form of payment. Also, when people mention “getting exposure”, you’re sometimes performing to people that aren’t going to help further your artistic career. A lot of times when you’re a professional artists, you work another job to pay the bills. Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t get into comedy for the money. I got into for the love of it, but I would love it a lot more if someone paid for my time. I don’t have all the answers, and I don’t know how to fix this. However, I think people need to see art as something worth paying for.

Also, if you personally know an artist in your life and you care about them, support their art. If your friend or family member is having a show, maybe get a few of your friends together and go support them. If you can’t afford tickets to their show, you can always share their latest social post or event to your friends or social networks.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being a creative is when people see and appreciate your work. Creativity comes from such an emotional place, and when anything I say or do elicits strong emotion, I know I did my job. I don’t know what all the drugs feel like. However, that feeling of being on stage and people loving what you do is the one addiction I just can’t quit. This is especially true when people respond to material that’s the most personal to me and speaks to how I see the world.

Art is subjective and not everyone is going to like or appreciate your art. This is why I try to make things I know I like and things that are true to me vs. something I think others will like. My greatest resource is me. No one is me, so when I write jokes or create shows, I make sure the material is personal to me. No one else can be me, so why should I try to be someone else?

Contact Info:

• Website: dianejorge.com
• Instagram: @dianeisloud
• Twitter: @dianeisloud
• Youtube: @dianeisloud

Image Credits
Paty Laylle/Laylle Digital Media @laylledigitalmedia, Blondel Garcon @blondel.garcon, Ferdi Rodriguez/FERDtography.com, Abby Ballin @aballinphoto