Today we’d like to introduce you to Katherine Leon, Kim Seltzer, and Aliya Kamalova.
Katherine, Kim, and Aliya, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
KIM & ALIYA: We started doing comedy together in college where we quickly became best friends. We then met our producer extraordinaire, Katherine, at Nerdmelt (RIP) where we all interned together. We created the idea for The Best Friends Show (comedian/actor/writer best friends telling shared stories together) based on our own comfort of being on stage together.
Having never produced a show before, we pitched it to the program director at the time and asked Katherine to join in as a producer (she said no at first because the first time we pitched it to her, we were in a noisy environment and she absolutely misheard the whole thing). We started doing our show at NerdMelt and then later moved it to the Virgil, where we are today. And the rest? Well, it is history.
KATHERINE: I thought they were asking me to be their best friend and I said no.
Has it been a smooth road?
KIM & ALIYA: By no means has this been a smooth road. In fact, how dare you even suggest that. But really, I think it’s safe to say that the three of us have learned a lot throughout the past four years. Since our show is not like a typical standup or storytelling show, it comes with a lot of extra little stresses.
We’ve definitely become better producers, marketers, pitchers, and friends for it. Kim and I have become better performers, noting things that do and don’t work on stage. We also have gotten a lot of support from other shows, producers, and friends and for that, we are thankful (shoutout to CleftClips and everyone that works our show. We <3 you).
KATHERINE: I fully fell into this, so I was just watching everyone that was producing shows and learning from them and what it takes to put a good show together. It’s surreal to see how it’s grown over the past four years, and I care about it so much.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
KIM & ALIYA: The Best Friends Show is a storytelling show where two best friends tell shared comedic stories together. We specialize in comedy and friendships. We are most known for creating a weird experimental universe around The Best Friends Show.
For example, this month we are breaking from our format completely and putting on a one-off themed sketch show called Festival Fest. We’re gathering a bunch of festivals into one satirical festival. You can check out the craziness at www.festivalfestwebsite.com or download our festival app in the App Store because, yes, we may have gone overboard.
We’re also known for handing out free cake every month at our show from a mysterious baker named Ramon. I think the thing we’re most proud of is when performers and audience members comment on the warm vibe of our show.
KATHERINE: It means a lot to us when people come back to our show and get excited about it. And when performers tell us that it’s fun or special or unique, I am overwhelmed, and it’s wonderful. Festival Fest is our first one-off idea that we are doing so we worked really hard on making this silly idea come to life.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
KIM & ALIYA: I think LA is a great place for a show like ours. I think LA would be a good place to start your own show. We would recommend trying to see as many live shows as possible—meet people, learn what types of shows you like or dislike.
KATHERINE: There are so many shows that stand out in LA, and the community behind it really is something weird and special.
Pricing:
- Festival Fest: $8 online / $10 door
- The Best Friends Show $5 online / $10 door
Contact Info:
- Website: thebestfriendsshow.com
- Email: thebestfriendsshowla@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebestfriendsshowla/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thebestfriendsshow/
Image Credit:
Nick Gast
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