We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Tammie Bernal. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Tammie below.
Hi Tammie, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear about the best boss, mentor, or leader you’ve ever worked with.
The best boss I ever had was Jan Grant. She was the principal of the school where my teaching career began. After being inspired at a conference, Mrs. Grant returned with a clear vision of what was needed to lead our elementary school to success. At that time our school had the lowest state scores in the district. Mrs. Grant believed in her staff and students and told us so. It sounds simple, but it was powerful. She helped create the school’s motto: “Dream. Believe. Achieve.” She told the staff that she believed in them and that they needed to believe our students could excel. If teachers were not fully onboard, they were encouraged to move on. The majority of our students came from a low socioeconomic background and did not speak English as their first language. Those two factors are often considered obstacles, but Mrs. Grant looked at them as opportunities. We knew who we were serving, we just needed to figure out how to meet the students where they were and to help them learn. Mrs. Grant set a lofty goal for the state test scores that year. We knew it would be a challenge, but Mrs. Grant had an unwavering belief that her teachers could help their students to dream, believe, and achieve. Like a feel good movie plot, we not only met that goal but exceeded it. The school continued to improve year after year. Before long our school went from having the lowest state test scores in the district to having the highest state scores in the district.
On a personal note, Mrs. Grant supported me from day one. She saw something special in me and helped me to see it too. It was an honor to work with her and be part of helping students succeed in such a memorable way. Although I am no longer a teacher, that career will always have a special place in my heart.
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?
I’ve loved stand up comedy ever since I was a kid and stumbled upon Eddie Murphy’s Raw. If you’ve never seen it – watch it today. If you have seen it, you know it’s not exactly rated for an elementary aged child. Regardless, I was mesmerized. The charismatic Eddie Murphy strutted around the stage in a skin tight purple leather suit with his bare chest on full display. I laughed at the jokes I understood and even at the ones I didn’t. I was all in – as a stand up comedy fan.
Fast forward many years later. I had been living in Texas for six months. After leaving a successful career in education of 15 years and life as I knew it, I was searching for something different. I was still trying to figure out what I wanted to do for my next career and was missing a creative outlet. Seemingly out of nowhere, I thought, “I want to try stand up comedy!” I Googled local open mics and discovered that LOL Comedy Club hosted an open mic on Tuesday nights. My birthday happened to fall on a Tuesday so it was meant to be.
I Googled “how to write a stand up comedy set.” I spent the next two weeks writing and rehearsing my five minutes of material. The fateful day finally arrived and I showed up without knowing a soul. I learned they used a “card system” for determining who gets to sign up. My card was finally drawn and I added my name to the end of the long list. It was my first time watching an open mic. It went on and on and on. Hours later, it was finally my turn. At that point, there were only a handful of audience members left, most of whom were comics.
Looking back, I probably thought I would only do an open mic once. Kind of like a bucket list thing. After all, I have always considered myself quite shy and introverted by nature. But as luck would have it, I got some laughs and I was instantly hooked. I hit up another open mic two days later and never looked back.
I absolutely love stand up comedy. I love the creative challenge of writing and performing material that resonates with audiences. I love getting to meet and work with a wide variety of people in the comedy community. I love it all.
All these years later, I still laugh just thinking about some of my favorite jokes from Eddie Murphy’s Raw. I have found true joy in the stand up comedy world. Now I’m all in – as a stand up comedian.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
The most rewarding aspect of being a comedian is the fulfillment it brings to my life. Comedy is my absolute favorite thing. I love the creative challenge of writing new material and finding the most effective way to perform it on stage. I’m a bit of a homebody at heart and I love hiking alone. Comedy draws me out of my shell and motivates me to join the rest of the world.
Laughter is universal (although what we find funny is not). Everyone likes to laugh. Laughter releases endorphins in your brain that makes you feel better. That’s probably where the expression “laughter is the best medicine” comes from. My first career was as a counselor and then I became a teacher. Now my day job involves supporting a team. A desire to help people has always been at my core. Comedy may be a less traditional way of helping people, but it is still a way. If you can make someone laugh, you can help them. Whether you helped them have a good night out or you helped them temporarily forget their problems, it’s a win.
How did you build your audience on social media?
Have I built an audience on social media? LOL. I’m trying! Marketing is hard and self-promotion is even harder – at least for me. Social media is easy enough to sign up for and post to. But what to post, when to post, what hashtags to use – that is the hard part. And the rules seem to always change. One day you’re supposed to list 25 hashtags and the next day some random marketing article recommends only five. Some people say to post once a day whereas others say post multiple times a day. Oh! And each platform is different. Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok all have their own set of rules. I don’t even bother with Twitter.
If I could ever master or at least keep up with the rules of social media, there’s still the other more challenging aspect for me which is self-promotion. Although it’s easy for me to get on stage and tell jokes and banter with the audience, it is so hard for me to “sell myself.” It took me forever just to say my name at the end of my set, let alone ask strangers to follow me on social media. I have business cards in my purse. After a show people will approach me and say they enjoyed my set. I’m like – Thank you! Do I give them a card? Do I ask them to follow me? Rarely. This is something I’m working on.
Clearly I’m not an expert (or even really moderately good – ha) at building a social media following. But the one bit of advice I will offer is to be yourself and be true to yourself – if you can appreciate the difference. Post what you want to share and don’t post what you don’t want to share. If you want people to like your posts, like other people’s posts. And for the love of whatever you believe in, if you repost someone else’s joke, meme, or photo, give them credit! 
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @tammiebernalcomedy
- Facebook: @tammiebernalcomedy
- Youtube: @tammiebernalcomedy