Comedian, Actor & Writer Sierra Katow on Her Career and Bringing A Fresh POV to the Industry

(Last Updated On: February 14, 2021)

We spoke with stand-up comedian, writer, and actor Sierra Katow. The self-proclaimed nerd discovered stand-up at sixteen years old and then morphed into a nerd who did stand-up. Now she’s a nerd who does stand-up and who also writes, acts, and has her own podcast. Sierra is intuitive, funny, resourceful, and talented.

How did your love of writing begin? Did you journal as a kid?

I did journal as a kid! But I think my most formative writing experience was in 2nd grade when my teacher – shout-out to Mrs. Harris – had us write creative stories every week. We would write the stories and then read them aloud to the class. And let me tell you, I LIVED to see the other students’ reactions to my stories. I discovered that if I included their names in the stories as characters, they would love it even more. I was all about pleasing the crowd. A total panderer at eight.

Using your classmates’ names in your stories was pretty smart. Was that your lightbulb moment when you realized you had “the gift of writing?”

No gift! Most of my life is bullsh*tting in the writer’s room and hoping no one notices that I have no idea what I’m doing. It’s a skill in and of itself, honestly, and it should be on my resume. However, with every new job and script I write, I do see improvement and that’s encouraging. I think it’s an ongoing learning experience – corny, I know – but if I thought of it as a “gift” I’d be doomed to rest on nonexistent laurels.

Ha! Gotcha! Do you see your writing as an extension of yourself? If so, how?

Definitely! Since I started in stand-up, the first “jokes” I wrote were ones I wanted to say onstage. It wasn’t until later, when I wanted to write for TV and therefore for people besides myself, that I came to terms with the fact that writing can’t always be an extension of myself. I had to think in other peoples’ voices. If anything, I may need to learn that my writing isn’t always meant to be a direct reflection of me. If I understood that, maybe I’d write even more since I wouldn’t be so darn precious about it.

That’s very insightful. What about the comedic element to your writing? When did it come into play?

I think comedy has always been a part of my writing. Since it all began with stand-up comedy, I can’t imagine straying too far from it. However, since I enjoy writing for an audience – whether that’s a live one at a comedy club or a TV audience – I think humor is my main mechanism to make them stick around. Humor is certainly what I resort to when I’m panicked in an awkward social situation, so it’s no surprise that I do the same on the page.

Who made you laugh growing up as a kid? How would you describe Sierra’s “kind of funny?”

My parents and my sister are all hilarious, so they always made me laugh. Making them laugh is my favorite thing to do, though it’s not too hard because we all have the same sense of humor. They also loved comedians, and we’d all watch The Colbert Report, Whose Line, or I Love Lucy. Independently, I was a big Spongebob fan and he still remains as one of my comedy heroes – and luckily, he’ll never be outed as a predator! Safe! I also gravitated toward the funny kids at school. I was never the class clown but aspired to be one or to at least be their friend.

You started stand-up at sixteen. Wow! You have to take us into that first time you stood on stage looking at all those expectant “you betta be funny” faces. What was that like?

It was a much more supportive environment than most open mics, since I was sixteen and no one wanted to crush the dreams of a young, bright-eyed teen. Plus, my entire family came to see me. (Fun fact, my parents drove me to a lot of my first open mics since I didn’t have a driver’s license yet. And I sat through far too many awkward and painful open mics with them.) I remember I did three minutes – one on farts, which the people loved, and the other on getting my dress stuck in my underpants, which was a story I made up and totally bombed. Regardless, I got enough laughs to keep coming back, and it certainly wasn’t the end of my open mic or bombing journey.

Take us on the journey of your career thus far.

