Comedian Nikki Glaser, a University of Kansas alumna, will bring her signature open and honest humor to the Lied Center on Oct. 29 at 7:30 p.m. Shortly before bringing “The Good Girl Tour” to campus, she sat down for her fourth interview with the Kansan.
Glaser transferred to the University in 2003 and graduated in 2006 with a degree in English literature. Since leaving Lawrence, Glaser has toured the world while also appearing on television, movies, podcasts, roasts, stand-up specials and more.
Now she is the host of the CW reality dating series “FBOY Island” along with “The Nikki Glaser Podcast,” which launched in 2021. Glaser is also known for her Comedy Central roasts and has guest-hosted “Jimmy Kimmel Live.”
Glaser last performed in Lawrence when she headlined the Free State Film Festival in 2017. The Kansan has followed Glaser throughout her career and interviewed her in2009,2016and2017.
We haven't talked to you in a while, what have you been up to since the Kansan last spoke with you in 2017?
My career has completely changed since then. I've put out three specials in that time. I host 'FBOY Island,' which is in its third season. I put out a reality show. I moved back home to St. Louis from New York City. I am now touring theaters instead of clubs. But I'm still the same person I think I was when I was going to school there.
Do you get a chance to come back to Lawrence often?
I come back whenever I'm in Kansas City. One friend I visit, we both went to KU and we'll drive back to Lawrence. We went one time to a house that we used to live in on Tennessee [Street], and we went in the basem*nt because we remembered that we wrote our names on the wall. We knocked on the door and these hungover college kids let us in. And we got to go see this artifact we had written on the cave wall, like some Neanderthals.
What was your time like at KU and what were some of your best memories?
I think my best memories are hanging out at my friend's house and having our whole lives ahead of us. College is really the last time you are a kid, even though you feel so grown up. That’s my best memory when my biggest issue in life was a paper that is due.
I was checked out of college life because I wanted to go to LA and have a career. I was so positive of what I wanted to do and I felt like college was keeping me from pursuing my dreams. I wish I would have leaned into college life a bit more and enjoyed having that time in those four years to take it easy. I was just so eager to get on with my life.
In my sophom*ore year I kind of had a wake-up call of, 'OK, stand-up comedy is really hard and you can't just phone this in and do it on the weekends; you need to do it every night.' I generally drove to Kansas City to do stand-up shows a lot of nights of the week. The other nights that I wasn't doing stand-up, I was trying to work to save money to move to LA as soon as I graduated.
What was it like doing local shows as a college student?
I had really supportive teachers that always let me skip class if I had a show or a radio appearance. They would allow [me] to take a test at another time. I had teachers that knew my potential in stand-up, and they were teaching courses that had nothing to do with it and they were still supporting me.
Adam Desnoyers was my English teacher during my sophom*ore year, and on the first day of class, we talked about who we were and I said I was a stand-up comedian. He became one of my most avid supporters of my career.
My senior year I got on 'Last Comic Standing,' which was on NBC and it was kind of 'American Idol' for comedy. I had to go to LA and film an episode, and I missed my finals. My teachers were all cool about it because they knew that I was pursuing my dream. I'll always be grateful to those teachers who allowed me to graduate despite not really attending that many classes.
What are some upcoming projects you are most excited about and what do you think is next for you?
Right now 'FBOY Island' is airing its third season and then there is going to be 'FGIRL Island' right after that. I'm filming a special in December for HBO, which will be out next year.
I don’t know what’s next and I like to keep my options open. I'm always doing different fun projects like 'The Masked Singer' or 'Dancing with the Stars.' I have pretty much achieved all of my goals in terms of where I am in show business. It feels really good to be in a place where I can keep saying yes to things that come up that are fun.
I'd like to host "SNL" someday, which I think is probably a possibility in the next couple of years.
You are in the midst of The Good Girl Tour. How has touring been so far? What are your favorite parts of being on the road and performing for different audiences?
I've been touring for 20 years since I graduated college. This tour is different because I have been doing theaters for a few years now, but these are bigger venues. More people are coming to see me who know me, it's not just people showing up like 'oh there’s a comedy show in town.' This is a group of people who know what I do and are excited to see what I do.
I think this material is, not to toot my own horn, but pretty groundbreaking in terms of the stuff that I'm saying and the kind of reality check I am forcing people to have. Comedy is something you get better with as you get older. I think I’m at the best I’ve ever been since I’ve been doing it for so long.
What is your writing process like for a stand-up show? What areas of your life do you tend to draw on and how do you test jokes to decide what to include?
When something funny happens or I see something that makes someone laugh, I write it in my phone. You can't really write a joke in a vacuum, so you constantly have to be putting it on stage and trying different angles. Some things work and some things don't, but the audience always lets you know what direction to go in with it.
The things I focus on are just being an aging woman and how frustrating it is. I think I have a lot of wisdom to impart on a younger generation of women. Exploring taboos of sex, aging, plastic surgery, celebrity culture or suicide. Nothing is off limits in my act. I kind of want to lift the shame of all of those things from people by joking about how they are things that exist and we need to talk about them.
What advice do you have for students wanting to pursue a career in comedy?
Get started immediately. The longer you wait because you are nervous and you don’t know what you are doing, the longer you are going to take to get good. Because no one’s good right away. It takes at least 10 years to get great. But that 10 years is really fun and it shouldn’t feel like hard work. If you do stand-up one time, you either get addicted or you don’t. It’s not about being a naturally funny person, it’s about being the guy that works the hardest. The harder you work the better you will be at it. Go on stage as much as possible all the time.
I just have to ask before we go. Will anything special be added to the show on Sunday since you are performing at your alma mater?
I think I will be able to talk more about the town in a way [that] is more personal than I have for most towns. I think that it will add some color since I have actually lived in Lawrence before and I will have a few inside jokes about it for sure.
Tickets for Glaser’s show at Lied on Sunday can be purchasedonline on the Lied Center’s websiteor in person at the ticket office.
The interview was edited for length and clarity.
