Dana Teller - Comedian

Dana Teller.
Take a walk with me down Fascination Street as I get to know comedian Dana Teller. In this episode, we chat about where she grew up and what made her decide to become an accountant. She shares wonderful stories about how supportive her parents were, and continue to be. Next we discuss how her brother giving her 5 minutes notice that she would be giving a toast at his wedding, inspired her to become a comedian. Dana worked her butt off as an accountant, and socked away enough money to give her a bit of a bumper, so that she could pursue her dream to become a stand up comedian. Dana routinely travels the country crushing at sold out shows from Los Angeles to Miami. Next we get into some specific instances where her parents, and even her siblings, have helped her gain the confidence to make this massive career change. We talk about how to treat hecklers, some of the crazy stuff that happens to female comics, and her 'no excuses' mentality that has served her so well. We end the show talking about her pending nuptials, and whether she will change her name when she finally does get hitched! I should add that Miles Teller is her brother; though this interview is not about him, we do talk about him a tiny bit. Follow Dana on all the socials, and go laugh at her on stage if she is anywhere near you!

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is David Pakas and you're listening to Fascination Street podcast.

Speaker 2 (00:05):
And don't forget to repack that Chinese ammo.

Speaker 3 (00:12):
Yes anything, Yes, the ample audio visual down the most
interested street in the world with my voice d Fascination Street.
You already know. Let's get it when you wait for
the Fascination Street.

Speaker 1 (00:28):
Welcome Backstreet Walkers. This episode is with Dana Teler. Dana
is a comedian who lives in Los Angeles but does
comedy shows all over the country. In a couple of months,
she will be doing some shows up in the Northeast,
so make sure you find out where those are going
to be and go check her out. In this episode,

(00:49):
we talk about what she wanted to be when she
grew up and how she went from being a CPA
at an accounting firm in Florida to a stand up
comedian in Los ange Angelus. We talk about some of
the struggles and where she gets the confidence to do
such a thing. Turns out it was a lot of
support from a lot of really cool people. We also

(01:10):
talk about how moving to Los Angeles helped open her
eyes so that she could pursue her dream of being
on stage and making people laugh. I had a blast
talking to Dana. I think you will have a blast
listening to it. I do recommend following her on the
social media's, particularly Instagram, where she posts clips from her shows,
funny bits and clips here and there. I feel like

(01:33):
Dana's comedy voice is uniquely her own, and I think
you're all gonna dig it. And this is my conversation
with the hilarious comedian Dana Teller.

Speaker 3 (01:47):
Forgreda be faffinating, Forgretta to be facinating, Forgreta to be faffinating.

Speaker 1 (01:58):
Welcome to Fascinations podcast and Dana Taylor, how you doing today?
I'm great, ladies and gentlemen, street walkers, if you will,
this is legendary comedia and Dana Teller. Dana, what I
like to do is I like to start from the beginning.
It helps us understand how the guests got from where
they were to where they are. So where were we worn?
And rais where'd you grow up?

Speaker 4 (02:16):
I'm an East Coast mutt, you know. I bounced around
a lot, but spent most of my childhood in the northeast.
Spent a lot of time at the Jersey Shore in
South Jersey, Cape May, New Jersey, and then in eighth grade,
my parents moved to the rural part of Florida, and
so I went there for high school in college Florida

(02:37):
State go Knowles, and then moved out to la in
twenty fourteen. But yeah, we bounced around a lot. I
was born in New Hampshire. Then my brother was born
in Pennsylvania. We moved there. We lived in Georgia for
a hot minute, and then Delaware in New Jersey.

Speaker 1 (02:53):
So your parents couldn't keep a job or what why
are they moving on?

Speaker 4 (02:58):
My dad he worked at nuclear your power plants, and yeah,
we weren't military, but for whatever reason, he moved you
know every couple of years.

Speaker 1 (03:07):
Your dad is Homer Simpson.

Speaker 4 (03:09):
Yeah, I know. I had no idea what he did.
I just knew he went to work with a playmate
cooler every day to his nuclear power plant. My mom
is a total Jersey girl. You know, her mouth is
bigger than her hair, and that's what I say. So,
and my dad's from Pennsylvania. My cousins live outside of Philly,
so those feel like my roots, those feel like my people.

(03:30):
But then I lived in Florida too, So sometimes when
people ask about my accent, and people have caught it
a phil Billy accents, like.

Speaker 1 (03:37):
Phil, that's terrible.

Speaker 4 (03:41):
I know Todd Phillips if you know who is he
actually coined that. He's like, what is with you guys?
This is a Phil.

Speaker 1 (03:47):
He did a hangover? Right, that's Todd.

Speaker 4 (03:49):
Phillip, that's right.

Speaker 1 (03:50):
Yep, Wow, that is nuts, Phil Billy.

Speaker 4 (03:55):
Yeah, you can't help where you come from.

Speaker 1 (03:58):
A couple of weeks ago, my wife and I went
on a trip. We went to Virginia and Maryland, and
apparently there is a del Marva accent, which is Delaware, Maryland, Virginia,
del Marva.

Speaker 4 (04:09):
Interesting, so they do they still close their o's and
their a's a little bit and their mouths are closed. Yeah,
I can do a bowlmore accent. You go down to Bullmore,
you go down to police station right there, oh yeah,
and then you go up and then they start to
open their mouths a little bit more. Oh yeah, there's
a twenty bay from right back there. You know, it's
kind of go down. We'll get yourselves a hog with

(04:30):
peppers and onions on it. Stuff like that.

Speaker 1 (04:34):
The truth. Look at you doing all the voices.

Speaker 4 (04:37):
I love the accents. When I go back, I just
people are like, wait, are you making fun of me?
I'm like no, I just I enjoy them so much.
And then I'm around you know, I was around them
a lot.

Speaker 1 (04:47):
Sure. So my wife was born in Texas, but she
was raised for the most part in Mississippi.

Speaker 4 (04:52):
Oh wow.

Speaker 1 (04:52):
And so she has a little bit of a Mississippi accent. Okay,
I say a little bit. It's a little bit here,
but whenever she goes back to Mississippi or she's around
her parents or or whatever who have moved here, it's
a little thicker than it is around our house.

Speaker 4 (05:09):
Yeah, they draw out the vowels, but Mississippi Texas. I
don't know if I could do that draw but like,
you know, you get Louisiana, Tennessee, Mississippi. That's kind of Dina,
you know, long ass. Yeah, how does she say your
name is Steve?

Speaker 1 (05:24):
Oh well, we don't call each other by our names.

Speaker 4 (05:26):
Ever, where your partner's name so weird. I call my
boyfriend Brooks and I was like, wait what, I don't
know how that came out of my mon Like.

Speaker 1 (05:34):
If I say her name, she looks at me and
she goes, what's am I in trouble? Like, what is wrong.
What happened? Like? We right?

Speaker 4 (05:41):
What is your name?

Speaker 1 (05:42):
My name? I know?

Speaker 4 (05:44):
What is your nickname for each other? The one that
at least one appropriate for the podcast? And then one.

Speaker 1 (05:50):
Well, in my phone she's listed as Beauty of mine,
Beauty of mine?

Speaker 4 (05:56):
Are you beast?

