Meet Angela Joy | Stand Up Comedian & Producer

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

Hi Angela, how do you think about risk?
Risk taking is a HUGE motivation for me. I believe that we need to challenge ourselves and push ourselves outside of our comfort zones. For me personally, if I’m feeling too comfortable in life or what I’m doing, I get bored. So I try to take risks and do things that scare me. There is no better high in my opinion then doing something that terrifies you and coming out the other end! Not all risks are successes but they are all important lessons and opportunities for growth.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I’m originally from Seattle and ever since I was young, I knew I wanted to be an actress. I loved to perform for people, making them laugh and providing them a distraction from the hardships of real life. When I was 11 years old, I wrote, produced and starred in my play “Rumpelstiltskin, The Musical.” My mom composed the music and directed and we put it on at our local community theatre. We asked for donations to give to charity and the first show raised $600! The audience loved the show so much, they asked for a second show so they could bring their friends. We ended up raising another $400! 100% of the profits went to Charity and that motivated me to continue on this path to use art and performances to give back.

In 2011 I moved out to LA to attend the New York Film Academy and got my AA Degree in Acting for Film. In 2015, I started my journey in social media. I created an instagram meme page called @wheredidmyvodkago and within the first year, reached 100k followers. I branched out into creating other pages and have now rebranded the page to @dailyshittalk with 400k Followers. I love providing humor to people thru social media and using it as a creative outlet!

I joined a Sketch Comedy Troupe in 2016 and we were reigning champions of the iOwest Theatre Sketch Cage Matches for 12 weeks straight!

In 2020, I quit drinking alcohol and thru that journey, I felt a strange calling to try something new and scary. I had seen Bryan Cranston in a Q&A once and he said “Every actor should try Stand Up Comedy at least ONCE in their career.” That always stuck with me and people kept asking me if I had ever done it- just from the way I told stories. So in 2022, I took the leap and attended a Flappers Comedy Club Workshop and got booked on my first show. I had 3 min on stage and the minute I got on stage, I knew this was my calling. I have since performed at The Comedy Store, Improv, and worked with numerous comedians such as John Mulaney, Iliza, and Darrell Hammond.

I am now producing my own Stand Up Show called “The Comedy Therapy Show”, because laugher is the best medicine. I want to provide a place for people to come for a night of healing laughter!

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 absolutely love that LA has so many options of travel- we have the beach, the desert, the woods. I would take friends to Joshua Tree for some hiking, star gazing and magic. Then we would go to Topanga Canyon and visit the hidden magical shops and then make our way to the beach afterward for sunset. I would want to take them to Melrose and the Grove for some food and photo ops.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My family has been so supportive of my creative journey ever since I was little. My 4 sisters Tanya, Mariah, Sara & Anna, my mom, dad, and Yia Yia (grandma). And then of course my LA family- my fellow stand up comedians Nicole Casaletto, Tara Daly, Andrew Dean Pearson, Sarah Garofalo, Rick Martinelli, Joel Ingram, Amanda Adkins, & so many more!

Website: www.angelajoycomedy.com

Instagram: @angelajoycomedy @dailyshittalk

Twitter: @angelajoycomedy

Image Credits
Keida Mascaro Nicole Casaletto Photography Stephanie Girard