Ashley Ward – Comedy Foot Soldier

I could listen to this week’s Comedy Foot Soldier, Ashley Ward, talk for hours.  She’s got the voice of a sweet southern bell and the mouth of a drunkin’ sailor with turrets who just got hit in the balls with a baseball bat.  She’s hands down one of the most talented improvisers in the scene as can be demonstrated by the number and quality of groups she’s in: Big Black Car, Baby Wants Candy, Taco Supreme, Wizard’s Sleeve, Best New Artist, Cragg and Ward, Married Nate and Ashley and Poopy Poopy Fart Fart.  And seriously, those are just the groups she’s with now.  If she’s not getting paid to do comedy soon I’m gonna be mad.  And you wouldn’t like me when I’m mad.  Let’s just say I get passive aggressive and sulky.  And you don’t want that!  So pay her to be funny damn it!

What’s the most important thing you learned since you started doing comedy?
To trust myself. You can have the greatest idea in the world but if you sit back and don’t use it, there’s no point.

How did you know you were meant to be a comedian?
I love to laugh and I love to make people laugh. I don’t really know that I’m meant to be a comedian, but it’s something I’ve worked at more and more for the last eight or so years and I see the progress I’ve made in terms of my work and I feel proud of it. Doing comedy has made me feel more true to myself than anything else I’ve ever done.

What’s been your brightest moment as a comedian?
I don’t know that there is a singular moment, but I think coming to the realization that I can get onstage with people I respect and admire and hold my own is really the brightest moment for me. Being able to believe in myself and put myself out there. (You should probably play something from the Remember the Titans soundtrack while reading this one).

What’s been your darkest moment as a comedian?
Getting caught up in comparing myself and my trajectory of success (or lack thereof) with other people. That really takes me to a bad place.

Ashley behind Michelle Obama's desk

What is your favorite thing going on in comedy right now?
I love that there is a lot of two person improv going on. That is so fun to do and watch. I also love all the musical stuff! I think it’s great that there are so many groups incorporating music in their shows.

What is the scariest thing going on in comedy right now?
I’m scared of that new show with the ventriloquist guy. I haven’t seen it, but I don’t like those dummies. They are scary to me. They freak me out.

Who do you think is today’s most underappreciated comedian/comedy actor?
Nate Starkey (full disclosure, my husband), Kevin Cragg, Matt Oberg (though he’s getting there), Brigid Boyle. There are way too many to name. I can’t believe these folks aren’t getting paid giant sums of cash to be funny.

What’s the best advice you ever received as a comedian?
To follow my gut and speak up. I was filming an episode of BOF (Mamrie Hart and Steve Soroka’s HILARIOUS web series) with Ali Farahakian and we were improvising a section and I kept sort of saying stuff under my breath. And he then repeated one of my lines and gave me credit and told me to speak up and let people hear what I have to say because it’s funny. That has really stuck with me over the last year and it’s advice I really took to heart.

What’s the worst advice you ever received as a comedian?
Hmm. If it was bad I probably don’t remember it. I think there was a time when people were warning me about going blue or something. I think that is valid advice to an extent, but for me it isn’t all that helpful to improvise with a bunch of restrictions on content in my head, so I don’t worry about that too much. I think it’s more applicable in writing, but again, I work better without thinking about a bunch of what I should and shouldn’t say in my head.

What is your craziest show experience?
There have been many. One was doing a sketch show for a group of RV dealership owners. We had to go up after the leader of their organization, who gave an insane, rambling 45 minute speech, that culminated with him announcing his candidacy for president of the United States (he had buttons and everything, but I think it was a joke). We were asked to write a show of office based sketches and were never told who our audience was until we got there. Apparently RV dealership owners don’t enjoy office humor. It was an epic disaster with drunken RV dealership owners and their handsome wives pouring out of the place.

What is the biggest source of your comedy?
I think my southern upbringing is a big part of it. My family, particularly my mama. Some of the names alone are comedy gold.

How would you describe your comedy?
Character driven, fact laden, bawdy (this is the 1800s, right?).

Quick Hitters

I would like to be known for… Being funny and bold and sweet at the same time.

Shoot me if I ever… Act like a cocky jerkface. Or a jerky cockface.

I think most comedians are… Looking for approval. I realize I probably just blew your mind with that statement, as there is no way anyone ever thought of that before.

The one thing I have never seen a comedian do, but would love to is… Hmm. I just thought of something the other day. For someone to recreate the big ballet scene at the end of An American in Paris and play the Gene Kelly part. I want that person to not be a trained dancer, but someone who is good at dancing (like Chris Farley, though the person doesn’t have to be overweight) and have all the other dancers be really great and professional. I really want someone to do that!

My favorite comedy bit that I was not involved in is… Man, there are so many. Welcome to my Study (Dyna Moe and Mitch Magee’s hilarious web series) is something I so admire. I would love to have been involved with that.

My favorite comedy bit that I was involved in is… Was a scene at the end of an old High Fife show (my now defunct sketch group) where we connected several sketches together at the end by all wearing white unitards with blood on the fanny while blaring Levon from a boom box (if you saw the show you would understand why this made sense). Man I loved that show.

People often say they are attracted to a sense of humor. I think that is… awesome!

I would like to plug… Big Black Car, the group I do weekly shows with at the PIT, 8 pm on Wednesdays.  My drop in improv class, Fridays 7-10 at Simple Studios.