Speaker 1 (05:57):
Yes? That is me? I am beast.

Speaker 4 (05:59):
That's the door.

Speaker 1 (06:00):
I am beasts. I don't know what she calls me
behind my back. I mean just asshole, Yeah that's that.

Speaker 4 (06:09):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (06:11):
So Dana, this is gonna sound like a weird question,
but since your parents couldn't hold a job and your
dad was Homer Simpson, what was your plan? What did
you want to be when you grew up?

Speaker 4 (06:19):
It's so funny because I'm definitely the ham of my family.
I was always the one like jumping in front of
the camera and you know, I had the microphone and
always doing a song and dance and everything like that.
But it never occurred to me that that was something
I could do. And I don't know why. And then
it's interesting because like my brother, he was not always
front and center, and then that is something he wound

(06:40):
up doing. But you know, when I was young, I
just always I loved money and just like running numbers
and budgets. I was a bit of a nerd. You know.
My brother always made fun of me because my favorite
like treat as a kid was fig Newton's and he's like,
what is wrong. That's such a nerdy thing. As like
a five year old, that was like my that was
the treat I wanted. He was like all about butterfingers,

(07:02):
you know. Everyone else was like sugar, and I was
like fiber, you know what I mean, like.

Speaker 1 (07:07):
My favorite cereals and grape nuts.

Speaker 4 (07:10):
Yeah, I got like what. So like, I remember being
five years old and my mom said I would always
be like like I'm not getting married till I'm thirty,
you know, and I'm going to be a businesswoman. And
so that just kind of like, you know, I wound up.
I was always good at math, and I was good
at that stuff. So it just I feel like I
didn't even really make decisions. It just the path led
me to accounting. That's like what I went to school

(07:33):
for accounting. I thought it was just like on a
CFO path.

Speaker 1 (07:36):
That sounds exciting, right, That's as exciting as a fig
Newton exactly.

Speaker 4 (07:42):
And even though like behind the scenes, I was just
this theatrical ham that was always you know, entertaining people,
because I see myself much more as an entertainer than
just a comic. Like I'm a musician. I play a
couple instruments, and you know, I did a lot of
musical theater as a kid. I think at hard I
just was afraid to take risks, you know, which I

(08:04):
don't know why, because my parents really they followed our
lead and they supported us no matter what we did.
There was no influence over what we should do at all.
I can't think about anything that they encouraged us one
way or the other to do what they did or
do what they expected us to do. So that I
just put on myself. But I think I just wanted

(08:25):
to have money. I thought that to be an artist
that equaled no money.

Speaker 1 (08:32):
It does for the most part, for most people, it
sure does.

Speaker 4 (08:35):
It does, it does, and so I think that's where
it came from. And then the only other thing I
can guess was just like out of fear, I didn't
try this thing, which now you know, everyone's like accounting
made no sense, but like you doing comedy that makes
total sense. And so that's what's been cool about pursuing
this path now and making this pivot is just like

(08:56):
people from all throughout my childhood and upbringing have been like,
you know, this is so you, this is your calling
and you're finally answering it. You know, we're just here
to cheer you on. So that's what's been cool that
there's just everyone's kind of like, what took you so long?
Even my mom was like, we wondered what took you
so long? But never at any point did she share

(09:16):
that with me, you know what I mean. So that's
what's been really cool. It's like, all right, this is
my calling and it's time to answer it.

Speaker 1 (09:23):
So what about your dad? Is he still waiting for
you to just go to work with him at the
nuclear facility?

Speaker 4 (09:29):
You know my dad, I can say this. I don't
know anybody else's parents who could help them with their
calculus homework, and my dad did. He helped them in
my calculus, And that seems shocking because if I were
to do calculus now, I don't think I would remember
a single bit of it. I do a decent amount
of algebra, and I still work in my Excel spreadsheets
to be the money manager for every group vacation. But

(09:51):
no matter what any of his children are doing, he
is just there cheering them on. It's very rare. This
is very inside baseball. But like, there's this thing called
the Blacklist where all of the kind of the unproduced,
unbought scripts, the best of those every year are kind
of put on this form it's called the Blacklist, and
my dad reads those scripts, like looking for scripts.

Speaker 1 (10:13):
How does he have access to the Blacklist?

Speaker 4 (10:15):
You can find them, you know, if you're resourceful, and
he was. But he like he's always reading articles and
books like trying to find the next project, you know
what I mean. I just think that's so cool, no
matter what we were doing, trying to find the next
project for his kids.

Speaker 1 (10:28):
So he's out there just looking for things for y'all
to do. He's like, ooh, you know what y'all need
to do this? I found the perfect thing for y'all.

Speaker 4 (10:34):
Yeah, he's done that. He's kind of the seedling of
some things that have come to fruition.

Speaker 1 (10:38):
So really he's been a part of things that actually
did happen. Absolutely, So do y'all give him credit, y'all,
y'all make him executive producer of whatever.

Speaker 4 (10:47):
Yeah, I know this was very early on, but like,
my brother is an actor.

Speaker 1 (10:51):
Brother smiles, hold on, yeah, we should probably say here brother,
ladies and gentlemen. Dana's brother is Teller from the legendary
Pen and Teller. Okay, go ahead.

Speaker 4 (11:00):
Yeah, my brother Miles, he was in a tiny little
INDI called Tapka Maverick. But early on he did this
movie called war Dogs, and that's actually a true story
war Dogs.

Speaker 1 (11:10):
Yes, okay, guess what Bradley Cooper was in that movie? Right?

Speaker 4 (11:13):
That was Jonah Hill.

Speaker 1 (11:15):
Wait, who else was in the movie? It was Wait
a minute, what was your brother's name in that movie?
Here's why I'm asking. I interviewed that guy.

Speaker 4 (11:22):
Yeah, Bradley Cooper produced it. I think he might have
had a little cameo.

Speaker 1 (11:27):
Was your brother's character like that guy? I interviewed that
guy in real life.

Speaker 4 (11:30):
It was David and Ephraim Ephraim.

Speaker 1 (11:33):
Yeah, David. I interviewed David. He's been on my show. Yeah,
he played music on my show.

Speaker 4 (11:37):
He is a fascinating guy. But a true story and
there was there was a short story in Rolling Stone
and my dad had read it and he was like,
this is really cool, and he sent it to my
brother and he knew that my brother was going to
be at a party with Todd Phillips and was like,
I want you to bring this up to Todd. It
seems right up his alley, and I think this is

(11:58):
something that would be really really cool. And so he
talks to Todd, and Todd had like either recently heard
about it or was thinking about buying the rights to it.
But anyway, that all kind of connected because of my dad.
And meanwhile, my brother who was actually supposed to play
the other role him and Jonah swapped. But anyway, that's
just cool about my dad.

Speaker 1 (12:17):
That is so cool. Why am I talking to you?
Put your dad on? Oh? That is so I know
he would love to.

Speaker 4 (12:22):
He came on one. I did like a local when
I went back to Florida, I did like a local
Tampa news station, and we brought on my parents and
it was really cool. It was, Uh, he's just he's
super proud. I say, that's why I joke that I
suffer from high self esteem. But that's really just because
I think it's because I had such a positive, supportive
male role model as a father.

