We were lucky to catch up with Jamie Shriner recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Jamie, thanks for joining us today. Can you share a story about the kindest thing someone has done for you and why it mattered so much or was so meaningful to you?
The summer before I left for college, my childhood home caught fire. I lost all my supplies for the upcoming fall semester. At a time where I was already preparing to start over, I was forced to literally leave the remnants of my childhood behind. A sophomore at my university, Holly Gleason (that was her maiden name anyways!), gave me ALL of her textbooks from freshman year. Every single one. I didn’t have to replace a single one of the books I lost in the fire because of her generosity. I was able to start the semester with the rest of my classmates. She had never met me, and yet she chose to help me. I try to be as kind as Holly was to me that day as often as I can. Receiving kindness of that caliber is soul-changing, and I hope everyone gets so experience and offer that type of generosity at some point during their lives.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
The bio on my website is as follows: Jamie Shriner is a comedian based in Chicago, IL. A former theatre kid, current queer, deaf, & mentally ill gig-worker, Jamie uses humorous original songs to discuss her hearing loss and mental illness, as well as her struggles with body image, womanhood, and being queer in conservative Indiana where she grew up. Jamie was named Best of the Fest at Big Pine Comedy Festival and is a regular feature at Zanies and Laugh Factory Chicago. The host and producer of Chicago Underground Comedy has opened for the likes of Beth Stelling, Randy Feltface, and Chrissy Chlapecka, and is a former Features Contributor for The Onion.
The goal of my comedy is to spread joy. I started doing comedy over 6 years ago because I kept getting booked on variety shows with my original music, and all the standup comedians on the shows with me were always straight, cis white men. I was like, I’m tired of only seeing this one perspective, so I decided I would take it upon to be the different perspective. While women as well as queer, nonbinary, neurodivergent, and individuals experiencing mental illness tend to relate to my material the most, I want everyone to smile, sing, laugh, and forget about the heaviness their day to day life for a few hours.
My perspective and approach to comedy, generally speaking, is very outside of the box. While I have been compared to Bo Burnham and Jenna Marbles, I sometimes feel like I don’t belong anywhere. Not quite standup, not quite alt, not quite musical. But being unique is my biggest strength – no one is approaching comedy in the exact way that I do. I have seen people from all walks of like, of all ages, from all over the country be thoroughly entertained by what I do, and nothing brings me a greater feeling of purpose.
What gives me the greatest feeling of pride is getting to meet and interact with people who my comedy has helped. I once had a mother tell me, with tears in her eyes, that I gave her teenage daughter hope. They had driven 2.5 hours to see me when I was just starting to headline. As hard as it gets, as often as I get hate comments online from those who don’t agree with what I am doing, if I can bring hope to one 17-year-old, I have a reason to continue. I cannot give up, because I refuse to let down those who are rooting for me to succeed.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
The biggest lesson I had to unlearn was that of a scarcity mindset. I know my Midwesterners get it! And I don’t blame my parents for teaching me to do more with less, to be polite and shrink myself to make others comfortable. It is what their parents taught them, and in theory they are valuable lessons, when used with moderation. Yes, we shouldn’t be wasteful or blatantly rude, but we should as for what we want, without apology. We should put ourselves out there and bet on ourselves. I think a lot of creatives are scared to submit for things or put themselves out there. But truly, there are so many opportunities out there. There are so many resources at our disposal as well, we just have to get out of our own way sometimes and be willing to ask for those things, and truly believe that we are deserving of receiving them. While we may never be afforded the same opportunities as those with connections from jump, I truly believe there’s a lane for everyone.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
Before I started pursuing comedy, I was workshopping a one-woman show called Wife Material. The limited performance edition was so successful,I was offered a musical adaptation with a small storefront in Chicago with a full band, cast, and budget. I was elated, my dreams were coming true! When Wife Material was staged in Chicago, opening night was filled with reviewers and Jeff Committee members (the Jeff Awards are Chicago Theatre’s version of the Tony Awards). All my friends and family in attendance were gassing me up following the debut performance – “It’s even better than the original one-woman show! You will get Jeff Recommended for sure!” they all proclaimed. The next day, I waited with baited breath. And the news came. No Jeff recommend. Not one element of my magnum opus was Jeff worthy. When the reviews started rolling in, it got worse. One reviewer described my show in stating that the protagonist “had no redeeming qualities.” The protagonist was based on me, played by me, literally named Jamie.
The show was ultimately a financial loss for the theatre company. If a show is not Jeff Recommended in Chicago, people will not come to see it. While the theatre company assured me they understood, at the time,I was deeply heartbroken that I wasn’t the Diamond of the Season (for my Bridgerton fans). But looking back on the experience, what I remember now is all the people who did come to Wife Material. Who told me, “Thank you for telling my story.” As emotionally draining as it can be to make art that is divisive, it is worth it for those who feel seen, validated, and understood by it. And, above all else, the experience made me a comedic songwriter, which is now my primary source of income.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.jamieshriner.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jamieshrinerbiddle/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jamieshrinertellsstories/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrt2GhTwYRKwL_QEl-_WXxg
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@jamieshrinerbiddle Pre-Save for my Album, being released October 6th https://orcd.co/cornbaby
Image Credits
ANF Chicago, Sarah Elizabeth Larson