Meet Katie Novotny of Valley Village

Today we’d like to introduce you to Katie Novotny.

Hi Katie, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
*Sits back lights a cigar, immediately has a cough attack cause I don’t know how to smoke a cigar*

Honestly, I never set out to be a comedian. Like every little girl with a fireplace stage, a cape blanket and a little brother to boss around to be her sidekick – I never had big dreams to preform out side of my family’s living room. Did I want to major in Creative Writing and Theatre? Yes. Did my dad refuse to pay for a useless degree? Yes. I graduated from the Missouri School of Journalism with a minor in Spanish and lost my fluency in that language within a year of stepping outside the classroom.

I took my first improv class in Denver, after being trapped in a small ad agency for too many hours a day (eight) and too little creative expression. Fell in love, moved back to Chicago, drank the Second City and iO koolaid, and made a bunch of shit along the way. My first web series Guilty, which I made with a bunch of insanely talented friends, ended up as an Official Selection in the New York Television Festival (RIP), and that’s where a talent agent told me I should try stand up. And because I am a people please and teacher’s pet, I said “idk I never got on a Harold team but sure I’ll give it a go.”

Ten years later, I’ve done stand up in 20+ states, booked six national commercials, and just dropped my debut comedy special Son of Your Dreams, which I filmed at the Flyover Comedy Festival in St. Louis to a sold out crowd full of friends and family. The lesson? Listen to strangers and chase their approval and you’ll end up falling in love with something you never thought you could do.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Everything has gone according to plan. Said the liar. No it’s been up and down and up up up and down down down. And then you coast for a bit and then you get a little higher and then you release your first special, and to celebrate yourself you book a dream trip to Iceland and by the end you can barely walk, then find out you have a full labral tear in your hip and also what the professionals are insisting is “severe hip dysplasia” and find out you have to have an incredibly major surgery that will take up your entire year to heal.

I have been dealing with various hormornal issues since 2021 so I am no stranger to health issues getting in the way of dreams, but the timing of this right after such a big career milestone has been a hard pill to swallow.
In an industry that requires us to keep climbing, it’s really making me sit down and put things into perspective – and focus on the things I can do while not being able to get up on stage. If anyone needs a podcast guest that does not require me to travel – I’m available. Or maybe I’ll finally write that pilot about my mom’s drama club that I’ve had outlined for three years. Or maybe I’ll write a book. Or just livestream 24/hrs a day form now through surgery and post. That seems to work for some people.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
What I Do and What I’m Known For:
I’m a stand-up comedian, actor, and content creator. I’ve also been a daughter for 37 years, and an older sister for 35. I’ve also been told I am the fun cousin.

What I’m Most Proud Of
Son of Your Dreams. I went out to LA in August of 2021. The previous spring, April 2020, I lost my job during the pandemic and subsequently lost my apartment in NYC and having to move in with my parents at the ripe old age of 32. After a ton of therapy, soul searching, and a healthy dose of antidepressants later, I decided I needed to give myself “one last chance” at comedy. The world had almost ended and I hadn’t allowed myself to fully chase my dreams yet. I arrived in Los Angeles with two open mics under my belt and five years later I have my first comedy special.

My acting coach recently told me how the artist journey can feel never ending, almost as if we’re on slow-moving glacier as we continue year over year. The little wins as we get them don’t feel monumental, but when you look back you see how far you’ve come. And taping my first special at one of the best comedy festivals in the circuit is one of those moments where I was like, ‘holy fuck look how far I’ve come.’

I don’t think people realize how much work goes into a special. Especially your first one. First you’re writing shitty jokes. Then ok jokes. Then decent jokes. Then you have fifteen minutes and you’re like holy shit I have fifteen minutes. And then three months later you’re like, “I’m burning it all to the ground.” It’s so hard to build a long set in LA so I traveled for shows and festivals as much as my freelance career and Southwest Credit Card points would allow. Paying to get myself to festivals in towns I’ve always wanted to go to see if my jokes would work in Maine, Ohio, Arizona, Alaska, Indiana, Georgia, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Tennessee, the list goes on. Meeting comics all across the country and learning from them. Meeting bookers and industry from every nook and cranny of the great* (relative) United States to sharpen jokes, make them better for wider audiences, and understand the very specific skillset of what it takes to be a road-dawg (while also holding down a day job). Then, finally getting a chance to feature and flying all over even more to work out the 35 minutes I had built, and running it, running it, running it at all the stages and clubs and indie shows with friends who believed that I could in front of audiences members that gave me the information and laughter I so desperately needed.

I’ve been so lucky to have done stand up in 17 states and even Amsterdam, and I can’t wait for that number to be 53 (assuming we will conquer some Central American countries and maybe Greenland? over the next four years).

It was incredibly hard. Incredibly exhausting. And so much fucking fun. 2020 me would never have believed me.

How can people work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
My special, Son of Your Dreams is streaming on the people’s Netflix – Youtube. Like, subscribe, comment and follow me on Instagram @katienovotnyyyyy for daily lols.

https://www.youtube.com/@novotnykatie

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.katienovotny.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/katienovotnyyyyy/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@novotnykatie

Image Credits
Headshot: Rustin McCann Photo
Son of Your Dreams Graphic: Courtney Tharpe Gzehoviak