Speaker 1 (12:44):
That is so wild. What a cool story. Yeah, so, Rare,
I love that your dad. It's just like, Eh, just
tell Todd, Hey this you should do this movie. Just
tell Todd. I thought that is so cool.

Speaker 4 (12:56):
He's so funny. He Yeah, he was at a Phillies
game last summer and he's become a real big Phillies fan.
He was behind home plate for some of the playoffs
games and they had like zoomed in on him, You're dead.
And then on the big screen, on the big screen
they put they were like showing all these celebrities and
on the brigs they put Bruce Springsteen. They thought he
was Bruce Springsteen. So people were asking him for his autograph,

(13:19):
coming up to him, and then like seventh inning they
flashed him again and they write, not Bruce Springsteen, but
he was. Yeah, people were going to Bruce. He's just
got that kind of like cool dad vibe. He's got
the curls and you know, he's definitely a Northeasterner. I
think you could just like that exudes off of him.
But he's just like a smiley, happy guy, loves his sports,

(13:40):
loves classic rock, and he's just the coolest guy. Mickey T.
That's what would call him, Michael Teller. Mickey T.

Speaker 1 (13:47):
That is a cool story. Well, wow, way to go,
Mickey t way to be a supportive dad. That is amazing. No,
I do like that people who are not in the
industry have no idea that there are rules, so they
don't follow them. Oh a point, you know, like if
your dad grew up in Hollywood, there's no way he
would be like, yeah, I just go tell Todd. He

(14:08):
would be like, well, you know, we can't do that.

Speaker 4 (14:10):
I mean, yeah, you're totally right. Yeah. Has there been
anything that you didn't know about where you're like, oops,
I did that wrong afterwards, like I totally broke etiquette
or like, you know, the social norms in that situation.
You're totally right.

Speaker 1 (14:25):
Oh, yeah, for sure. I was working at a bank
a while back and there was a question that I
had about whatever I was doing at the bank, and
none of my managers were around. They were all in
a meeting or something. So I just emailed the CEO
of the whole company and I asked him a question, and.

Speaker 4 (14:43):
You probably got such a kick out of it.

Speaker 1 (14:45):
I got an answer from that person, and then ten
minutes later, all of those managers came running out of
that meeting and they were like, Steve, we need to
have a talk.

Speaker 4 (14:56):
Oh my gosh.

Speaker 1 (14:57):
I was like, what, I'm in trouble, Like how I
just asked the question. They were like, that's how it works.

Speaker 4 (15:03):
So but yeah, he probably got a kick out of it.
That happens sometimes. Like one of my girlfriends has no
idea about musical anything, no idea about celebrity. Anyway, we
were like out at a bar in Tampa in our
early twenties and it just so happened to be that
Slash was there. Like at this bar, there was nobody

(15:23):
at this bar. They had opened it kind of like
just for us. We kind of wandered in and they
let us stay. And she's sitting there talking to Slash.
She probably is one of the most iconic looks in
all of rock and roll. She has no idea. She's
talking to this guy, she's in grad school. She's asking him.
She's like, so, where did you go to college? And
he's like, you know, I did it. She's like, how's
that working out for you? You know?

Speaker 1 (15:44):
I love that? And he just had a kick.

Speaker 4 (15:47):
Out of her because she was just so like, that
doesn't happen him, and he was, yeah, she's just like
some chick from Wisconsin, like has no idea and I
love that he just like they engaged for a while
because Slash and She's just like, how is not going
to college working out for Are you okay?

Speaker 1 (16:05):
You know you are at a bar in the middle
of the day.

Speaker 4 (16:08):
I know, it's so funny. So like, I love that
you're You're so true, but it kind of that naivete
can get you access sometimes.

Speaker 1 (16:18):
Sure. Yeah, if you don't know the rules, it's amazing
what you can get away with.

Speaker 4 (16:22):
Totally.

Speaker 5 (16:27):
Hey, street walkers, here's a word from our sponsors. Let's
get back into it.

Speaker 1 (16:37):
A long long time ago. You know, like when you
go to the dentist and you're a little kid and
you're looking up and there's that poster of that cat
and it's like hang in there or whatever, those kind
of dumb things. There was one my dentists that showed
like a I don't know, a cat flying or something,
and it said it's amazing what you can do when
you're not told you can't do it, or something like that.

Speaker 4 (16:54):
I love that, and.

Speaker 1 (16:55):
That's kind of how I felt my whole life, like
it's amazing what you can do if you don't know
the rules against it.

Speaker 4 (17:01):
Love that. I think It's like something I've held onto.
I don't know who said this, but it was something
I heard one time. It's like, don't let yourself be
the person who says no to you.

Speaker 1 (17:10):
Everybody else is gonna do it. Yeah, why you right?

Speaker 4 (17:13):
Like, don't let the first know be you. And I
love that because I think, you know, as I've gone
through this pivot from like accounting to comedy, I was
the one saying no to myself, you know, and for
someone that I think, I just show up really authentically,
like I really, I'm a loud mouth, brash bitch, you
know what I mean. And here's this thing that I

(17:34):
wasn't doing and that you know, seemed to very atypical me.
I wasn't, you know, creating. And it's like, I even
do that now as I'm trying to get more on
social media with my comedy, it's like, oh, I can't
do that, it's not enough X y Z. And it's like,
well just try. So many people, you know, the ones
that you see that are achieving things, they're just the
people who tried. They pushed through the fear, and I

(17:55):
think that's just something I still it's a good reminder
to Steve it's like, you know, even there's this one
little sketch I kind of want to do, and I
don't know how to approach it. And I'm kind of
like saying no to myself, like don't do.

Speaker 1 (18:08):
Your dad how to approach it?

Speaker 4 (18:09):
Yeah, Oh my gosh. Well, now that I'm a comedian,
now he calls me and he's always like, hey, this
is a good bit, you know what I mean, it'll
be like I ran into this lady.

Speaker 1 (18:18):
It's like, Okay, how often is he correct about if
it's a good bit.

Speaker 4 (18:22):
Some he definitely thinks more in sketch than like stand up,
and I think that's just because we grew up on
like SNL humor. There's always something there, you know, there's
always something there. I think he's really drawn to characters,
you know what I mean, Like someone who's just like
such an all ball and they live in Florida, so
there's a lot of them.

Speaker 1 (18:40):
Yes, So there are, Yes.

Speaker 4 (18:42):
There are.

Speaker 1 (18:43):
So he's drawn to characters, and you're drawn to accents.

Speaker 4 (18:46):
Yeah. I've always been a minut I think I've always
even as a kid, I was always trying to mimic
people and things. And you know, every year for Halloween,
I pick a character and I stay and I do
not break character. So I've always loved kind of assuming
another identity, so that has a character draw and for
me it's just like, how do I flush this character
out enough? But yeah, I love to speak in accents

(19:09):
and do things like that.

Speaker 1 (19:11):
So back to your kind of sometimes talking yourself out
of you know, what clips to put on social media
and what's going to work and what's not enough or whatever.
Never forget that. I don't know. Almost fifteen years ago,
there was a sketch comedy duo, some brothers out of Norway.
Their last name is Ilvisilker and so the name of

(19:31):
the band is Ilvis Ylvs. They had a sketch comedy
show that was popular in Norway. But they did a
sketch about the noises that animals make, okay, and it
became a global sensation. And you know this song, you
just don't know the song. It's called what does the
Fox Say?

