We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Seth Lawrence a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Seth thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Do you wish you had started sooner?

I am currently thirty-seven. Sometimes, I do wish I had started standup earlier. However, I really do not know that it would have helped my happiness all that much.

My parents raised me to have a more reliable career in mind as Plan A. I followed through on that plan. I was always interested in entertaining, particularly with comedy. I would watch standup specials on VH1 and Comedy Central when I got the chance. I distinctly remember trying to stealthily watch a VH1 documentary about Jim Carrey. But I never really acted on any of those interests until I was nearly done with my undergraduate degree. The closest I got to living out a small part of my entertainer dream was performing with an improv comedy troupe in Provo, Utah called Comedy Sportz.

No, I graduated with a double major in English and French and a minor in Economics. I had lawyer in my sights. I got married during my senior year as an undergraduate. I worked at a French language teaching outfit for about a year, while doing improv comedy. My wife graduated, and we moved to North Carolina where I studied law and worked as a lawyer while my wife earned her doctorate in accounting. She landed a job in Los Angeles, and that is what brought us here.

If I had started doing standup when most standups start, I do not think I would have a wife and kids like I do today. I am also not sure that I would have been as focused about it as I am today. Sure, I would have accumulated a lot of stage time, but I am not sure it would have been that valuable. It takes years for a standup to “find their voice,” and I think that is largely because most start so young. They have little to no idea who they are as a person, let alone as a standup.

The advantage I have now, is that I know who I am. I know what it is important to me. I have an idea of what I want to say, of what I want to represent, as a comedian.

Seth, 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?

My name is Seth Lawrence. I grew up in Orem, Utah. I was raised in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and I still consider myself a faithful member of the Church of Jesus Christ (AKA Mormon). My goal is to be clean and thought-provoking. I produce clean comedy shows in Los Angeles. I want to give everyone a chance to laugh.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

I started my professional life as a lawyer. I was a fairly good student in high school and college, so I hoped to do well on the LSAT and land a big-firm legal job,. I wanted the Suits life. But law school was challenging, and passing the bar was very difficult for me. I ended up taking it 3 times in North Carolina after graduating from UNC-Chapel Hill School of Law. It was embarrassing. As a new law school graduate, I worked at Wal-Mart as a stockboy. I was loading and unloading trucks from 5pm-1am. It was brutal. They promoted me to HR after about 3 months, so I at least got to work days as opposed to nights. But I still wasn’t a lawyer.

Eventually, I did pass the bar, but I still had trouble getting a job as an attorney. About a year and a half after graduating from law school, I was hired to do document review. It felt like loading trucks at Wal-Mart, but at least I could call myself an attorney. I kept on looking for more traditional legal work, and was very fortunate to find a boutique corporate law firm run by a husband and wife team who decided to take a chance on me. I worked for Schneider Law Group in Raleigh, North Carolina, for about a year. I enjoyed the work and I loved my bosses. Then, my wife graduated with her doctorate and was searching for her own employment. Working in academia has its own challenges. We knew we would be unable to stay in North Carolina if my wife wanted to work, and she wanted to work.

So, we moved to Los Angeles when she was offered a tenure-track position out here. I had a chance to re-evaluate my life. I enjoyed working as a lawyer, but by the time we moved to Los Angeles, we had two kids and planned on having more. So, I could either work as an attorney and help pay for childcare and taxes, or I could stay home with the kids and explore the possibility of working in comedy.

Obviously, I decided to become a standup comedian. I have been at it now for about 6 years, and yes, I count the Pandemic years. Occasionally, I will think about what my life could have been like if I had applied myself and passed the California bar and persevered to find a job out here as an attorney…but I truly love being a standup comedian. And it comes with the added bonus taking care of my kids and learning how to cook.

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

The best part of every show is after the show. I love talking with audience members who enjoyed my show. I will joke about religion and my faith in a way that I think is approachable and relatable, so it is nice to chat with people after the show about their own faith and their thoughts on mine. I have had some amazing conversations with comics and non-comics alike. Religion, faith, spirituality, whatever you want to call it, is something that many of us want to talk about more openly. But most of us feel awkward or ashamed to do so. I like to think that my comedy is changing that, even if in a small way.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.sethlawrencecomedy.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sethtlawrence/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sethlawrencecomedy
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/seth-lawrence-bb707621/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/sethtlawrence
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8O1fcLe3BjW8aeH8OVjqzw

Image Credits
Austin Crowley