Today we’d like to introduce you to Ari Mannis.
Ari, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I grew up in San Diego, California and was always a giant fan of stand up comedy. I always liked to make people laugh and got in trouble in school for goofing around in class. I never liked school but I always pressured to go from parents. During my senior year in college, I saw a stand-up comedy competition and decided to enter. Although I only made it to the second round of the competition, I really enjoyed it and decided to continue doing it after. None of the comedians from the competition are still doing stand up as far as I know.
Right after graduation with a film degree, not knowing much about comedy and having only done it a hand full of times, I decided I wanted to move to Los Angeles to pursue comedy full time. My plan was to try and get a behind the scene’s job with my film degree to pay the bills while pursuing comedy at night. Comedy took over and even though it barely paid I started to book shows all over town. First at the Ice House, then Comedy Juice at the Hollywood Improv, and various other shows around town. I ended up getting hired by Pauly Shore to fix his computer and he liked me enough to let me open for him throughout the country. Shortly after that, The Comedy Store asked me if I wanted to be a door guy there. All the door guys at the Comedy Store do stand up comedy and it is a very coveted position. Previous door guys include Marc Maron, David Letterman, Robin Williams, Ari Shaffir, and many more. I now do stand up full time opening up for comedians such as Michael Kosta, Tony Hinchcliffe, Andrew Santino, and Theo Von. I also do stand up alone, headlining smaller rooms by myself.
Once a month, I produce a comedy show in my living room called Ari’s Apartment Show where I move the furniture out of my place, bring in chairs, stage, spotlight, sound system and have my favorite comedians come and perform for strangers off the internet. I also host a weekly podcast called Unlicensed Therapy, where I interview my favorite comedians and try and fix their life problems.
Currently, as I am typing this, I am on a plane to Australia where I will be touring five major cities and doing stand-up throughout the country opening for Theo Von.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Definitely hasn’t been, I have been doing comedy for eight years now, and I still feel like I am scraping by barely paying bills. I live very modestly and have worked many side jobs throughout. Not just that but it is very competitive, I am constantly being rejected for opportunities and watching people I started with surpass me. While I am happy for them, I still consider it a struggle.
Another thing comedians and myself have to deal with today is backlash from audience members/ the internet. People get offended at different things and my comedy pushes people’s buttons. I have had thousands of people online say the meanest negative things about me. I have hecklers in person who decide they will try and ruin my night.
Another issue is my personal life, I am constantly traveling, work at night, and always working. It is very difficult to maintain relationships and friendships. All that being said, I enjoy the job, not having a boss and the high from performing on stage. I wouldn’t trade it and I don’t plan on stopping.
We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
I do stand up comedy, anywhere that will have me, bars, hotels, comedy clubs, theaters, rock venue’s, living rooms, backyards, festivals. I would say I am not really known, but those who do know me for pushing people’s buttons, not being afraid to say what is on my mind or an embarrassing fact about myself.
What sets me apart from others is I am constantly creating, with my production background I put out sketches, stand up clips, short films, social content, podcasts more than the average comedian. I think most people would say I work hard and that I am reliable people can count on me to show up on time and make an audience laugh.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
I don’t know that I would do anything differently, it’s one of those jobs where you always feel like you aren’t doing enough, you always compare yourself to others but I am finally getting to the point where I just want to enjoy the ride and not second guess things.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.arimannis.com
- Instagram: @arimannis
- Facebook: @arimannis
- Twitter: @arimannis
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