Speaker 4 (19:51):
Oh my gosh.

Speaker 1 (19:53):
Yeah, they just did that as a joke and it
caught fire global sensation. At last count, the video on
YouTube has one point two billion views. So you never
know what's going to stick. So just putting it, I mean.

Speaker 4 (20:09):
It's so crazy, Like I put all these thought into
things and then the other day I just I filmed
a video of my boyfriend's shaving my legs with his
electric shaver, and that like exploded. I'm like, what, you know,
not explode? Exploded? For what my content is added? TikTok. Sure,
it's just like that is nothing. I didn't even think
about it. Also, ladies, I don't know how many women

(20:31):
you have listeners, but the electric shaver, guys, you, that
is one thing you got right. You You've outsmarted us.
I don't know why we're not doing that. That is
so easy, so simple, is it?

Speaker 1 (20:42):
The time with the little circles, like the three circles
or whatever.

Speaker 4 (20:45):
Just electric three circles. They're so advanced now, but like,
don't hurt. I don't have to like hover my leg
in a slipping shower with a razor blade try and
get all around my It's impossible. This is why the
shaving of the legs is so hard for women, and
we got to do it all the time. The electric shavers. Genius.

Speaker 1 (21:03):
Yeah, you ladies do some crazy shit. I don't know
if you were born yet, But there was this thing
called the EPI lady. And what it was was it
looked like a shaver, but it was a spring that
went around this loop. And so you know, at a
certain point the spring widens and then it gets smaller.
And so what it does is when it gets smaller,
it grabs the hairs and rips them out of your leg.

(21:27):
The videos make it look all smooth and awesome. And
my mom had one and I use it on my
arm as a little kid, I thought I was going
to die. Like y'all do the craziest stuff for beauty.

Speaker 4 (21:38):
I know one time I waxed my armpits and it
got stuck, and I that is the most excruciating thing
I've ever done. I mean, I yep, my appendix burst
and I think this was more painful.

Speaker 1 (21:56):
So you went to Florida State Go.

Speaker 4 (22:01):
You got it nice.

Speaker 1 (22:02):
So you got out with what like an accounting degree
a CPA. What did you get out of there.

Speaker 4 (22:06):
With accounting degree? Yeah? And then you have to continue
to go to school and get some more hours and
do more classes to get your CBA. And I'm still
a CPA.

Speaker 1 (22:15):
Like you joined an accounting firm, like right out of college? Yeah,
how long were you an accountant? And don't count right now, Like,
how long was that your primary focus?

Speaker 4 (22:25):
Fifteen years?

Speaker 1 (22:27):
What you know? So hold on just so that I'm clear.
You get out of a party school like FSU. Yeah,
and then you grab your fig Newton's and your grape
nuts and you go off to an accounting.

Speaker 4 (22:41):
Firm, and my Brooks Brothers like buttoned up to my
chest just like so painfully stark. Yeah, I did that.
I joined an accounting firm. Then I started to do
some consulting. When I moved to LA I did start
working for a biotech company that developed a new cancer
treatment basically like re engineers your own cells into like

(23:03):
super cancer fighting cells. And that company fortunately did very well,
and it got bought and FDA proved. It was the
first drug of that nature to be approved by the FDA.
So it did very well. And then that allowed me
to kind of like take time off and reassess.

Speaker 1 (23:19):
Things because you were part of that doing very well thing.

Speaker 4 (23:24):
Yeah. I got there early, so I had like you know,
equity in the company, and it did really really well.
And the great thing about that company is not only
did it well, let's save people's lives. That was kind
of how I rationalized doing what I was doing. I'm like, well,
if I'm going to do this like boring thing, then
why don't I at least make a difference, you know
what I mean? I think that that's how I rationalized.

(23:46):
I just kind of kept doing things that made it
seem cooler, you know, just like adding a bunch of
treats to your rice cake. Just like let me put
some peanut butter on it, let me do some chocolate drizzle,
let me do sprinkles.

Speaker 3 (23:58):
You know.

Speaker 4 (23:59):
That's what I was doing accounting was the rice cake.
And then like each step I did, I tried to
like spice it up a bit. That being said, I've
met some absolutely incredible people right there, and it is
still saving people's lives. But that also it gave me
the ability to kind of work less and take a
step back. And then after that, my brother got married

(24:20):
and he gave me like a three minute heads up
that I had to give.

Speaker 1 (24:23):
Yeah, I was gonna ask you about that.

Speaker 4 (24:25):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (24:26):
The bride her folks they had like months to prepare.
You had like three minutes not to prepare.

Speaker 4 (24:31):
They had choreographed routines, they had full song and dance,
and I was let known like after I'm three mile
ties in and married in Hawaii, and like three my
ties in. He's like, hey, you're you're going up, You're
gonna You're gonna do the speech right, And I was like,
what are you talking. I never grew up in a

(24:51):
situation where like everybody spoke at the rehearsal dinner. But
I think because the bride's family, she's one of six.

Speaker 1 (24:57):
I think he has seen too many movies. That's what
I think.

Speaker 4 (25:01):
I think too, because his wife is the youngest of
six children. I think everybody can't speak at the wedding,
so it has become their family tradition for everyone else
to have the opportunity to speak at the rehearsal dinner.
So they're just like, that's what everybody does. It's like, no,
that's what you guys do. But so, like I want
to say, like fifteen people spoke on her behalf and
then he's like, well, you're doing the speech right, and

(25:22):
I was like what. But anyway, it was about like
one hundred people. I did, like I basically did a
five minute set, you know, that was like a mini
road not really a roast but more of a toast,
but just I stuck in some stories and I had
some jokes and my timing was great, and everybody afterwards
was just like that was incredible. Have you seen the

(25:43):
marvelous missus masel Like you got to do stand up?
And I think that was just the first time, I
think in that kind of a forum where it really
felt like a set and I had an audience and
half the people I didn't know, and I think that,
you know, just getting that crowd response, it was better
than any drug I've ever taken. I'll tell you that.
And there's there's been a good amount because again I
went to school in Florida, so and then after that,

(26:06):
you know, kind of the pandemic hit, and so I
took a stand up class all on Zoom. I did
my first comedy show was on Zoom.

Speaker 1 (26:15):
Steve, who did you do the stand up class with?

Speaker 4 (26:17):
His name is Jerry Katzman. He's phenomenal. It's it's a class,
but it's really a community. It's really it's set up
like a writer's room. Every week you write your material
and everybody does that. There's like ten people and then
there's different people. He mixes in different people with different
humor and then you know, at the end of this
like ten weeks, he kind of everybody gives you you punches,

(26:39):
punch ups and pitches, and everybody gets like fifteen twenty minutes,
and then you write for six, seven, eight weeks. Then
you kind of bring jokes back. And so it's just
like a writer's room is really how it works because
it's so hard to do a comedy in a vacuum,
you know. That's the thing about comedy is like I
can be a musician and practice my instrument on my
own as much as I want, but like, the only

(27:01):
way to know if a joke works is to do
it in front of a lot of people. And so
I think that's why it takes so long to get
good is because it's just hard to do jokes in
front of a lot of people. You don't have an
audience all the time. I mean that's why even when
I go to therapy, I'm just like telling jokes because
I'm like, I have an audience of one that's captive,
I don't care, you know.

