Brodie Reed (@ayobrobro) is a comedian, writer, and actor from Inglewood, California. He’s currently in production on a crowdfunded comedic short film about reparations called 16,000 Dollars.Â
This week, Brodie and I chatted about rejection, quitting bands, and accidentally seeing an improv show at UCB.
This is one of the stupidest things I’ve ever tweeted, so I’m surprised it resonated with anyone. Many of my jokes are just roasts for the person I was back in middle school. Nu Metal is the genre of choice for millennial children of divorce. My favorite band was Linkin Park from sixth grade all the way until currently — still my favorite band.
Do you think Twitter has been a good platform for your jokes? Has being Extremely Online changed your sense of humor in any way?
I really love to experiment with comedy as a form more than crafting one-liners about recent events, so in terms of platform, nothing beats the stage, but I do love Twitter fiercely. I love a joke and you can get real weird with 280 characters.
What made you decide to pursue a comedy career?
I had absolutely no idea how comedy worked. Outside of watching a lot of stand-up on TV, it was a mystery to me. I accidentally saw an improv show at UCB in 2011 and it lit my brain on fire. I remember thinking, People can just … do this? I quit my band, signed up for an improv class, realized how expensive it was, and started doing stand-up instead. I did so many mics and made so many friends; I felt really alive and I knew I was hooked.
I knew I wanted to be a starving artist since I was a moody punk tween, but if I only knew how little inspiration it took to coast as a data analyst I would’ve changed my whole life up. I used to think working in an office was peak normie stuff — now I know it’s a playground for the greatest artists of our generation: Con artists who are okay at PowerPoints.
You produce a weekly stand-up show at a pizza shop in L.A. What inspired that? Do you prefer hosting or performing?
Yes, it’s called Sauce! I host it with three other comics and a few talented producers. I’m actually the newest member, even though I’ve been on for about three years. Hosting is the same as performing to me, it just takes more focus. The stress of that work is offset by the privilege of introducing funny people to a regular audience, so it’s been a net good!
Tell us about the short film you’re making about reparations!
Gladly! It’s called 16,000 Dollars and we’re shooting as we speak. It’s written by me and Ellington Wells and directed by Symone Baptiste, who also produces Sauce. It’s a comedy about a very important issue, so it’s been a precious process of making sure we’re making a clear, informed point while getting in as many jokes as we can. It’s been a good problem to have, and to have it be 100 percent crowdfunded is something we’re extremely thankful for. We’re hoping to guilt-trip the festival circuit with it in 2020.
I was born and raised in Los Angeles, which produces 80 percent of the world’s rejection. Starting comedy in a city like this is hard, but not as hard as finding a person to date who does not believe in astrology. Personally, I’d rather be judged on the content of my character than by the position of the moon the moment I was born, but I know that’s like, such a Capricorn thing to say.
What time were you born? I’m just passively curious.
Hahaha. I think my mom said it was around 9 p.m., but that’s not the way I remember it.
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