December 31, 2023
Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts
www.Kravis.org
By Denny Patterson
Charming, charismatic, and one of a kind, Fortune Feimster loves to use her confessional brand of comedy to bring people together.
Although she began her ascent to popularity as a writer and panelist on E’s hit show Chelsea Lately, and has appeared in several film and TV projects such as The Mindy Project, Fubar, and Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar, audiences have truly gotten to know Feimster through her comedy tours and Netflix specials, Sweet & Salty and Good Fortune.
Through laughter and southern wit, Feimster hilariously dives into love, relationships, sexuality, and shared experiences from the perspective of someone who grew up in the 1980s, and she is continuing to tell her story with a brand-new tour titled Live Laugh Love, which will be performed at West Palm Beach’s Kravis Center on December 31, 2023. What better way to ring in the new year?
OutClique had the opportunity to sit down with Feimster and talk more about the production and her comedic journey.
Denny Patterson: Let me begin by asking, how excited are you to bring your Live Laugh Love tour to South Florida?
Fortune Feimster: Oh, man, I am pumped! Especially because I don’t want to be anywhere cold in December (laughs). I’m very grateful that I’ll be in Florida because the weather is always excellent during that time of year, but also, every time I put out a tour, I get a lot of people in Florida fussing at me like, why haven’t you come to Florida? So, I was very excited to announce these dates, and I hope people come and celebrate with us.
Denny Patterson: Even more, you’ll be performing at the Kravis Center on New Year’s Eve. Do you have any plans afterwards to ring in the new year?
Fortune Feimster: I’ve done New Year’s shows at the club, so there would usually be a couple throughout the night, and the last show would lead up to midnight. There was so much stress because you didn’t want to go too long. Like, what if you’re still on stage when the ball drops? I had so much anxiety doing those sets, but this tour is perfect because the show starts at 7:00 PM, so you can go to dinner afterwards and make a night of it, and I don’t have to be responsible for your countdown. You can start the new year feeling good and positive, and I do think this is a fun, unique way to spend your evening.
Denny Patterson: What can we expect from this Live Laugh Love set?
Fortune Feimster: This set is a continuation of my story. That’s what I’ve tried to do with my last two specials. Those two specials represent very specific times in my life, and I really like that narrative and journey. This set is a whole new hour from Good Fortune. It starts off where Good Fortune ended, the pictures of our wedding and us getting pummeled by waves. This starts with our honeymoon and how that went awry. I talk about us settling into married life and figuring out how to be adults together, my parents getting older, and things you kind of deal with as you grow up. It’s a fun show. I talk to the audience and keep it interactive, and I’ve been leaning into that storytelling aspect more over the last couple years. A lot of the jokes are silly, and I’m having a lot of fun with it. People are, from what I hear, having a great time, and I want people to enjoy themselves.
Denny Patterson: Is that what you always hope audiences take away from your shows?
Fortune Feimster: Absolutely! It’s not easy going out these days. We got so used to being home for a while, and it means a lot when someone takes the time to buy tickets, pay for parking, go to dinner, and find a babysitter. I want to make sure it was all worth it.
Denny Patterson: Being considered a storyteller comedian, is it difficult for you to constantly come up with new material?
Fortune Feimster: There’s kind of a pressure to make a narrative feel like a little book, where you’re reading a beginning, middle, and end, and it comes full circle. I want it to feel like I didn’t just throw a bunch of jokes up. I want this to feel like something crafted, and a lot of care and time was taken with it. I’ve been telling jokes all along this tour, but now I’m entering the phase of, okay, what am I trying to say? What’s the through line? I spent five hours the other night going into my set and trying to make it feel like one big story. I’d say that is probably the biggest difference.
Denny Patterson: What particularly drew you to the professional brand of comedy?
Fortune Feimster: I’ve done two half-hour specials, and I really enjoyed those, but again, that was kind of along the lines of what’s funny to me. Let’s throw a bunch of jokes up and see how that feels. Then when I did Sweet & Salty, I remember talking to Wanda Sykes, she was one of the producers of that special, she was like, Chris Rock told me that when you do a special, it’s called a special for a reason. You can’t just throw stuff up and you’ve really got to make this your own. Put your own stamp onto it. So, the more I talked to her about that, the more personal the story became, which then brought out more of the narrative and storytelling. I was like, if I’m going to tell people who I am, I can’t really do that in a couple minutes. The stories became longer, and theaters are a great place to let those stories breathe.
Denny Patterson: For those who don’t know, how did your journey with comedy begin?
Fortune Feimster: I started at the Groundlings, an improv and comedy school in Los Angeles, where a lot of people have studied and performed. I’d watch comedians and be like, where did they learn how to do this? I learned about the Groundlings and joined, and it was very innocent at first. Let’s have some fun and meet new people, this could be a funny hobby. I did not expect for it to turn into what it is now. I started doing sketches, but then Wanda came to a sketch show and was like, why aren’t you doing stand-up? I was like, that’s really hard! She said to just get up there and do it, so I did, and it quickly became a passion. I found that it was the best way to let people know who I am, and it allowed me to kind of forge my own path.
Denny Patterson: Do you currently have any Netflix comedy specials in the works?
Fortune Feimster: Hopefully, this tour will be crafted enough to a point where it will be considered for filming. Touring is the roadwork, so I hope it will be turned into a special.
Denny Patterson: What are you looking forward to the most about 2024?
Fortune Feimster: There’s a lot of cool stuff that will be happening. I’ll still be touring; I’m announcing some really big theaters coming up in 2024, and at some point, the show I was filming will come back, so I’ll get back to acting with that. I’ve also been working on stuff behind the scenes such as a movie and animated show. All these fun things that take a really long time to develop. I hope those projects will gain traction, and people will see me branching out even more.
Denny Patterson: What are some future goals you hope to accomplish with your career and platform?
Fortune Feimster: I just want to keep being a part of things, especially acting. The last show I did, I got to do a lot more and people saw a lot more of me on screen, which I loved because I often played the funny person that comes into the scene of a movie and acts ridiculous. Then that’s it. So, I really want to be a bigger part of films and series. The last series I did, I got to be in a whole different genre, and that was always a goal. Maybe it will open the doors to even more genres and allow me to try something even more different. I also recently started a podcast with Tig Notaro and Mae Martin called Handsome, which has really taken off in a short amount of time. I’m looking forward to seeing how that unfolds, and I’m excited for the early buzz it’s been getting.
Denny Patterson: Before we wrap up, are there any other upcoming projects or anything else you’d like to mention or plug?
Fortune Feimster: I barely have time to do what I’m doing now (laughs). I do have some projects in the works, but I just can’t plug them right now, so hopefully you’ll all find out soon!
Stay up-to-date and connect with Feimster by following her Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok @FortuneFeimster, or visit her website, FortuneFeimster.com. For more information and to purchase tickets for Live Laugh Love, visit Kravis.org.