Speaker 1 (27:20):
Yeah, And it's not like you can you can't just
crack jokes to your parents and be like that's good, right,
because I mean it's got to be complete strangers who
don't have any skin in the game, preferably people who
don't even like you.

Speaker 4 (27:32):
Those are the better rooms. I mean, honestly, I kind
of like, you know, I Phil Medina. I'll give him
a shout out. He has been He is a totally
different demographic than me. He's Mexican and in his forties,
and he performs in a lot of clubs outside of LA.
You know. They's just like an hour outside of LA.
The crowds are entirely different. They're not rooms I would
ever get to work. I'm not crushing those rooms. I'm

(27:53):
figuring it out. But it's like nobody there knows me,
not a single person. Nobody there looks like I'm the
only white chick under I'm the only white chick, and
then I'm usually the only person under fifty. So it's
like it's cool to see that. Also, those are the jokes,
you know, are bulletproof, like the jokes that work in
those rooms, and like there's kind of like I got

(28:15):
these two handfuls of jokes that work no matter where
I go, and it's like, Okay, well, those are the
ones that go in the special, you know what I mean,
those are the ones that work in every room no
matter who you are, and those kind of help you
find your voice too, you know what I mean. It's like,
so that's been cool. You're right, these are strangers. They
owe me nothing. Also, they're not there to see me,
you know, and that's hard to go up cold. Nobody's

(28:37):
here to see me, and they're kind of like, all right,
white girl, you know, prove yourself.

Speaker 1 (28:41):
Yeah, it's like every time it's like the Apollo, go
ahead and make me laugh.

Speaker 4 (28:44):
Yeah, which you know that's not me. When I go
to a comedy show, I'm there to laugh. I'm not
there to like treat some nards. So I don't know.
My mom also says I was like her funniest child
and which pisses my brother off. But she also says
I was like her first child to life, like I
was the first child to crack a giggle.

Speaker 1 (29:02):
So how did you deal with not being able to
prepare for that speech? Like, I know you had like
three minitizing you some, thank god, But.

Speaker 4 (29:11):
My gosh, I was just trying to I'm like, I
was racking my brain for a story that could represent
my brother and how he shows up for people, because
like people there you know, like people knew him, but
not everybody knew him. I think at a wedding that's
what is now we're also spread apart, like sometimes at
a wedding is the first time you're really needing or

(29:32):
getting to know the bride of the groom. And so
I was trying but a story that I was like,
what could work. I was just going off of a theme.
I was like, what is the theme with my brother?
And it's really like I think, in typical baby fashion,
he's just always trying to make people feel better, like
he he knows how to make people feel better when

(29:53):
even they don't. So I just thought of a time when,
like I was not feeling my high school boyfriend had
cheated on me with one of my best friends, and
he wrote an entire song and posted it on the
internet about this chick and it was like basically just
like ripping her. And I was like, because I was
so down on them, I was such this tough chick,
like the fact that I was down in the dumps

(30:14):
and I was I'm a very sunny person. The fact
that I was like depressed for a little bit. I
think he didn't know how to cheer me up, like
that was the best thing he could have done to
cheer me up. So I talked about that, and I've
talked about just a couple of things. I'm like, how
do I talk about him? I need to say something
about him. I need to say something about her, like
what's something that kind of how I've gotten to know her.

(30:35):
And I think always with wedding stuff like it needs
to be the toast, not a roast, short and sweet,
Like I knew I needed to get in get out,
and so I wanted to talk about them. I want
to talk about him, I want to talk about her.
And those were kind of like the three themes, but
definitely I had like some ideas percolating the story I
kind of had, but I kind of was riffing an

(30:56):
ad libbing, And now that I'm saying this out loud,
I'm thinking, I think I need to go on stage
and do a little bit more of that on some
lower stakes things and see where I can find the funny.
I mean, like one of the teachings of like comedy
is you know, ranting about something and like out of
that rant, because really comedy comes from having everyone's like

(31:17):
you need your voice, you need to find your voice.
What is that? That's usually having a strong attitude towards
a topic. You know what I mean, Like, what is
your observation? What is your strong attitude? I don't have
to agree with you, I think like the best comedy
comes from when like I don't agree with you, but
by the end of your bit, I'm on your side
because I can see your point of view. I think
those are the best. I'm a very opinionated person. I

(31:39):
always say like, I give a lot of feedback. No
one has ever said, I wonder what Dana's thinking, Like
everybody knows what I'm thinking about everything I say, and
if I don't, check on me because I'm choking, like
my opinionhole is blocked.

Speaker 1 (31:52):
So there was no part of you that wanted to
be like, oh, you know what, it's so great that
these kids turn out so well. They fell in love
and here we are, and who would have thought that
just six months ago they met in a methadone clinic.
There was no part of you they wanted to roast him,
especially for giving you three minutes.

Speaker 4 (32:10):
I did more of a roast of like the two
of them as a couple, but in a cheeky way
to where like it was complimentary, but also not at
the same like a kind of backhanded one, So it
was more making fun of them as a couple. I
just feel like the best man is for the roasting.
That's him. That's his job to do, you know what
I mean, That's not really my job. Sure, I'm just

(32:34):
going to be a fan, which he did a little bit.
Knowing the best man who I've grown up with too,
we graduated high school and college together, I knew he
would have a little roastiness. So it was just I
think two maybe it was the my ties, but I
was in a really loving mood, you know what I mean.

Speaker 1 (32:48):
Maybe it was the test.

Speaker 4 (32:50):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (32:51):
I feel like if I was in that position, I
would just be so nervous because I was unprepared, and
I would just be like, no.

Speaker 4 (32:58):
Yeah, I wasn't. First I was like, what, I really
didn't have much time, and they're like, you're closing the night,
and I was like, oh my god, that's the other thing.
I knew I was closing, so I really wanted to
end on like, oh, I know. I think also I
told myself, like I got this. I've performed under pressure
plenty in my life, not necessarily in that setting, but
I just was like, I believe in myself that I'd

(33:21):
figure it out. I was just like, it'll come. I
just need one story to anchor it all around, and
then the rest just kind of flowed. You know. It's
like I just I went in with an intention. I
do that with my comedy sets too. It's like, sometimes
my intention is just like to really connect with just
one person, you know what I mean. But my intention,
I said, my attention before him, I was like, you know,
I'm here to just like celebrate them, you know, let

(33:43):
everybody else know my brother a little bit better and better,
and then make them smile and make them laugh, because
no matter what I'm I've always been going for the
laugh and entertaining people my whole life. That's always been
what I am.

Speaker 5 (33:54):
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(34:24):
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Speaker 5 (34:43):
Let's get back into it.

