Today we’d like to introduce you to Katherine Blanford.
Every artist has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
The year is 1991. I emerge like a precious moments figurine, wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger.
Fast forward to college; I am entered into a fraternity competition where girls compete in a “pageant,” including a “talent contest.” The tradition has been for the ladies to do a sexy bendy twisty dance with 11% of their bodies covered in “clothes.” I can not dance; a beat is just a nasty vegetable. So I wrote a Chelsea Lately sketch with a monologue as Chelsea Handler. I won. And not with a sexy strip tease, but with my brain. The Lord’s work hath been done.
I didn’t pursue stand up comedy for a few years after that, but the urge was always in the back of my head.
Then my mom died and I realized it’s very possible that one day, I might die too. So I started doing stand up comedy, quit my big girl job, and I’ve never looked back.
Now I do stand up jokes about twerking. Act outs included. The Lord’s work hath been undone.
Please tell us about your art.
I tell the jokes on the stage.
I’m a human golden retriever with a dark soul. I’ll throw a quirky brunch story at you then tell you my plastic surgery plans for my casket corpse. I’m dead anyways, might as well use some old parts as stuffing. I want D cups full of knee cap baby!! It’s the cheapest, quickest revenge body possible.
I like to comfort an audience by reminding them life is a beautiful mess, and we’re all going to die.
What do you think about the conditions for artists today? Has life become easier or harder for artists in recent years? What can cities like ours do to encourage and help art and artists thrive?
Person who lives in the same town as me: “Hey, Katherine, where can I find your jokes online?”
Me: none for you, Glenn-coco. If you want to support/see me, come to a LIVE show.
I understand we have Instagram and YouTube at our fingertips now. It’s natural that everyone expects a free show they can watch from the toilet.
However, a LIVE show is where the magic happens. Stand Up Comedy thrives in the clubs and in janky smoky bars. The comedians with specials on Netflix didn’t hone that material by winging it one time. They honed it in front of a live audience, doing that material over and over again hundreds of times until it was perfect. Support comedy by coming to see a live show. I promise you; it is better than anything you will experience through a screen.
As an artist, how do you define success and what quality or characteristic do you feel is essential to success as an artist?
My brain wants to say true success is rising above the demons inside yourself and showing the world the unapologetic true you, but my heart wants to say Fat Checks and a Rolex.
How or where can people see your work? How can people support your work?
See me slaying the stage in Atlanta and the surrounding five states! I have at least one show every night. Check my Instagram for all the show promotions you never wanted!
I’m a regular at The Laughing Skull Lounge, host of the Sunday Night Comedy Competition at The Punchline and I produce a co-monthly show, Prayer Request, with my arch enemy, Powell Mansfield at Red Light Cafe and my monthly show, Walkie Talkies, at New Realm Brewing Co. Next show is Sunday, June 30!
Lastly, I’m super proud of the short film, “My Lethal Weapon,” that I wrote with Hope Barnard. The short was featured at the 2018 Atlanta Film Festival and to be released online soon! It’s a dark comedy about a woman who has been pulled over by an overly friendly cop on a dark rural road. Relatable!!
Contact Info:
- Website: KatherineBlanford.com
- Email: blanfordkatherine@gmail.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/kbizz9
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KatherineBlanfordComedy/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/thebizznizz
Image Credit:
Tennis court – Lola Scott
Peace sign – Savanna Sturkie
Checkered butt – Jet Black
Orange and blue striped shirt – Lola Scott
Baby blue van shoe – Lola Scott
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