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

Emily Maverick, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Do you wish you had started sooner?

I’ve definitely taken a very kaleidoscopic & winding path, but am so grateful for everything I’ve learned at every step of the way. I was always an artist, but didn’t get into comedy and acting until relatively recently. However, I feel like everything leading up to my blossoming as a performer and clown has brought me where I am today; and I can’t wait to see what’s next.

As a kid, I was really dreamy and shy. When I was 7, I wrote a song on the piano called “Longing,” and kept imagining it as a film score for a movie. I’d go on to write more melodrama-infused songs. I performed classical piano growing up, but started to develop really debilitating stage fright and was afraid to lose my way. I used to prefer opting to just play a song I composed; that way, if I “messed up,” I was the only one who knew. I loved how freeing improvising was, and I loved surrendering to the moment and seeing what kind of magic filters in.

I was definitely a wild child, but often hid this side of myself–or reserved it for close friends. I got in trouble for talking to strangers. In middle school, my friends would dare me to do anything; whether it was getting on one knee and improvise poetry for a stranger or making up a fake identity and breaking into an adult party as a middle schooler, I was down. Talking to strangers was the easy part. I’d prank anyone and was always up to some kind of imaginative adventure where I’d get to embody other worlds and personalities. But talking to people I knew or even in front of a crowd was still too nerve-wracking.

In college, I wouldn’t even introduce myself on the first day of classes. I didn’t want my voice to shake and demanded that teachers wouldn’t call on me unless I volunteered. I premeditated everything I’d say if I had to give a presentation. I remember practicing in the mirror, “Hi, I’m Emily,” over and over again. It never sounded quite natural.

The social anxiety and perfectionism carried me into my 20s, and I started working at an ad agency where I felt I had to wear a big mask and pretend to be normal. Despite my best efforts, I’d make the weirdest social faux-pas daily. I’d go home and ruminate about how confusing my interactions had been all day. People would try to be friendly with me, and somehow I’d have all these thoughts in my mind and the only thing that would come out would be a total non-sequitur, leaving people with a perplexed look on their faces. Like, my boss at the time complimented my nails, and in my mind, I thought, “Ohhh, it was too expensive, I shouldn’t have really gotten them done,” but all I said instead of a simple thank you was, “Don’t do it.”

Eventually, I went down to LA to visit one of my best friends. She took me to an improv show, and it was the first time I had ever heard of improv. I was completely transported and had this huge feeling of deja vu in the comedy theater. I immediately thought, “This is what I have to do.” I was living in Portland at the time, and when I got home, I immediately signed up for my first improv class. I was terrified and shaky going in, but fell in love with it immediately. My whole world broke open and I never turned back. I went into acting, sketch, standup, and then clown and performance art.

The me who refused to even introduce myself in college would not believe that years later I’d be performing a solo show in front of 100+ people.

I still of course get anxious, but I embrace who I am fully and have so much more deep trust. I love to share my art and am so happy that I have freed myself enough to be able to bring my creative ideas into the light. While of course part of me wishes I had started earlier, deep down I know I had to go through all of that to land where I am now; to appreciate it deeply, and to inspire myself to constantly push through limitations.

Sure, it would have been wonderful to study performance in college! But, I studied Romance languages and my background in linguistics and traveling certainly gave birth to my love of creating new languages. My gibberish simply wouldn’t be the same had I not had a seemingly unrelated-to-performance background.

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 am a comedian, clown, voiceover artist, actor, and writer. I love to play with bending reality–twisting time and space just enough to feel transported into an extra absurd and dreamy world.

I started speaking gibberish when I was studying abroad in Italy and didn’t want people to think I was American. I told them I was from the Czech Republic and taught them my “Czech.” Fast-forward to now, and one of my favorite things to do in the world is channel gibberish. I often do standup in gibberish and recently created a whole solo show in gibberish. It debuted as part of the Elysian’s Spaghetti Fest in November 2024 and is called Slürt. It was such an amazing premier, and I’m developing it even further. I’ll be taking it to fringes this year and will have more showings at the Elysian, and I’d absolutely love to see you there!

I love to host really immersive variety shows that illuminate all kinds of different artists–from performance artists to costume designers to musicians and comedians. I am the co-creator of the Twin Flames Show (NOT the cult), a truly magical show that brings me so much joy to help create. I perform solo all around town and also with ensembles such as FLWLS and Planets, Planets, Planets (an astrology-meets-clown ensemble). I love to do absurd standup and to create otherworldly characters.

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

Being creative is a life-saving force for me. When I feel down or confused, art makes me feel free and alive. Truly, nothing makes me happier and more alive than sharing an idea or a thought and making people laugh. I love to transmute any pain I feel into something beautiful or silly, and it helps me embrace life’s ups & downs. On the other side of every low is usually something really magical and even more deeply authentic and entertaining. I think of my art as a safe haven for all the parts of me I may have otherwise rejected. Nurturing the weirdness that I tried to mask so long and realizing that it actually aligns me toward exactly where I need to be is really healing for me–and hopefully for others, too. I seek to uplift and love and express myself throughout the process.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

What I want to hide is usually where all the magic is. I used to hide a lot and keep myself safe. I’ve learned that sometimes the spaces I want to hide the most are the spaces where all my best ideas are. I’ve had to learn that my weirdness and sensitivity is actually exactly where my strength and power is. I try to nurture myself a lot and develop the openness and courage to share what I’m afraid to share. I absolutely love seeing people be wholly themselves and totally unleashed. I am constantly seeking this unleashed feeling myself. The best performances feel like a total surrender.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.emilymaverick.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emily_maverick/

Image Credits

Matt Kallish
Sarah Shtern