Meet Amanda Brooke Perrin | Writer & Performer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Amanda Brooke Perrin and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Amanda Brooke, how has your perspective on work-life balance evolved over time?
In my 20’s, work was my entire personality. I got it in my head pretty early on that if I wasn’t working, I was wasting precious time. I measured my worth based on how busy I was… which, looking back, is a bit of a bummer. Don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful to past me for working so hard and getting me to where I am today. She had BPE (Big Puppy Energy) and could’ve lifted a truck with her ambition alone. But nowadays downtime is a necessity. I simply love to Sloth Around (™). Maybe it’s getting older or maybe the industry has worn me down to a nub of a person (especially right now… has anyone checked Hollywood’s pulse?). Whatever the reason, every day I find it more pertinent to spend time with loved ones, recharge my batteries and stay curious about life outside of writing and performing. To prevent burn out and to ensure my life is as big and full as humanly possible.

How did you get to where you are today? Was it easy?
I keep staring at “how did you get to where you are today? Was it easy?” Imagine I just wrote, “yep! Super easy. Next question!”

I started my comedy career in Canada. I did improv, sketch and stand up for ten years. I did comedy shows in middle-of-nowhere towns where the stage sometimes had a stripper pole on it and the audience of oil rig workers were shocked when I didn’t use it (to be fair, I have the upper body strength of a french pastry. That life was never in the cards for me.). I did comedy festivals which led to my first TV writing gig which led to more writing opportunities. I got rejected a bunch and accepted occasionally. I met, worked with and learned from other incredible Canadian writers and performers who should get more opportunities than they do and not just for tax write off purposes.

I paid a dumb amount of money to apply for a green card, asked very important industry people to write incredibly cringe reference letters (“To say Amanda would be an asset to the United States entertainment industry would be an understatement of epic proportions”) and then moved to a new country in October of 2016 where a presidential election made me question if it was all worth it.

So here I am, eight years later, post(ish)-pandemic and writer’s strike… was it worth it?

Yeah! Not to be cheesy, but I’ve known since I was ten years old that this is what I wanted to be doing with my life. Sure, at that age I was envisioning more of a Meryl Streep vibe/journey, but Meryl Streep isn’t great at writing dick jokes (that I know of…), so…
I’m proud of where I am and where I’ve come from. If Tween Me could see Present Me, she’d put her NSYNC cd down, wonder what happened to Justin Timberlake and get excited about what’s to come.

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.
The Alamo Drafthouse downtown to see a movie (Not to brag, but I’m a season pass holder).
Huntington Gardens (best gift shop in town IMHO).
The Edendale’s back patio for happy hour – it feels like you’re in Europe back there.
Any of the many fruit carts around the city! I frequent the Echo Park lake & Lassens locations. 10/10. Always add Tajìn!
Universal Studios to visit the Mayor of Los Angeles (the giant minion).
Fast bite: Spitz! Good every time! or the Los Feliz Tu Madre’s happy hour ($1.50 tacos!!)
Slow bite: Smoke House. Not because the food is mind blowing, but to feel like you’re in the mob.
Salt & Straw ice cream.
Any farmer’s market.
Any taco truck.
We’re very lucky to live here!!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Anne T. Donahue, brilliant writer, who shared my same level of unhinged work ethic in our 20s and who never once said “that’ll never happen” when I told her what my dreams were. We enabled each other to work harder and be better. That being said, I’m really glad we’ve chilled the f out over the years.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amandabrookeperrin/

Twitter: https://x.com/brookeperrin