On Wednesday, February 23, comedian Sally Ann Hall came to perform at UW-Stout, and Stoutonia got the chance to sit down with her. Sally Ann Hall is a Brooklyn-based comedian, as well as a writer, actress, and singer who has won the 2018 Laughing Devil Comedy Festival and the 2017 She-Devil Comedy Festival in New York. There in New York is where Hall’s comedy career began.
Hall discussed how she started in comedy, “I was dating a waiter who worked at a comedy club and I walked into an open mic night one day and saw bad stand-up comedy, so I said to myself that I could do bad stand-up comedy.”
Hall developed her comedy by going to comedy shows, “Just the stand-up comedy shows, I had the most fun.” Hall explained her joke writing process, “I would think of something and say to myself is this funny? If I think of a premise, I would try it out on stage and if I get a laugh I keep and if it doesn’t get a laugh I throw it away.”
Writers’ block can happen to many creators, and Hall described how she keeps from burning out, “I fill up my artist cup. I go see plays, concerts, or simply look at other people’s art to get the creative juices going.”
Hall explained how she dealt with the Covid-19 Pandemic, “Lot of shows were canceled. I was stuck quarantined in New York in my cockroach-infested apartment waiting for things to pick back up again. I did get a dog and engaged.”
Hall talked about a favorite moment from her career, “I did a show in New York, it was packed and taped. I had a great set that night. After that set, the owner of the club saw me and stated that they wanted me to perform at their club. I was excited by the opportunity, but the owner didn’t email me back and I didn’t get the tape from that night as well.”
Learn more about Sally-Ann Hall by following her at @mesallyann on Twitter and Instagram and check out her website at https://funnysallyann.com/.