We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Emily Markoe. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Emily below.

Emily, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

For as long as I can remember, I’ve dealt with emetophobia (the extreme, debilitating fear of vomit…gross! sorry) and its accompanying OCD rituals and behaviors. Without exaggeration, I think about vomit every single day of my life and sometimes I’m absolutely paralyzed with fear about it. I once jumped out of a moving car because somebody started throwing up. And I was *driving* that car.

Despite doing comedy for years and thinking I had absolutely no filter, these experiences were so “normal” to me that it only only occurred to me to start speaking publicly about them in April 2023 when I was asked to perform at Sad Funny — a truly great LA comedy show, by the way.

From there, my debut solo show My Little Phobia began spilling out of me (pun intended). After workshops with See What Sticks LA and Sophia Cleary, My Little Phobia had its U.S. premiere at the June 2024 Hollywood Fringe. I’m now on my way to Edinburgh Fringe to do a full run this August. It’s been unexpectedly interesting, fun, and maybe even a little healing to get show on its feet.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I’m one of those multi-hyphenates with imposter syndrome but I’ll do my best here. I’m an actor, writer, comedian who got my start in opera — you read that right.

After years of training and auditioning for opera, I felt like I’d hit a wall. A friend suggested I try improv and I said “fine, I’ll do it, but just to improve my opera game.” Famous last words.

The classical music world finds beauty through rules, conformity, and consistency. Plus, most of your time is spent practicing alone in a small room. Improv gave this extravert a place to experiment, fail, and play with others. From there, the rest is history – improv was the gateway to writing and performing sketch and characters, making my own shorts, and now writing a 1-hour solo show, My Little Phobia

When I started, I was living in San Francisco: I was on a house team at Endgames Improv (SF Tonight), Naptime Comedy (several Funny or Die featured shorts), and the popular opera-improv team La Spazzatura. I moved to LA a few years ago and continue to perform regularly with Fishnet improv, which got our start as a Pack Theater house team.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

I’ve always been a good little rule-follower (remember the part about being a classical musician? it’s a chicken-or-egg situation). At one point, I decided to apply to grad school for opera – it felt like the necessary next step. I spent a year building up my repertoire, learning new pieces, producing and performing a recital, and recording my audition tape. I sent it to my college voice teacher, whom I respected (and still respect) immensely.

When she listened to the tape, she let me know that she felt I was not ready for grad school. She recommended that I not send it out. This was devastating. She was kind about it, and I believe that she was right that I had things that I needed to work on. Instead of taking that advice and moving forward, I deflated. I cancelled my grad school plans, never applied, and never revisited the idea.

It took me years to realize that I had let another person’s “no” become my truth. My teacher hadn’t said “never sing again” but I decided that’s what she meant. This was a huge learning for me – I can receive and respect others’ opinions and definitely learn from them, but I’m the only person who gets to decide what I do.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

Laughs!!!

I feel like I need a longer answer here. There’s just nothing like trying something out in front of an audience and it paying off. For me, when I get the immediate feedback of a laugh, I know I’ve subverted their expectations and surprised them. This is probably cliché to talk about, but it’s true. It means a whole lot to me.

My Little Phobia is a very dark comedy, so I also get the immediate feedback of groans, gasps, and sometimes just rapt attention. All of this is gold to me!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://emilymarkoe.com
• Instagram: @findemilyhere
• Twitter: @my_little_phobia

Image Credits

Zack Arch
Joanna Degeneres