Speaker 1 (34:48):
One of the things that I like to talk about
on this show is what made people think they could
do whatever it is. And I think that one of
the things, like you just said, you had a little
bit of confidence that you could pull it off with
this toast. Yeah. What I keep finding out, no matter
who I talked to, is that the people who have
the most confidence, the people who have the most I

(35:08):
think I can are the people who had a support system.
And your parents were maybe some of the most supportive
parents I've ever heard of, So I think that that's
really where a lot of that comes from. So good
on you, Mike E T and whatever. Your mom's name is.

Speaker 4 (35:24):
Mary, married like Christmas Emry. That's what she says. Really,
Oh yeah, I'm married like Christmas Emrr. Why she's very Jersey.

Speaker 1 (35:35):
I love that so much.

Speaker 4 (35:38):
No, that's what anytime you meet her, I'm married like Christmas.

Speaker 1 (35:43):
Okay, So twenty fourteen is when you moved to LA, right? Yeah?
Now did you move to La because of that job?

Speaker 4 (35:49):
I was working for an accounting company and I knew
they had an office in La. I just was I
was bored in Florida. I was ready. You know. There
was a breakup that I had had, and I I
just was ready to swim with the big fishes. Like
I had a break up. A lot of my friends
were settling down. I think I was like, you know,
I was like twenty eight, twenty nine, my friends were

(36:10):
starting to get married and have children that I just
didn't see that for myself at that time. I was like,
there's still more.

Speaker 1 (36:17):
I'm not done yet.

Speaker 4 (36:19):
Yeah. I wasn't done yet. I was like, I'm not
ready yet. I felt that I was kind of a
big fish in a small pond, and I was like,
I want to go swim with the big fishes. I
might get eaten, but like I want to try. Fortunately,
my best friend from college had lived down here. I
had been visiting a lot, My brother lived down here,
my best friend lived down here. The trips were getting
longer and they were getting shorter in between. You know.

(36:42):
It was just like it started out just once or
twice a year for a weekend, and then it was
becoming four or five times a year for four or
five days. And I was like, Okay, well we're trending
in this direction. And I knew my company had an
office out here, so.

Speaker 6 (36:54):
I transferred there, and then I you know, then I
wound up joining the biotech company, so that company helped
me get there because I just thought, like, you know,
for anyone out there that's like looking to make big
changes in their life, One, you got Kajan's like, it
takes so much courage to make big changes in your life,
and I just I always admire that when.

Speaker 4 (37:12):
People are willing to do that. But two, I think
I was like, all right, I'm going to do this
in a very methodical way, like I don't want to
change everything at once, And so I thought if I
could like keep the same job sort of in the
same company, that at least took that off the table,
because I think, like moving somewhere new, not knowing anybody,
starting a new job, that's a lot of change at once.

(37:33):
And so I was moving in with my best friend
from college. We had moved, we had lived together before.
Let me keep the job that's the same for a
little bit and just like kind of settle because it
you know, it took a couple of years for me
to figure out, you know, have my social circle, figure
out my thing in LA and all that.

Speaker 1 (37:52):
So were you already doing comedy before you left, Like
did you start doing comedy in Florida? Or did you
wait till you got to LA.

Speaker 4 (37:58):
I wasn't. But I was always like I had a notebook,
you know, with like ideas, sketch ideas, and I would
always do these little like vignettes. I would like kind
of do little things and films stuff like that. Nothing
that I put on the internet, you know, sometimes my
friends would film me and put it on like the
latest whatever that there was social app But I always
in the back of my head, like I knew I

(38:20):
was going to do, you know, I wanted to be
on SNL. So it's like at the same time all
doing accounting like I would have loved to been on SNL.
I watched it every single you know, our family got together,
we could stay up late. We watched it every single Saturday.
And I love that. So I was always like doing
characters and sketches in an SNL type fashion, and growing
up we were always doing we were recreating SNL sketches,

(38:40):
Me and my brother, my sister. My sister's seven years older.
She was always like the director. We're always doing stuff.
But like, I feel like when I moved, it was
almost like entertainment was kind of like I was an athlete,
but I didn't know what was my sport, and so
I had started with improv and I just I didn't
like that. It was okay. Then I did sketchwriting and
that got me a little bit closer, and then I

(39:02):
finally someone had recommended I take this class. But yeah,
shout out to Jerry Katzman. I think in the last
six months he said four of his students be on
the Late Night Show, which fallent.

Speaker 1 (39:13):
Wow.

Speaker 4 (39:14):
Yeah, it's fantastic, So he's really great. Yeah, you can
google Jerry Katzman. I think it's Jerry Katzman comedy class.
It's just a great community of comedians.

Speaker 1 (39:26):
You said I would have loved to have been on
Saturday Night Live. Is not live over?

Speaker 4 (39:32):
No, I think like growing up, but like it's not.

Speaker 1 (39:35):
But you know, okay, we'll do it.

Speaker 4 (39:37):
Yeah, I mean I think so.

Speaker 1 (39:39):
You're already telling yourself.

Speaker 4 (39:40):
No, you're right.

Speaker 1 (39:41):
You need to say, like, I'm going to enjoy being
on Saturday Night Live.

Speaker 4 (39:45):
Well, that's what I said my manifestations, I've said that,
you know what I mean, Like, sometimes I say no
because I'm like, oh, it's such a those nights you're late,
and I'm turning forty this year. But you know whatever,
we'll see. That's I'm still gonna do my characters and
put things together like that's it's still the goal, you
writ Steve.

Speaker 1 (40:02):
So that's it. You turned to comedy. Why comedy? How
come you didn't just decide to start doing sketch shows
or improv or whatever. Why comedy? Yeah?

Speaker 4 (40:10):
I think that it's just harder to join a sketch
team kind of. And I just honestly I done sketchwriting.
I really liked that, and then I just decided to do.
I had had a lot of comedians I knew in La,
like just over the past couple of years have been like,
you really need to try stand up. You really need
to try stand up. And so what I love about

(40:31):
stand up is like I'm a music I've started to
incorporate like music and doing things like that. You can
do whatever you want. Sketch isn't out for me. I
love sketch. I love working in teams. So I really
want to start doing more sketches for social content, but
it's not out. The comedy class is what I just
found my thing, and I found this group of people

(40:52):
that were great, and I've continued to.

Speaker 2 (40:53):
Do it nice.

Speaker 1 (40:55):
At what point in your comedy did you decide to
start bringing in some instruments. I know, once a while
you'll play a piano in your show and maybe some
of the stuff, But when did you decide to bring
in some of those ideas.

Speaker 4 (41:06):
About a year ago, I was writing jokes about LA
dog owners and just like how annoying they are, like
all of the stuff that they're doing, you know what
I mean? And I just I was like, this is
a song. I was like, it's a song. I've been
one incorporated in I didn't know how, and then I
kind of started writing an original song, which made it hard.
But then my brother actually was like, it almost needs

(41:28):
to be more happy, go lucky, almost like Cheers, like
a Cheers theme song. That was a great pitch. Parodies
are great because people are in on the joke already
as soon as you start playing it. They know how
the song's supposed to go, so they expect where the
beats are. So when you can surprise them and change
the words, they just love it. The whites love it.
The whites love it the most.

Speaker 1 (41:48):
I will say that the whites, the.

Speaker 4 (41:50):
Whites, the white people love it. The whites like the
songs the most.

