Superstar standup Fortune Feimster will be the first to tell you how lucky she feels to have the success she’s had in her nearly 20-year comedy career.
Fully embodying the improv mantra of always saying “yes, and…” Feimster has worked incredibly hard, first finding her footing doing sketch comedy with the legendary Groundlings Comedy Theatre in L.A. back in 2005 – before discovering her standup voice years later, and breaking out on NBC’s “Last Comic Standing” in 2010.
“I think that’s when my career started to take off,” Feimster said about switching to stand up. “I think before, people would think I was funny when I was doing sketch, but they didn’t really know who I was, or what my voice was. They just saw me as a very silly person, but not really with a specific point of view. I think once I started talking about myself, and my stories, and I was just more of a storyteller, that’s when people started to really resonate with me. So once I found standup, it was kind of off to the races.”
Originally from North Carolina, Feimster has since toured all over the country, performing to bigger and bigger audiences each time, and effortlessly winning over new fans with her signature Southern charm.
She’s also released three hit Netflix comedy specials – 2020’s “Sweet and Salty,” 2023’s “Good Fortune,” and “Crushing It,” released last December.
“Those early days, I think it was just me getting comfortable,” Feimster said. “So much of stand up is just making the audience feel at ease. And that takes time. It’s not something that people just get overnight. So once I started getting more comfortable on stage then I was able to really focus on the material. And I think doing my first special ‘Sweet and Salty’ had a big influence on me as far as finding my voice, and what works. And I just feel like ever since then, I’ve really leaned into the storytelling even more, and that’s kind of where the sweet spot is for me now.”
Feimster will return to DeVos Performance Hall for two shows May 16. She has a personal history with Michigan as well, as her wife Jacquelyn “Jax” Smith is from here, and she has come to visit her family and explore our great state many times.
Her current “Takin’ Care of Biscuits” Comedy Tour is her first since the release of her latest special, “Crushing It,” and will feature all new material, which is a perpetually daunting task in the life of a standup comedian.
“Every time you put out an hour, you’re like, ‘Oh my gosh, what is going to be the next hour? What am I going to talk about?’ You always feel like that’s it. The well is dry. But it just forces you to dig deeper and think about life and where you’re at. I always like to talk about what I’m going through as far as the stage of what part of my life I’m in.
“So I have another fun travel story, and I’m digging into my childhood a lot more. I did that with ‘Sweet and Salty,’ and those tended to be the jokes that people remembered and would recite back to me. So I thought it’d be fun to really think about some more of those ridiculous stories that I had from that time in my life.”
As a comedian touring at such a turbulent time for the country, Feimster explained how she feels people will always need silliness even amidst all the politics, and how making a personal connection from the stage means even more to her now.
“It’s pretty daunting,” she said. “I consider my job to be making people laugh. If you want to hear political commentary, or take on what’s happening in the world, there’s much more knowledgeable people to do that. I know where my lane is, and my lane is in these stories, and sharing my journey, giving people some levity during the crazy times.
“I mean, people that really pay attention to my stories can see some are just silly, and then others have a deeper thing underneath. ‘Sweet and Salty’ is about coming out. And even though it’s a very silly story about how that happened, what’s underneath is, ‘Hey, this is a very difficult conversation, and it’s a conversation that gay people are terrified to have because they think they are going to be disowned by the people that they love most in the world.’ That’s what I’m saying. But I’m delivering it via a really funny, ridiculous story. So, the messages are always there. It’s whether or not you hear it.”
Fortune Feimster: Takin’ Care of Biscuits Comedy Tour
DeVos Performance Hall, 303 Monroe Ave. NW, Grand Rapids
May 16, 7 p.m. (almost sold out) and 9:30 p.m., $24.25+
Fortunefeimster.com, devosperformancehall.com
