Life & Work with Breanne Wilhite of Madison, WI

Today we’d like to introduce you to Breanne Wilhite.

Hi Breanne, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I wouldn’t say I ever had the urge to try comedy. I started by well-timed opportunity. I had just dropped out of film school after living in Los Angeles for two years. Pandemic + (alleged) higher-ed embezzlement scandal…it’s a long story. I moved back home to Wisconsin. When the boredom kicked in a few days later, community theatre didn’t seem so bad (with all due respect). They had a yearly Comedy Night, four shows, once a year – the same group performed a new set every year, a tradition spanning over a decade. Not finding much fulfillment in the theatre roles they give a fat girl, I had been looking for something creative to do relatively solo – or at least without a man in a tweed cap telling me to be more motherly. Chris Soukup said he’d give me a shot. The group mentored me for 2 months while I wrote my first 5 minutes. The day came, we did four sold out shows. I totally wanted to throw up (and did – don’t drink on antibiotics), but it was magic, and unfortunately (fortunately) I fell in love with it.

Six months later, with my first show out of the way, I did my first open mic at Comedy on State in Madison, Wisconsin. Very quickly, what’s rennouned as one of the best clubs in the country, became my home club. After driving a hour both ways to every open mic for a little over a year, I got booked on my first shows in Madison, hosted for the first time, got my first guest spot weekend for Maddie Wiener, and learned the art of roast battle.

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?
Not even a little bit, truly! Two years into comedy, after a lifetime of being incredibly overweight, I lost 100lbs in 10 months. All I had ever known is who I was, and now men were holding doors open for me? I was for real on another planet. It forced me to rediscover myself – if you don’t know who you are, how are you supposed to tell someone else (and make them laugh)?

Just as I was starting to feel like I had a solid understanding of myself, I underwent a knee surgery (MPFL Reconstruction & TTO). I wish the story was cooler, but I totally just fell on the ice and dislocated my kneecap in front of a woman dropping her kids off at elementary school (embarassing, I know). I held down the comedy bench for a few LONG months, so my return was exciting! I hosted a show. Or at least, I was supposed to. Three steps after my name was announced, I broke my leg while walking, on a flat surface, in a straight line…a complication apparently known as “spontaneous fracture”. You might think that’s sad (it is), but to be real – we were laughing our asses off in the hospital. After 2 days of being “the girl that broke her leg while hosting a comedy show,” all of my new nurse friends sent me home with a proximal tibia fracture, a rod, 8 screws, and a total of 11 scars on my leg (my 3rd knee/leg surgery, 2nd in 3 months). After the shock wore off, it was hard to see that the tunnel had an end, let alone a light.

A month after my big break, I had a post-op bone infection. Which meant a terrifying conversation and a 4th surgery. Two steps back, one week before Madison’s Funniest Comic Competition, three steps to the stage. I felt like I had to drop out, there was just no way. My wonderful friends reminded me that there was a seat with my name on it, disabled or not, and in the competition or not. I was easily convinced to commit to the moment, so I embraced being a 25 year old unable to move without the assistance of a walker.

My sets were contained to where I stood (after managing to hobble to the stage), so there was, once again, a lot to relearn. My delivery was fundamentally changed, I couldn’t trust my leg and I wouldn’t trust my comedy. After the preliminary round of the competition, I sobbed (embarassing, I know). It had been 6 months since my first surgery, but I wasn’t as lost as I had feared. Each week I advanced, my confidence in my new, slowly-healing, lowkey mangled body, grew. I was winning (well not winning, I got third…but), a hell of an achievement for a girl who got second place a year, 100lbs, and a broken leg or two ago.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m a stand-up comedian. Fearlessly honest with an infectious giggle, and a delightfully chaotic take on the complexities of a fat girl’s mind, growing up with a dad who is disabled, achieving significant weight loss, sex, love (and other drugs). I’m mildly recognizable to some as Semi-Finalist in Milwaukee Roast Championship (2025), Madison’s 2nd (2025) & 3rd (2026) Funniest Comedian, and Milwaukee’s One Liner Madness Champion (2026). I’ve had the honor of performing at top clubs across the Midwest, including Zanies Chicago, Laugh Factory Chicago, the Milwaukee Improv, and Comedy on State – where I’ve appeared in the Best of the Midwest showcase and opened for national headliners Maddie Wiener and Reggie Conquest.

I’m proud of how I’ve navigated my recent and not so recent trials in life, and used comedy as tool to connect with others on complex topics. I’ve taken the time to make my comedy deeply personal and I think the audience feels that. Even if my comedy is not for you, I’m fairly positive your mood will be up by the end.

Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
Los Angeles is unlike any other. When the morning is quiet, you can almost feel it breathe. Despite its reputation, it’s got quite a heart and soul. There’s always something new, there’s always someone new, and people go there to achieve greatness. I will never forget that portion of my life. My favorite and least favorite thing about LA are the same. In LA, you can be nobody and you are nobody. I miss being able to know no one, completely discover someplace new – in a place where opportunity surrounds you, yet feels impossible.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/breannewilhite/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/breannemwilhite/

Image Credits
Jason Hillman, Conner Daly, Ben Jones, Erik Schwerdtfeger, Diego Avila, Diego Avila, Diego Avila