Speaker 1 (41:57):
That is hilarious.

Speaker 4 (41:58):
Yeah, one of my comedy towards the like, do not
do that song. Other groups are going to feel like
they can do it better than you. So the whites,
I think that's why they like it so much.

Speaker 1 (42:07):
That is so funny. So have you only incorporated the piano?
Where have you incorporated some other instruments?

Speaker 4 (42:14):
I would like to my clarinet, which I still I
don't necessarily know I play. I played clarinet, sax and
flu and I wrote a country song, and it's really
it needs a string instrument, so I might just do
like a Mini Martin or just something that's like four strings.
I know it's not necessarily the sound of a ukulele,
but I might start with that. So I because this

(42:34):
country song is great. I'm a really bad driver and
it's about that, and so it's an original song, but
it needs strength. It's it won't be best on piano.

Speaker 1 (42:44):
Why a country song?

Speaker 4 (42:45):
That's just kind of where my mind went when I
wrote it. I think there's like a riff that just
is kind of like Dolly part in nine to five
meets like a Miranda Lambert kind of a You're like
a Dixie Chicks kind of run off. It's that's just
came to me where the riff the chorus kind of went.
And so I think because it's storytelling, maybe more it

(43:07):
was like kind of folky storytelling, So it just kind
of lent itself in that genre. But that's just where
it took me.

Speaker 1 (43:13):
So how did moving to La help push you in
the direction of your dream? If you didn't start doing
it in Florida, what made you start doing it when
you got to La.

Speaker 4 (43:23):
I think just being surrounded by so many creative people
and people that are doing it. You know, like when
I was in Florida, I didn't know a single stand
up comedian. I didn't really know a lot of people
pursuing art, specifically the performing arts. A wedding band was
probably the closest I got to that, or like a
band at a bar, you know what I mean. I
did play in a band a little bit with my

(43:45):
guy friend Clarinet. I did the keyboard. They had like
a rock cover band, and I would come in and
moonlight and like there was like, you know, an El
and John song or something like that. I would come
in and play. But it's inspiring to be surrounded by
people who are doing stuff. The people around me were
just also super encouraging, like you really need to try it,
and you know, you have the improv and the sketch

(44:07):
classes and all those classes are available to you here
where they weren't in Florida. Really, so I think the
environment is really conducive to inspiring you to create. That
being said, like I love leaving town too because that
inspires me as well, just to see people who are
living different lives than me. Because you get in La
for a while and feels like everybody's kind of living

(44:30):
the same life a little bit, and it gets kind
of homogeneous, and so it's like everybody doesn't live like
this or think like this. That's why I like to
get out.

Speaker 1 (44:39):
How do you deal with hecklers?

Speaker 4 (44:40):
Hecklers, I've been fortunate I haven't had too many, but
I've noticed you have to shut it down quick, and
you got to do it in a way. Honestly, it's
not different from being a woman working professionally, like being
sexually harassed. You know, like you have to find a
way to shut it down while also being respectful, while
also h standing your ground, while also not making them

(45:02):
feel too bad about themselves because then they turn on you.
And there are a lot of times in the workplace
where people would make wildly inappropriate comments and you have
to think quickly on your feet how to respond in
that way. And I don't think heckling is much different.
And I think kind of what you said of just
like having belief in myself, but I've also I've prepared

(45:24):
a little bit, like I kind of have some things.
Like a lot of people when they're doing crowd work
and they're heckling, what's so great about it is responding
to hecklers. You think they're just coming up with things
on their feet, and they are, but at the same time,
they have kind of things prepared in the back of
their head that are kind of ready to go to
come up with things like you know, it's not a
bad way to prepare for comedy. It's not even necessarily

(45:48):
hecklers being like you suck. What happens more is now
I think because crowd work is so prevalent on the Internet,
people think they're part of the show and they just
don't shut up. It's like they respond to every single
thing you're doing and they want to be the star
of the show. Those are harder. I bet they just
don't shut up. Yeah, because like they're not being mean,

(46:11):
but it's like they don't stop talking. That I've had
more than you know, show me your two's.

Speaker 1 (46:18):
Which I bet that doesn't happen. Does that happen?

Speaker 4 (46:22):
It happened once. I just couldn't believe it. I was
just like, sir, you did not pay enough money. Those
tickets were very cheap.

Speaker 2 (46:29):
I know.

Speaker 4 (46:30):
I was surprised because it was like an LA crowd,
which is usually like overlead PC and woke Wow, the
drinks must be Maybe he had a couple of my ties.

Speaker 1 (46:39):
Yeah, I had no kidding.

Speaker 5 (46:44):
Hey, street walkers, here's a word from our sponsors. Let's
get back into it.

Speaker 1 (46:54):
Okay. So here you are. You're creating your own destiny, right, finally,
after all these years creating your in destiny? Is it
as hard as you thought it would be?

Speaker 2 (47:03):
Yes?

Speaker 4 (47:03):
And no. I mean, well, I'm enjoying it. But I
think the harder part for me is just the social
media part. That's like one aspect that stuff takes a
lot more time than I thought.

Speaker 1 (47:13):
Oh my god, it sure does.

Speaker 4 (47:15):
Holy shit, that takes up so much time. So there's that,
and then it's I don't want to be attached to
my phone because I feel like that SAPs creativity. But
I need this thing to progress, you know, And so
that's kind of the battle of like how much time
is enough and not? To me, the hardest part of
it is the social media part. It's so much easier
for me to go up on stage in front of

(47:37):
a bunch of strangers and tell dick jokes and talk
about like things that are wrong with me, Like I
have absolutely no problem doing that, Like I would queep
on stage, I have no care, but like for me
to go on social media and do it, I don't
know why there's such a hesitation to it. I think
what's made it easier is having a community. I think
if I were like really by myself, that that would
be super hard. But the fact that I have done

(47:59):
these classes, I've met other comedians, we go to Mike's together,
we run jokes by each other, that has made it
easier than I've thought. I always thought comedy was such
a solo sport, and I think making it not that
way has made it easier. But I also think, like,
I'm not totally relying on comedy for all of my income,
and I think like that relieves a lot of pressure.

(48:22):
I'm doing things because I want to and I'm enjoying it,
and it's a choice versus like I have to. You know,
some feedback that I've gotten from people is like, that's
the best place to be for now. That means you're
really just doing what you want and what makes you happy.
But it's also it's just so fun. I'm surprised it's
taken me this long. You know, In some ways I
wish I would have started sooner, But at the same time,

(48:44):
I got a lot more to say at forty than
I did it twenty. Sure what kind of life experience
did I have? I didn't really, and so this is
my time. My time is now. But it's cool to
see how certain things take off, you know, riding these
waves of moment and you know, seeing where it takes me.
I don't know if a comedy stage is where it
all ends, but I'm just kind of trying to enjoy

(49:07):
the journey.

Speaker 1 (49:07):
Absolutely, the journey is a worthier part. Yeah, I guess
it goes back to support, right, you have the support
system of the community that you have found in this class,
and so everything just circles back to a support system.
Do you think that you would have made this leap
into following your destiny if you hadn't had that liquidity

(49:28):
event that made you.

