Meet Tangila Lee | Writer, comedian, actress

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

Hi Tangila, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
I’ve always been inspired by the artistic process. How one can take something from a bare bones idea and build and develop it into a story, a joke, or even a song that moves people and makes them feel something. I do entirely too much so to have anything I make; be that a song I wrote, a play I’ve written, or a joke I say on stage move people to tears or laughter I think is the best possible outcome. I think everyone wants to know that their art matters no matter what that medium is, and if I’m able to do something remotely close to that then that’s remarkable.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Like I said earlier, I do too much. I always told myself I have to choose one thing and focus. But that isn’t true… I can shove so much of myself into one thing one day and then the rest of me into another thing the next and those things still matter equally to me and I still want to excel in both things. I do stand up comedy, write for screen and stage, and I make music. I wouldn’t even say I’m remotely successful just yet, I’ve had successes here and there and I count them as building blocks in the journey. I’m so excited to see where everything leads, the many challenges, how will being different from everyone actually aid me or hinder me. It’s all up in the air and only God knows where I’m going and how I’ll end up there. Life is trial and error. You don’t always go on stage and crush, or get a first draft that’s amazing! It’s a lot of writing and rewriting. A lot of recording yourself, understanding that delivery is what got the laugh and mastering doing it that same way every time to guarantee you get a laugh, every time. I’ve learned that failure is good! If you’re not failing… the first time you do will be devastating and you’ll want to quit. You can be born with talent but you HAVE to develop skill on top of that to sustain and grow and become the best. The best in comedy didn’t just rely on talent alone, they made good business moves, studied the greats that came before them and repeated that process over and over. Some of my favorite comedians have bombed… even as big as they are now. And I’ve WATCHED it happen.. it’s humbling. And it shows you that no matter where you are in life you still have to study and practice. I want the world to know that I’m coming and I hope they’re ready for my name to up there with those greats. And that I’ll already be ready to study and practice no matter where I am in my career!

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?
So funnily enough my best friends aren’t from LA and they did visit not too long ago. They weren’t here for very long but we ate at Jack’s ‘n Joe on Figueroa. Very delicious spot, I love French toast so I order that whenever I get breakfast! Then we went to Roscoe’s chicken and Waffles for lunch, and we didn’t make it to my favorite restaurant Nong La Pho on La brea, because we didn’t have time. But it’s one of my favorite places besides chipotle. I’m truly a soup girly, and I’ll have a soup even on the hottest day of a year.

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?
My mother has always been supportive even when she didn’t want to, I made her so that’s a first and foremost.
My good friend Tammy Jo Dearen. She’s always supported me and pushed me to be better and pursue higher opportunities. She literally paid for my first comedy class with Jodi Miller and that really helped me to formulate some jokes I still tell today on stage and that helped me win the Uncle Clyde’s comedy competition at Flappers in Burbank! I genuinely couldn’t have done it without them, and I couldn’t have had the opportunity if it wasn’t for Tammy giving me my first shot at the comedy store on her show.

Website: https://tangilalee.godaddysites.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tangila?igsh=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA%3D%3D&utm_source=qr

Image Credits
Jake Ortega for the photo of me in the light blue sweater in the alleyway

Jamie Kaufman for the two pro photos of me on the mic.

And Joseph Frye for the photo of me with my arms stretched out against the black wall.