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

Joley, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you tell us about a time that your work has been misunderstood? Why do you think it happened and did any interesting insights emerge from the experience?

As humans, we spend a lot of our brain power sorting information that comes at us as we move through our day. We put this information into different boxes we’ve developed in our brains. “Threat vs not threat” “Good vs bad” “Pleasant vs unpleasant”. If we didn’t have these shortcuts, each day would be way too overwhelming.

However, we know that most things in life don’t fit nicely in a box or on a binary. Most experiences, people, places, things, etc exist on a spectrum. It is rare that something is just one “thing.”

I’ve spent a lot of my life trying to navigate what boxes I belong in. In college, I studied both theatre and business. It was often brought to my attention that a lot of people thought that these were two polar opposite fields of study. Many thought I was just using the business degree as a back up. I didn’t see it that way though. I was fascinated by the way that the arts and business spoke to each other. My theatre experiences often relied on the routine and attention to detail that was required in business practices; and my business classes also needed just as much creativity and storytelling that my theatre classes did.

Now, as both a supply chain professional and stand up comedian, I run into the same misunderstandings. It is perceived that I must like one more than the other…that I am just using my day job as a way to pay my bills. The truth is that I find fulfillment from both. My “day job” provides me a lot of opportunities to be both creative and tactical. Stand up comedy requires a lot of the same skills.

I work really hard to not worry about where I fit in on the binaries that our brains have created. I do not worry about what boxes my work fits into. Instead, I just focus on creating and trying to see the full picture.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My story began in a small mining camp town named Morenci, AZ. I spent 18 years there before attending Arizona State University to study supply chain and theatre. From a young age, I always loved performing and making people laugh. I also loved being behind the scenes and learning/reading. These passions really guided my path both after high school and college graduations.

In the year 2023; I work full time as a national planner for a cannabis company, am a stand up comedian, and host a podcast.

I began working as a cannabis planner in July 2021. The job called to me as I wanted to be a part of helping build the cannabis supply chain. Since the industry is so new, there is so much to learn. It has been a fascinating two years and I’m excited to continue.

Stand up comedy found me in January 2022. I had missed performing, writing, and the community that comes with both, so I decided to go to an open mic. I haven’t looked back since and feel like I’ve really found a home in this craft. Storytelling has always been extremely important to me and doing it through jokes has been a fulfilling challenge.

My podcast, Accountable Arizona, started as a way to help the general public understand the 2022 Midterm Election. It was important to me to highlight Arizonans who were on the ballot and share their story with voters. The podcast’s second season just began. I’m focusing on Arizonans who are “hometown heroes” and work effortlessly to make Arizona a better place.

I think what I am most proud of is my vulnerability on stage and off. I never want to shy away from the hard topics in life, because I know that if I’m going through it, someone else probably is too. And it’s important to talk about it, even if it’s through stand up comedy, the workplace, or on a podcast.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

For many years of my life, I was a perfectionist. I operated under the idea that everything had to be perfect and that I needed to always be busy doing something.

Unlearning that quest for perfection has been extremely important to moving my story forward.

What I didn’t realize initially was that I was causing myself so much unnecessary stress. The stress was having a negative and lasting effect on my health. I spent a lot of 2020 and 2021 recovering from burn out.

In 2022, when I was ready to create something again, I had to come at it from a different angle. It was the first time I was going to create for me, instead of creating to make something perfect.

My podcast, Accountable Arizona, forced me to let go of my perfectionism. I had never hosted or produced a podcast before. I had to let go of the fear of the podcast not being “good,” in order to create it at all.

Stand up comedy has also really helped me continue this principle. There is no such thing as a perfect set and there will always be something to work on. Years ago, this would’ve driven me mad. Now, I find a lot of beauty in it.

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

The most rewarding part of being a “creative” is the community and people that you meet/build and the audiences that you connect to.

I am usually more excited for the “after” of my sets, instead of the actual set, because I am curious what audience members will approach me with.

As I’ve mentioned throughout this interview, storytelling is very important to me. I always want to learn others’ stories and being a creative has really opened me up to many diverse and important ones.

Contact Info:

• Website: accountablearizona.org
• Instagram: @Joleythestrange
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joleyhamilton/
• Twitter: @JoleytheStrange

Image Credits
Brandi Bigley