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Lisa Lampanelli announced last week that shesretiring from stand-upand starting a new chapter as a storyteller and life coach.
Im going 180 degrees.
Its not like, Hi, Im leaving comedy to do movies, you know?
says Lampanelli, who started doing comedy in 1991.
She found the combination of self-help and deeper performances to be more fulfilling.
Its not a typical path.
Its pretty weird for somebody to do this, she says.
But you know whats funny?
I said to Stern, This is why I dont think I was ever a comedian first.
I think it was my way of connecting with people.
I was just doing it.
So, youve quit comedy!
Lets get into it.Thats right.
My last live show was in June.
Howard Stern asked me, Arent you gonna miss it?
I go, Dude.
I havent done comedy in four months.
I could not miss anything less.
Right now, its a Friday night, and Im like,Oh my God.
Im home with my dog, thank you.
The this, the that.
Like, with marriages, divorces, I know it when I know it.
I said to my manager after [my Off Broadway playStuffed], You know what?
Lets gear up to make those shows that I have contracted the last ones.
On Stern, you mentioned that you made the decision to quit a few years ago.
What sparked that?Its been brewing since a few years ago, yeah.
Comedy was going great, I was chugging along and loving that hour and half onstage every couple nights.
Then my father got sick in late 2013, so I had to cancel a bunch of stuff.
Lets rabble-rouse, and double-check hes comfortable and happy.
Obviously, I have had food and body-image issues all my life.
So I decided to write a play about it.
They were walking away feeling less alone.
I was always one of those rapid-fire comics, so you just didnt have time to think.
The audience is just laughing and not having anything sink in.
I think that just works better for me now.
But when I watched that, I start sobbing.
I watched it five times.
I make fun of everyone, so I include everyone, and therefore, I dont dislike anyone.
But in these times, something was getting lost in translation.
Maybe it was that people in their 20s and 30s werent getting into that tradition.
So part of me was going,Wait a minute.
I want to say literally whats on my mind.
I dont want to be misunderstood ever again.
Other comedians might argue that doing stand-up is a good way to connect with or help people.Oh, absolutely.
I did for years.
But then, I lost that because I didnt feel it was serving people.
Shut the fuck up.
In addition to the storytelling, youre also becoming a life coach.
Its a few days of meditation, yoga, journaling, group discussion, storytelling, and more.
Im the punch in who over-prepares for everything.
I mean, I took acting lessons to play myself in a play.
What has the reaction been so far from your fans or peers?
I have gotten so many freaking emails, people saying they want me to coach them.
I thought it would be a bigger struggle, but I think people saw that I really meant it.
Do you remember your first show?Oh, yes, are you kidding me?
It was at Jokers Wild in New Haven, Connecticut.
It was my first open mic as part of a comedy class taught by a guy named Michael Jackson.
He was such a good comic.
I dont think he does comedy anymore, but he really knew how to teach us.
I loved my first show.
I was so conceited after that.
I called in sick to my day job.
I was like,Im not gonna need a day job anytime soon.
Of course, I needed it for seven years.
What was your day job?At the time, I was an editor.
I had gone to school at Syracuse University for journalism.
Thats the thing, too in my gut, I knew when I was done with that.
I think the problem with everybody is that they dont listen to their gut.
You cant let your head talk your gut out of what you want.
If I didnt go with my gut, Id have never started comedy.
I would have never quit comedy.
And its the two best decisions of my life, probably.
I think resilience is obviously something we all have to learn, or we just quit.
I mean, really.
It also taught me that you really can ask for help.
Comics tend to be real lone wolves.
Theres no shame in moving on to something else.
Its what your soul wants to do that counts.
Plus, if youre going to stick with comedy, then you cant complain anymore.
I always said, Never explain, never complain.
So never explain your jokes.
If you love them, you love them.
Also, one last thing: Stop with all the drinking.
I never let my opening acts drink.
This is a business.
And you know, stop banging all the girls, too.
Despite your announcement, youre performing in the New York Comedy Festival this weekend.
I go, Maybe putformercomedian.
But I thought,Hey, aint nothing wrong with it.
When a president gets replaced, they still call him president.
So I was like, How about President Lisa Lampanelli?
