Meet Max Meisel | Comedian and Comedy Show Producer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Max Meisel and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Max, what do you attribute your success to?
It’s really just taking the risk to be a bit different and stray from the current model of how people watch comedy.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I came out of Syracuse University’s Newhouse School knowing that I wanted to work creatively and make people laugh. Writing and performing was always part of that. When I got to New York I started studying acting, taking improv classes, and doing stand up. I worked in production, started writing jokes and scripts, made sketch comedy… literally I tried to do it all to see what I liked most. Even though some parts came naturally to me none of it was easy. I’d say from ages 25-30 I was in the stage of trying to be a sponge, trying to learn as much as possible, hopefully book some work and get paid to do this, etc. Then when I hit my 30’s I felt a bit more pressure, maybe because I was still having a hard time monetizing this. I always needed a couple of side jobs. I wasn’t really doing stand up, I was mostly running the actor trail… acting classes, auditions, hopefully a booking a job here and there. I always had an agent and went out for commercials, tv shows, and movies, but I never really got anywhere.

Looking back on that time I can’t say I was really doing this with incredible passion, even though I was doing all the things you’re supposed to do on paper. What I wasn’t doing enough of was creating my own work. I was auditioning for these tv dramas and these cop shows and it just isn’t who I am. I like to be silly and funny but I wasn’t putting myself in the position to be showcased as such. I was really floundering because by this time I was hoping to be settling into some kind of career where I could see some of the seeds sprouting… booking a guest star on a tv show, having a commercial running, a big call back for a show… something over the course of a few years that gives you a little confidence boost of ‘okay, I’m on the right track here.’ But none of that was happening and it was getting really hard.

Then, I created my short film, HARD WORK, with my good friend Julie Pacino. We had an idea for a funny show about an assistant who works on porn sets. I wrote it for myself and essentially said if I’m not going to get any comedy opportunities I need to just make one. We made something that I’m really proud of, it helped prompt my move to LA, landed me an agent who finally saw me as a guy who can do comedy, and gave me a confidence boost that I can control a bit of my own destiny. When I got to LA, all I was auditioning for was comedy, and I was really proud of the work I was sending in to casting directors. But then there was a writer’s strike, the industry was upside down post-Covid, and things weren’t what they used to be for everyone in the tv/film world. I was feeling that same familiar feeling of spinning my wheels and not getting anywhere, so I started my comedy party BackDoor Comedy. While I hadn’t done stand up comedy in years, I had pages and pages of stand up that I always wrote. It seemed like the obvious move, another situation where I can create my own work, avoid waiting for the industry to tell me when it is my turn to audition for something, and just showcase myself the way I want to be showcased. My entire career trajectory has changed because of this move.

I’m annoyed at myself that I didn’t do this ten fucking years ago. But here I am now, this is my obsession, and I love dong stand up comedy. I’m back in that sponge stage, trying to soak up a crash course in what it means to really be a stand up comedian, what it entails, and the hustle that is required to even have a shot at making it. So that’s where I am now. I’m excited, inspired, hungry, and most importantly wildly passionate about what I’m doing. I think it was the passion that was missing all along prior to this.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I’d drive up the PCH and get some seafood over looking the ocean. I’d walk them from my apartment to the beach in Santa Monica and show them how awesome it is that I get to live here and do this. Then I’d tell them that this town is full of insane people who walk around living their lives in ice baths and reading astrology charts and then I’d take them to the airport and tell them to never visit me again.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Everyone deserves a shout out. My friends who continuously support my show every month deserve a ton of credit. Thankfully I have a supportive family who have never pushed me to go to law school or something like that. It helps when you don’t have family constantly trying to make you realize that this pipe dream is a pretty hard one to be successful at. I’m sure they were all thinking it during the tough decade that it took for this to finally go well, but I appreciate they never said anything. I’m really thankful to the people in my life who have also had those honest and difficult conversations with me when it wasn’t going so well. I’d say there was a solid ten years starting in New York where my career was literally going no where.

Website: https://www.maxmeisel.com

Instagram: maxmeisel86