Comic Booked
While many performers hit the pause button once the pandemic set in, one area comic seized the opportunity to hone her craft, make connections and spur some chuckles while she was at it. Fear of the virtual component? No such thing for comedian Alisha Rayne.
“There are some super funny comedians on Zoom right now,” Rayne said of the online foray into standup comedy. “And there are some really great writers trying comedy, who, within a year, have turned into well-rounded, more sophisticated comedians.”
The space has allowed for social groups to align and build even more community, beyond simply the borders of South Dakota. Rayne herself has championed a web-based standup series, Wish You Were Here, in which comedians from a particular town or area are showcased as sort of a love letter to their home territory.
“It feels kind of like a postcard from a particular place,” she said of the online-based comedy show that has featured standups from Omaha, South Dakota, Arizona and Chicago. “It kind of helps what I’m doing stand out.
“There are hilarious people who, because of where they live, can’t get to that next level. Online comedy allows comedy dreams to be within reach.”
Beyond showcasing the talent of others, Rayne, originally a comedy writer, producer and entertainment blogger by trade, has dipped her toe into the comedy scene, having been featured in the lineups at local club Boss’ Comedy, as well as recently formed troupe Prairie Madness Comedy.
“I would say my style of comedy is a little dark, slightly observational,” she said. “I’m inspired by Maria Bamford, Amy Schumer—I do impressions. And I love the writing—when you come up with the best punchline and it seems like it comes out of nowhere. It’s magic almost.”
Originally a film studies major, Rayne cut her teeth in one of the most competitive markets for entertainment work, Los Angeles, before moving back to Huron, S.D., and finding herself at a Sioux Falls open mic organized by Midwest-based comic Dan Bublitz Jr.
“I used to be in a writer’s room in Los Angeles, and I would go to improv shows,” she said. “We would write based on headlines—news-based comedy. I’ve written a lot of sketches, directed films, edited, produced. The structure of a lot of my material is references—my stuff has grown and changed.”
And as she adds traveling gigs to her repertoire, Rayne is targeting the upper Midwest and western South Dakota to expand her reach.
“It’s a marathon, not a sprint,” she said. “You’re not going to make it overnight. It should be looked at as something you make a career in the specific way it fits your own life. There’s this idea that you have to go to Chicago or New York or Los Angeles—that’s tough, because they’re so saturated.
“There’s more than one way to skin a comedy career. The best advice is not to wait for people to book you. You have to go to them.”