Meet Kelly Shanley | Standup Comic, Content Creator, Writer

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

Hi Kelly, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
I honestly don’t feel like I ever really had a choice. I’ve always been a creative person and loved writing and performing. Whether it was on stage, in a backyard, or just in conversation, I felt alive when I made people laugh. I’ve been drawn to comedy ever since I can remember. My parents were devoted fans of Saturday Night Live and sitcoms of the 90s so I grew up watching comedy my whole life. Acting always looked like fun, but especially after I saw my first blooper real and thought, “Wait, even when they mess up they laugh? That looks like fun!” I tend to get bored easily and I have a hard time sitting still and doing the same tasks on a daily basis, so I always knew an office job was not for me. Once I realized that performing was an actual career that I could pursue, I was set on moving to LA and becoming a big star. Fortunately my parents were supportive. As long as I finished college and got my degree I was free to move to LA and chase the big dream. So I did!

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I moved to LA in 2008 to pursue an acting career, but after a few years and many auditions, I hadn’t gotten that big break I was hoping for (big shocker, right?), so I took a step back to reassess. And so began my journey of content creation, writing, and standup comedy. They’ve led me to create these current projects, which highlight the unique experiences I have to bring to the table.

SKIMEDIAN
I grew up in North Lake Tahoe, CA, which is a ski town. As such, I am an avid skier and have been since I was 3 years old. I didn’t love skiing quite enough to pursue it professionally like my sister did (I hate the cold!), but I always felt slightly bummed that I wasn’t able to share my love of skiing with the world. Until recently, when I came up with the crazy idea to do standup comedy while I’m skiing. Yes, literally standup on skis! I am the original skiing comedian, aka, Skimedian. My sister, former US Freestyle Ski Team member Laurel Shanley, is the camerawoman who flies down the hill by my side, somehow keeping me perfectly in frame while not even breaking a sweat. You can find full videos on my YouTube channel @KellyShanley, plus clips across my Instagram and Tiktok @KellyAShanley.

STAR BAKER COMEDY SHOW
I’ve been doing standup comedy since 2015 but hadn’t done much producing, until 2022 when I met with Nicole Blaine, the owner of Crow Comedy Club in Santa Monica, and pitched her a competition standup comedy show based on the Great British Baking Show. I love the show and have watched it for years, and thought, why not borrow this format? Each episode features three bakes for the bakers to compete in; the Signature, Technical, and Showstopper. I found a way to have comics incorporate each of these themes into their set, and Star Baker Comedy Show was born! We have two hilarious judges who pick their favorite set and name that comic Star Baker of the show. I bake a cake for the winning comic, PLUS cupcakes for the entire audience! Everyone gets to watch a curated comedy show, pick their favorite comic, and enjoy some free sweet treats. It’s been an incredible experience and our next show will be on August 2nd at The Crow.

FOR LOVE OR PEANUT BUTTER
In 2018 started a dating blog to document the ridiculous experiences I was enduring in the worlds of dating apps in LA. This led to me having my own syndicated dating column on Slackjaw, a major humor publication on Medium, which I wrote twice a month for all of 2021. The column was called For Love or Peanut Butter and documented my disastrous dates (catfishing, ghosting, and nose picking, oh my!), lessons I learned, and finally, in a “How I Met Your Mother” style format, how I met the man who I am going to marry next summer! For Love or Peanut Butter will be coming to a YouTube near you soon, as I am preparing to adapt it into a video series! This is part of my current plan to lean into social media and content creation in order to grow my audience and get to act in more projects.

SHRED THE MIC COMEDY PODCAST AND LIVE SHOW
My fiancé Zeke Thomas and I are both comedians, and we started a podcast that is inspired by the open mic process of developing new material. Each episode, we both bring five minutes of brand new material – I mean BRAND new, as in ripped straight from the notes app in our phone that week. We share our random thoughts and strange premises and then give each other feedback on whether or not we think a new bit has legs and bares repeating, or should never be heard from again.
We also produce live standup comedy shows in my hometown of Tahoe City. This has been such a treat for me because I get to invite all of my friends and family who normally don’t get to see me perform. We invite talented comics from the Tahoe/Truckee/Reno area to come perform and have sold out our last four shows. It’s been so special to me to bring standup comedy to Tahoe City and add some levity to my beautiful hometown.

All of these projects support my aim to make people feel the feels with cautiously optimistic comedy. I believe comedy can make people’s lives better, and I hope to leave this world a happier place than I found it. Or at least slightly less serious.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I love this city, and I love showing people around! Some of my must-dos include:

1. A comedy show (duh). There are so many places to see some of the best comedians in the world in this city, but not everyone thinks of LA as a comedy city. We’ve got The Crow, The Laugh Factory, the Comedy Store, the Improv, plus UCB and Groundling for improv comedy, and dozens more theaters. You can catch a show for $20 and see 10 famous comics on one stage. It’s a real treat and definitely first on my list.
2. The beach – I love the outdoors and being in the water, so I always bring people to the beach for either a mellow lay out session, a walk or bike along the boardwalk, or, if they’re up for it, some surfing!
3. A hike – I love Runyon Canyon, even though it’s crowded and some might say basic. I love the beautiful 180* views from the top, the adorable dogs that run around, and the occasional celebrity sighting is always exciting for a visiting friend! I also love Griffith Park for the Hollywood Sign hike and a quick stop at Griffith Observatory.
4. A weed dispensary – Yep, I like my cannabis as much as the next Angeleno. I love bringing someone to a dispensary for the first time and watching their head explode as they step into a clean, bright interior that resembles an Apple Store. Plus, the Budtenders are so helpful with newbies and they get to leave with the perfect treat. It’s the true California experience!
5. Tacos Por Favor – After the dispensary I’m going to have to feed them, and what better choice than Mexican food when you’re in LA? Tacos Por Favor has delicious, authentic, inexpensive Mexican food. Their menu is huge, everything is good, and they’ll have your takeout ready in under ten minutes.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I want to give a shout out to my best friend Sara Berger for always encouraging me to keep going with standup career and helping me start creating content for YouTube. The content may have been ridiculous, (e.g., the “Eat Like a Cat Diet”) but it got the ball rolling for me on writing and being more proactive in my career. I do believe the content has since improved.

I also want to thank Nicole Blaine and Crow Comedy Club for creating a beautiful space that is welcoming to comics of all kinds, and providing a home for the standup comedy show I produce, Star Baker Comedy Show. She thought my crazy idea was fun right from the start, even though baking and comedy don’t traditionally go hand in hand.

And I want to thank my fiancé Zeke Thomas for producing and editing our podcast, Shred the Mic, bestowing his producer knowledge on me and helping with Star Baker Comedy Show, and encouraging me to start producing shows in my home town of Tahoe City whenever we go for a visit. He’s got Think Big Energy and it has really rubbed off on me.

Website: www.KellyShanley.com

Instagram: @KellyAShanley

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kelly.shanley/

Youtube: @KellyShanley

Other: My Medium profile and dating column For Love or Peanut Butter can be found here: https://medium.com/@kellyshanley Shred the Mic Comedy Podcast can be found here: https://open.spotify.com/show/4gPuWwUn0pHfWJdgtv8CZp?si=b709e70beedf4add

Image Credits
Keida Mascaro Nicole Casaletto Illustration by Emily Clouse