Speaker 4 (49:29):
A billionaire not a billionaire.

Speaker 1 (49:32):
I'm cutting that out. I'm just going to edit the
whole thing that sounds like you're a billionaire.

Speaker 4 (49:38):
If I look back, there were always these moments where
I could have made the leap into comedy, and I
did it, and I feel like that was kind of
the Universe's way of forcing me. It was like, do
it already, you know what I mean. I think it
made it easier because I was always scared. You know,
it's hard when you're working a lot. It's not an
environment to create art, you know, it's really challenging. Even

(50:00):
though I still had these ideas on the side, I
don't know. I think I would have gotten here eventually
because that fire is stoked inside me. It's just as
like that the embers have been low for a while,
but like it's always been simmering, and I think if
I didn't have that event, I think it would have
taken me a while. I don't know when it would
have been, but that definitely it kind of was like

(50:22):
an how or and everthing that I basically it took
away every accuse that I gave myself, because we will
give ourselves excuses to not do the thing out of fear,
and after that I had no excuse. But then there
was my brother's wedding too, so it's like that definitely
had nudged me. I think I would have found a way,
but I don't know if it would have happened. It

(50:43):
would have been hard to figure out a way financially
to do because at the end of the day, I'm
still an accountant and like I'm always running numbers and
the budget and all that. And as supportive as my
parents were, they couldn't financially support me to do this. Sure,
could they throw me a hundred bucks here and there? Yes?
Could they pay my rent? No? You know, that's kind
of one of the beautiful things, you know, you talk

(51:05):
about trust fund kids and things like that, like not
only do they have a port system, but there's like
a safety net that allows them to pursue their dreams.
And I do think that's a beautiful thing because so
many of us we use money as a reason for
why we can't do certain things, but it's a valid reason,
you know. Like I had a lot of trouble wrapping

(51:25):
my brain around how I would pursue comedy and make money.
But that's just a belief, and a belief is just
a thought that we think all the time. It's not
a fact.

Speaker 1 (51:34):
Yeah, it goes back to not being the person who
says no to yourself. Yeah, switching gears a little bit.
You have been in a relationship for a while, so
long that you may be getting engaged soon.

Speaker 4 (51:47):
Yes, we did go ring shopping recently, and now my
boyfriend keeps asking me when we're gonna get engaged.

Speaker 1 (51:54):
Why is he asking you when he's going to ask you.

Speaker 4 (51:57):
I do have manly tendencies, but I do support some
gender roles, traditional gender roles, and I cannot propose to myself.

Speaker 1 (52:04):
Surprise me, dude, Come on now, so are you going
to change your name or are you going to leave
it as teller since now you're building a career on
this name.

Speaker 4 (52:12):
Oh my gosh, No, I am not changing my name.
I don't know why women are still doing this. It's
crazy to me, you know, but I think changing your
name has a lot less to do with the kind
of woman you are, and actually has more to do
with the name itself. You know, Like if his last
name are Vanderbilt, I absolutely would change it. But it's
not so like Megan Vanderbilt is not a feminist. Megan Flugenhorn,

(52:36):
who doesn't change her name, she's a feminist, Okay, Megan,
you know what I mean. Yeah. Also, it's like it's different.
I'm almost forty at this point, you know what I mean.
It's just my name is my identity. It's I think
it's different when you're getting married younger. I don't want
to give it up. It's simple, it's easy. Everybody can
spell it. It's my first name. People tend to get
wrong a lot. People call me Donna Teller. I love that,

(52:58):
like I'm the ninja turtle. That's what they get a
lot of inja turtle dough. I never had anybody said
that until I moved out here. My entire life, no
one called me Donna. But are out in California. I
get Donna all the time.

Speaker 1 (53:10):
Weird, weird Dana. Where can people find you on social media?

Speaker 4 (53:13):
You can find me at Dana Teller on everything.

Speaker 1 (53:16):
You're the only one, huh for now?

Speaker 4 (53:19):
Yeah? Until they make another.

Speaker 1 (53:20):
One, Donna Teller. Yeah, Dana Taylor everywhere.

Speaker 4 (53:25):
Dana Teller can follow me on all the things?

Speaker 1 (53:27):
What are all the things? Are you on all the
new ones too? Like? Are you on Liminate Liminate?

Speaker 4 (53:33):
No? I thought it was like the TikTok backup in
case TikTok went down? Or what are people doing on there?

Speaker 1 (53:38):
I don't know. There's only like I'm barely on there.
I really just go on there to post and then
get the fuck out of there because I don't want
to spend any more time on stuff. Than I have to.

Speaker 4 (53:46):
Okay, I'm not on eight, but all.

Speaker 1 (53:49):
I'm seeing it's just like I don't know people doing
things with filters and woo. Now I'm a mermaid, Like
I don't what. I don't know what's happening right here,
so I just move round. Yeah, there's too many. I
feel like there's a new one, Like every six months
has driven me crazy. Okay, so we can find you
at Dana Taylor on Everything. Is there a website or

(54:12):
where would people go if they wanted to find out
where you're going to be because I know you do
shows in the LA area, but also every once in
a while you'll take your butt down to Florida and
do a little mini tour.

Speaker 4 (54:23):
Yeah, I mean Instagram. I have a link tree on
my Instagram that has my shows. Right now, I have
a tour of the Northeast in November. I'm going to
be in Baltimore, DC, Philly, New York, maybe Boston. We'll
see if you've got any Boston listeners. I'm trying to
see if I can get a show there as well,
but that'll be a November but it'll be linked on

(54:43):
my websites that are listed in my social media accounts nice.

Speaker 1 (54:47):
Well, Dana, as we're heading out, is there anything that
we didn't talk about or I didn't ask you about
specifically that you wanted to talk about today? Like did
we cover the big bits?

Speaker 4 (54:55):
Yeah? This is super fun. Thanks Steve Well.

Speaker 1 (54:58):
I had a blast. Tell her comedian extraordinary. Look for
her everywhere. Check out her social media. She does post
some funny bits. She'll post clips from different shows. She
posts random funny stuff all the time. Check her out. Also,
if you do get the chance to go see her
in person, I'm jealous. Let me know how that works out.

(55:19):
I'm sure she is hilarious for the whole show and
not just the clips I'm getting to see. But Tana,
thank you so much for taking time out of your
busy day and you're I don't know, throwing back my
ties to prepare for his speech schedule to hang out
and let us get to know you a little bit
better on Fascination Street. I really appreciate it.

Speaker 4 (55:36):
Thanks Steve.

Speaker 1 (55:37):
I had a blast and you have a great rest
of your week.

Speaker 2 (55:41):
Thanks Steve, Thank you, Bye bye.

Speaker 1 (55:52):
Opening music is the song FSP theme, written, performed and
provided by Ambush Vin. Closing music is from the song
say My Name off the twenty twenty one album Underdog Anthems,
used with permission from Jack's Olive. If you like the show,

(56:14):
tell a friend, Subscribe and rate and review the show
on iTunes and wherever else you download podcasts. Don't forget
to subscribe to my YouTube channel. All the episodes are
available there as well. Check me out on vio at
Fascination Street Pod and TikTok at Fascination Street Pod. And again,

(56:35):
thanks for listening.