Pro tip from Brittani Nichols: Say no
Brittani Nichols is a writer, comedian, and actor living in Los Angeles. Words With Girls, a comedy pilot (based on the web series of the same name) that she created and starred in, was produced as part of Issa Rae’s Color Creative TV and premiered at HBO/BET’s Urbanworld Film Festival. She co-hosts Brand New Podcast with fellow witch and comedian Ariana Lenarsky. Suicide Kale, the feature she produced, wrote, and starred in, is currently available on SVOD after winning numerous awards including the Audience Award at Outfest and Newfest. Brittani has appeared on Transparent and Take My Wife and her writing credits include Strangers, Take My Wife, MTV’s VMA’s and the celebrity rap battle show Drop the Mic. Brittani is currently writing for the recently announced A Black Lady Sketch Show for HBO.
Favorite response to a heckler or troll?
You’re boring.
Describe your worst gig.
Every gig is terrible because I’d rather be at home.
On your deathbed, what transcendent advice would you croak at a young (female/LGBTQI) comedian?
Get comfortable with the discomfort of saying no to things.
What’s your first impulse when someone says “women aren’t funny”?
I live a life in which I avoid this scenario.
When you were coming up in comedy, what helped you stick with it?
My friends coming to shows. If you’re not funny, and your friends have self-respect, they will not repeatedly come watch you be unfunny.
Best comedy advice you ever got?
All you need is a beginning, middle, and end.
Worst comedy advice you ever got?
You should be able to make everyone laugh.
How has being funny helped you in your offstage life, either recently or when you were younger?
I’ve used humor as a comping mechanism since before I knew what a coping mechanism was. Being able to talk about things via jokes before I was in a place where I was willing to be vulnerable enough to talk about them plainly helped me make sense of myself, the world around me, and the things that happened to me.
What single word always cracks you up?
Whilst
Was there one person who inspired you to become a comedian? If so, who, why, how?
I don’t know that there was a period between wanting to be a comedian and becoming one. It was just the decision of, “Oh, this is what I’m doing now.” But Dave Chappelle was the reason I became invested in comedy and appreciated every aspect of it before I decided it’s what I would do.
Feelings about the word “comedienne”?
The only people I see use that word are men trying to be funny by putting it in their Twitter bios.
Photo via: Robin Roemer
Brittani Nichols is a writer, comedian, and actor living in Los Angeles. Words With Girls, a comedy pilot (based on the web series of the same name) that she created and starred in, was produced as part of Issa Rae’s Color Creative TV and premiered at HBO/BET’s Urbanworld Film Festival. She co-hosts Brand New Podcast with fellow witch and comedian Ariana Lenarsky. Suicide Kale, the feature she produced, wrote, and starred in, is currently available on SVOD after winning numerous awards including the Audience Award at Outfest and Newfest. Brittani has appeared on Transparent and Take My Wife and her writing credits include Strangers, Take My Wife, MTV’s VMA’s and the celebrity rap battle show Drop the Mic. Brittani is currently writing for the recently announced A Black Lady Sketch Show for HBO.