After that first open mic, I continued to do stand-up while I finished high school and went to college. I’d say my first break happened my junior year of college when I got to appear on Last Comic Standing and Last Call with Carson Daly. It was a nerve-wracking but invaluable experience to have at the time, and it somehow made me bold enough to consider a career in comedy. So, I moved (back) to LA after getting that oh-so-important degree and worked a couple of writer’s assistant jobs, auditioned a lot, and did every stand-up show I could. Writer’s assistant gigs morphed into staff writer gigs. And in the meantime, I got to work on several projects with a variety of different, brilliant people. I got to write and act with Wong Fu Productions who have been leaders in the YouTube space for awhile. I wrote for a branching narrative show Epic Night (Eko), then wrote for an unscripted show for Netflix, and soon after I got the call to write for Earth To Ned, a mysterious alien talk show hosted by a brand new Henson puppet! My “career journey” looks like a mess of titles and projects, but overall, I think it’s just me being open, saying yes, and most importantly, people taking a chance on li’l ole me.

How do you think your ethnicity gives you a fresh voice and outlook within the industry and in your output of work?

I’m proud to be fourth-generation Chinese- and Japanese-American, which is a pretty specific demographic. On the one hand, I’m Asian American, but on the other, I don’t represent what might be the expected experience of Asian Americans. For example, I can’t speak to the immigrant or second-generation experience. I know that sounds like I’m splitting hairs, but it’s an expectation I like to keep in mind just in case someone wants a particular perspective from me that I can’t provide. That being said, in an industry that could use a new outlook or two to say the least, I can totally bring a new POV even if it’s an oddly specific one that no one knew they needed.

You went to and graduated from Harvard University, Impressive! So, you are a brainiac too! What was your Plan B in relation to Computer Science?

I was a full-blown nerdy coder kid and there was definitely a world where I’m happily pursuing a career in tech! When I first graduated college and wanted to work in entertainment, I used my CS degree to get freelance work that helped sustain me in between jobs, especially since the entertainment industry can be unstable when it comes to work that actually pays the rent. Maybe this is confirmation bias, but I believe my CS degree helps with writing. It acquainted me with working through the night and staring at a computer screen around the clock. Plus, I think the problem-solving portion of my brain that developed in CS can help with solving problems in the writer’s room like breaking a story or finding a way to get from scene to scene.

Tell us about your new series Earth to Ned and without giving too much away what are some of your favorite tidbits from the show/celebrity guests?

It’s a totally original and unique show hosted by a brand new Henson creature, Ned! Though it has the form of a talk show, Ned, and his sidekick, Cornelius, really make it their own. Though the writer’s room created great bits and segments, a lot of the magic happens when the puppeteers improvise with guests like Rachel Bloom or Raven-Symone, who were some of my favorites. I’m biased, but I truly think this show stands out in a TV landscape that’s already pretty packed with great series!

Stay Podsitive, how long have you been doing the podcast? What inspired you to do it? What’s the most important takeaway you have received yourself from doing it?

I’ve been hosting and producing Stay Podsitive for almost 2 years now! After trying to pitch it to established networks and getting “no’s,” I realized it was silly of me to wait for someone to allow me to make something that I knew I could do on my own. So, I started it out of my apartment – bought the mics, downloaded editing software, and have been putting out episodes ever since – with the help of friends who are kind enough to guest on the show! It’s been a really fulfilling project on a topic I can’t get enough of – positivity, mental health, all with comedy and laughs baked in. I think the most important takeaway is that if everything else falls away – writing gigs, acting gigs – hell, even stand-up comedy which apparently is tough in a pandemic – then I always have a project to keep working on that can’t fire me and that still has an audience. Ha!

Ha! Writing is something that you of course can still do during a pandemic. Any other projects you have coming up?

Though stand-up has taken on different shapes in quarantine (I do the occasional or IG live or Zoom show!), I’ve been lucky enough to keep writing from home – I recently wrote for an unannounced series for Disney Junior and am now writing for Close Enough on HBOMax. I also acted in a COVID-inspired indie film, Distancing Socially; from director Chris Blake, starring Sarah Levy (Schitt’s Creek) and Alan Tudyk (Resident Alien). I also post any new projects coming up on my Instagram @sierrakatow and Twitter @sierrakatow.

Thanks, Sierra!

Check out Earth to Ned! And support all of Sierra’s work!

I AM KP Smith

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