Committing To The Bit

Olivia Von Blue is the type of person to have a Wendy’s for Life card. She’s the type of person to give money to the homeless, only to find out that she has been scammed, and while still mad about it, doesn’t regret it. She’s the type of person who, when approached about doing a photoshoot, suggest that she put on comically big shoes and a big blue tutu (which I know has a different name, but I’ve forgotten), and then suggest that she hang from a crossing light, all for the sake of making the shoot as big as it can be. These were the qualities I found out about her all within the first 10 minutes of having our first one-on-one conversation. In short, she’s a classic go big or go home type of comedian and in my opinion, that’s the only type of good comedian that exists. 

“To me, comedy is very much part of my DNA and framework. I have a very funny dad. And I have a very interesting family dynamic—not in a bad way…for me, family dinner is like, how many jokes can I get in to make my dad laugh? It’s a currency in my house, especially with my younger brother, my mom,” Olivia explains. This does not surprise me at all. Simply sitting with Olivia felt like a speed run of how many jokes or bits can a person fit into a conversation. It is a language unto itself that I can relate to. But, the thing that stands out to me about Olivia compared to other funny, always “on” people I know, is that she’s fully committed to honing this natural gift that she has. I wasn’t expecting her to be so evenheaded about how she thinks about success and failure, which might be a fault of my own since I tend to take failure way too seriously. “You know when you have a really good set, that feeling lasts for like 45 minutes? That bad set should also last for 45 minutes,” was some pretty good advice that stuck with me. 

Sometimes embarrassing yourself on stage feels like being high on drugs because you get laughs and then you get off stage and you’re like, “Oh my god, this is all real,” she shares with me. She doesn’t let that stuff get to her and the reason is straightforward—there’s no going back from comedy. Even if she’s upset and crying with her head in a sweater like a mamushka  (her words, not mind), about a bad edit or failed joke, she continues to figure it out. She gives herself some God damn grace about it all. And I could really learn a thing or two about that from someone like Olivia. It’s why I think she’s finding some much traction after working it it for only four or so years. 

“Let’s give it a chance. If it’s a piece of writing or performance or anything…let yourself get better at it. I think everyone’s very young and has time.”