Meet Paulina Combow | Comedian and Writer

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

Hi Paulina, let’s start by talking about what inspires you?
These days I’m mostly inspired by small kindnesses. We’re all so wrapped up in our own lives and the horrors on the news that we forget to just be kind to each other. I don’t get to go to museums, live shows, on vacations, and all the other “artist field trips” I would normally take to get inspired in the past. Now I have to go by the stimuli I take in: consisting mostly internet, TV, and my family. The internet can be a good source. We’re scrolling and searching online all day, and occasionally you find a quote or a video that cuts through all the layers to make you feel something. Usually what does it for me is stories and videos of strangers doing things to help each other. It’s those small reminders when we start to lose hope in humanity that keep us going. I’m inspired to create those moments for other people. A reminder that someone who doesn’t know them still cares about them and wants to create happiness for them.

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 think like everyone who does stand-up or any type of live performance, we realized pretty early on in the lockdown that this isn’t going away overnight. It’s not something you can just wait out. We’re at a year now since a lot of comics have even performed in front of a live audience. I’m continuing to write and develop stand-up and perform on virtual shows, but I wanted to shift my efforts somewhat. I started sending pitches to satirical websites and now I’m a contributor for Reductress, LadySpike Media, and Oregano. I’ve got my website and blog up and running, I taught stand-up comedy classes for kids over the summer, and I also self-published a book on Amazon. That’s the thing I’m most proud of. It’s like a coloring book for writing called “101 Funny Writing Prompts.” I’ve gotten a great response to it and am eager to get the next one out. It will be more kid-friendly since that’s what I’m getting the most requests for. This pandemic has brought a whole new set of challenges, but I’ve been flexible which I think has helped me. I try to have a backup plan, and a backup plan for that too. This is a whole new world for everyone so I think there are also huge opportunities if we know how to make the most of them. We’re all learning to navigate this new world together. I’d rather do that than sit and wait for things to go back to normal. For some people, this may be the first big setback they’ve ever had in their personal life or career. It’s not my first rodeo, so I didn’t want to spend too much time wallowing in uncertainty.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
My tour of LA has lots of walking. When I have friends come to town I don’t mind doing touristy stuff, but I want them to also feel like locals. Take the Metro to the Arts District of Downtown for Angel City Brewery. I also love to frequent Little Tokyo for the Sanrio store, EightyTwo (adult arcade), Mermaid Bar (dive bar), and there were always cool pop-ups on the weekends. My nature and beach day would start in Malibu with a hike and lunch at Malibu Seafood. We can spend the rest of the day going up and down the PCH. It’s extra fun if you have a bike or roller blades to go beach hopping. If we don’t mind walking a lot we can take the metro downtown to Grand Central Market where lots of movies have filmed including City of Angels, Go over to Olvera St. for Mexican outdoor market and restaurants on some of the oldest streets in LA. Take a drive through the canyons and take in the views on Mulholland. Get brunch in NoHo at Fat Dog or The Federal. Going to Universal Studios is one of my favorites but you need the whole day. Everything else I did revolved around going to comedy shows and open mics, which aren’t an option at the moment.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Shoutout to The Clitorati. This is my women’s writing group. We used to meet monthly in West Hollywood, but have continued on Zoom even with members spread across the country now. I even have a smaller group that writes together every day. They’ve been imperative to me getting anything accomplished. On days when I couldn’t focus or find motivation, they kept me going. Shoutout to Laughter on Call. I had only been working with them a few months when the lockdown happened. They’re a non-profit that matches seniors with memory loss and comedians to hang out and help each other out. I know their work with seniors has been really needed this past year, and I’m impressed how they’ve been about to work around limitations and continue to provide entertainment in nursing homes and senior centers.

Website: www.paulinacombow.me

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

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulinacombow/

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/paulinagc

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/paulina.combow/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyAYoqlJGNxsaQTFjWNH7qQ