Not to play favorites, but of all the comedians performing at this year’s Undisputable Champions of Comedy show, the name I was most excited to see on the list was Danielle Radford’s. I’ve followed her career for more than a decade, before she moved to Los Angeles and performed around town at venues like the Rendezvous (remember the Womb??), Re-Bar, and Comedy Underground.
Now, as a full-time LA resident, she’s staying busy by appearing on several Dropout TV shows, hosting the wrestling podcast Tights and Fights, and teaching the world how to play Dungeons and Dragons.
She says she doesn’t mind if I refer to her as Queen of the Nerds in this interview, so long as I “quantify that mine is not a hereditary monarchy. Don’t want people to think I’m a nerd nepo baby.”
That’s fair.
Describe your comedy in five words.
People seem to like it.
Now that you’ve been declared an Undisputed Champion of Comedy, is there anyone in your life who said you wouldn’t make it, and you would now like to take this opportunity to rub it in their stupid face?
I was kicked out of Cornish’s theater program for being “dogshit” or whatever and will never pass on the opportunity to be bitter about it. Engraved on my tombstone will be the words “Here Lies Danielle Radford, Probably Not the Worst Professional Actress to Get Kicked Out of Cornish.” I will leave a copy of THIS article in a time capsule with a note that says “Do not open until 2099 unless you are also a petty bitch,” and then strap that time capsule to a NASA rocket, and the aliens who find it will be like, “I mean she’s no Viola Davis, but she couldn’t have been THAT bad.”
“God, remember how good the first season of How To Get Away With Murder was?”
“SO GOOD! Should we do a rewatch?”
“We should totally do a rewatch.”
And then they rewatch HTGAWM’s very good first season while making out sloppy style.
Anyway, I’m still paying that student loan off.
I don’t even know where to start with questions for you because you’ve been involved in so much! On top of comedy, your resume also includes being a host for and appearing on several shows on Dropout; writing and hosting for Screenjunkies; and appearing on podcasts to talk D&D, wrestling, movies, and more. Plus writing and acting! Of all the different ways you entertain, do you have a favorite format?
The paying kind. But honestly, I’m super lucky to be able to inflict my dumb shit on people in as many ways as I can, and I highly recommend everyone do so. Making stuff can cost money, writing new stuff will always be free.
Do you remember your first time doing stand-up? Were you hooked from the start?
Yes and yes. I told myself before I went up that I wouldn’t be the best, but I probably wouldn’t be the worst. That’s the advice I give to anyone interested in going to their first mic. That, and if you take the mic out of the stand, be sure to move the stand away from you.
I was also fortunate to start comedy at a time when a bunch of crazy talented Seattle comics were curating a truly special indie scene. Not everyone gets that. I thank god every day that in my first year, no one was trying to get on a “heckler gets owned” compilation.
Was that too sincere? I can throw in a fart joke. Please expect me to send you a punch-up of this interview exactly five minutes before you hit “publish.”
I feel like there’s a story behind your advice to move the mic stand away from you. Did you learn that the hard way? Or is that just a personal annoyance when other performers do that?
It makes you look like a human cake pop. Since there’s no microphone there, the audience’s brain will fill that area in with your head. So you look like a weird balloon. It is the only piece of comedy advice I ever feel confident giving.
That, and there is no way to get better without sucking at least a little first.
You moved to LA from Seattle years ago, but still come back to the Pacific Northwest occasionally. I have to ask: Who has the better comedy audiences, Seattle or LA? (I’ve heard more than one touring comic say that, much like Seattle has a reputation for not dancing, we also don’t laugh as hard, apparently.)
It really depends on the room. Rooms full of paid ticket holders in Seattle will always be better than rooms full of comics in LA, but LA has a wider variety of rooms appealing to different audiences, so any comic can find the perfect place to eat absolute shit.
See Danielle Radford perform at The Stranger‘s Undisputable Champions of Comedy at Washington Hall on April 4, 7:30 pm, 21+. Tickets available here.
