Comedian Emma Willmann will be among the comedians poking fun at New York City during the fifth annual Vulture Festival this weekend.
Running tomorrow through Sunday, the fest features some of the biggest names in comedy today. “Full Frontal” host Samantha Bee, “The Last O.G.” actor Tracy Morgan, “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend’s” Rachel Bloom and “The Big Bang Theory” star Jim Parsons round out the two-day lineup.
Willmann — whom you may recognize from her guest roles on “Crazy Ex” and Judd Apatow’s “Crashing” or from her “Inside the Closet” podcast — was selected to perform a set at The Bell House Sunday, focusing on “the very best stand-up New York City has to offer,” per the set list. She’ll take to the Brooklyn stage along with HBO’s new late-night host, Wyatt Cenac, among other city comics.
Ahead of the event, Willmann, 32, chats about what fans will hear at her Vulture set, what it’s really like to perform in New York City and more.
Tickets to the show (7 to 10 p.m.) start at $21.77 are available at eventbrite.com.
What can we expect from your Vulture Festival stand-up set?
I’m going to be doing new material I’ve been working on, which is mostly about my new takes on relationships. A story I’ve been working on now is about how my sister tried to get me to wear a dress at her wedding and how that ended up going down. So, if you want to find out what I ended up wearing to the wedding — if I wore a dress or not — come to the show.
How would you describe your comedy style?
I would say it’s very personal and self-deprecating, but upbeat. You’re not going to necessarily leave being like wow I learned a bunch of big new words, but hopefully, you’ll leave feeling like you spent time with someone you wanted to be around.
What do you look to for inspiration during your comedy sets?
Usually, it’s things that happened to me that seemed odd or weird. What’s been funny in the past year, from doing more radio and podcast, certain things that I never would have thought other people would find interesting or want to talk about or think were funny is what people respond to on air. I would write about them and it would be some of my favorite material. When I recounted their stories on-air people would really respond to it, so now I try it in my stand up.
Do you draw any inspiration from your New York experiences?
Oh yeah, especially from being originally from such a small town (in Maine) then coming here for college. It’s definitely making the New York-ness of stuff stand out. Also, I think dating in New York is steeped in the mentality of New York, which is very much transactional and people don’t have a lot of time; if something doesn’t work out there are so many other people around. Even dating people in different boroughs you feel like you’re in a long-distance relationship. A lot of comedians talk about New York though, so I try to be careful.
What was your first time performing in NYC like?
It was in the back of a bar in the East Village. It was an open mic; I don’t remember what it was called . . . it’s not around anymore. A guy asked if I wanted to do a Valentine’s show in New Jersey. I remember leaving the bar, calling my mom and going, “Mom, I just did my first open mic and I’ve already been asked to do a show. I think I’m gonna make it in show business.” I was so naive too about how it worked. I remember seeing people who had done late-night sets at the bars I was at and I thought, “they’re famous, what are they doing on the same show I’m on?”
