Meet Kristin Rowan | Comedian

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

Hi Kristin, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
Comedy and performing in general has been my dream job for a long time. I got into theater first, starting in middle school and then went on to major in it. There are not that many roles that I fit well though and I always loved making people laugh, so when one of my theater friends told me about standup it sounded fantastic. You get to create your own roles and make your own schedule. You can go to an open mic and make people laugh any day of the week. I first started doing comedy (both improv and standup) almost 15 years ago, which was right after I graduated college. I had a rough pandemic that included getting divorced from my wife while pregnant with my second child and during that time I reflected a lot on what’s important to me and what my goals are. That’s when I started really pursuing doing comedy as a career.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I’m a comedian who does both improv and standup. With improv I’m known for doing out-of-the-box things and also breaking character. I’m a player at ComedySportz Portland, which I’m proud to be part of. My standup is a mix of experimental/absurd and personal. Anything that I find funny I’ll try to make it work onstage no matter how dumb or dark. It took a lot of practice to figure out how to translate my humor to the stage. Years and year. I also used to get very nervous. I used to beat myself up when a show or mic didn’t go well, but now I see failure as part of the fun. Any one performance is not that important in the big picture. I’ve also learned it’s not all about being funny. This became super clear when I started putting on my own show: Stretch. Funny alone is not enough. You have to be professional and I also have to remember you exist. I would like the world to know that though I come across as dumb in some of my jokes, I do actually know what I’m doing.

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’m a big fan of Powell’s so we’d spend some time browsing there. You can’t go wrong with any of the food carts at Cartopia (12th and Hawthorne), but the burrito place is my favorite. Plenty of comedy to watch of course! My longtime favorite would have to be It’s Gonna Be Okay which is every Monday at Eastburn. I’m a bit bias cause I used to work there, but I’d probably also take them to Oaks Park. I’m not a big ride person anymore but it’s great for people watching and a pretty view of the river.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Both my parents. My mom’s very supportive and loving and encouraged me to study theater. Growing up my dad let me stay up late and watch lots of late night comedy: Conan, SNL, etc and now he’s my backup babysitter when I have shows.

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

Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/kristinrowan

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@kristinlrowan

Other: https://books2read.com/u/31rKKw