Ahead of the Curve with Juliana Rodrigues

Taking from the old adage that ‘age is just a number,’ one Toronto comedian didn’t let her own age work against her, when she made her official leap into stand-up comedy.

For Juliana Rodrigues when she first started out performing, the majority of the time she would find herself the rookie of the bunch on a comedy show. While more seasoned veterans had other life experiences to use as material, Rodrigues created her own niche and shared her own story with audiences.

When it was time for her stand-up routine, Rodrigues didn’t pander to the audience. She created a plan for herself, choosing her material carefully, mixing in quirky tidbits from her own life, while avoiding talking about more grown up topics like owning a house or paying taxes.

“When you dive into your own personal life experiences the more universal your material becomes,” Rodrigues said. “In some cases, the crowd can relate to your experiences, if not they will at least come away thinking that you are an entertaining character.”

After being put on the spot to describe herself, Rodrigues added that she sees herself, as more of a laid back comic and has mostly a clean style, without lots of swearing or vulgar references.

“I have been told that I’m really sarcastic,” Rodrigues explained. “Overall, I feel that it is my tone of voice that gives off that impression. If anything I can be a little bit cynical at times.”

Rodrigues started doing comedy after taking a Second City Improv for Beginners course, when she was only 14 years-old.

After quickly realizing that she preferred to express herself on a more individual basis, Rodrigues began to produce her own comedic material.

Beginning in stand-up comedy at a young age, Rodrigues reflected that it had both pros and cons for her.

“There are those cringe moments,” Rodrigues said. “When you start out as a teenager, you are still trying to figure out your way and who you really are. Even your breath smells half the time. When trying to be included on other comedy shows, I can remember sending some emails that were littered with spelling errors and I was surprised that people took me seriously. As you begin to mature, you correct these mishaps and grow from it.”

Highlights

In 2019, Rodrigues performed at the Kitchener – Waterloo Comedy Festival (in Canada) as part of the CBC Laugh out Loud Comedy Series. Just before, the province of Ontario went into lockdown in the fall of 2020, she landed her first television taping as part of Just for Laughs.

The Just for Laughs special was taped in Toronto, ON and will air on the Comedy Channel and then shortly after on the Crave Network. Times and dates for the special to air have not been announced, as of yet.

“It was a wonderful experience to be a part of the whole experience of a television taping,” Rodrigues said. “It really reminded me to just have fun. If you can’t enjoy moments like this, then what am I really doing this for?”

All Good Podcast

In October, 2020 she launched her own podcast called “All Good” which reflects on the setbacks mental health has had on some of her comedy counterparts, but not stopping them from being successful and creative.

Still in the early stages, her ‘All Good” podcast has become quite popular. Even making the top ten list for comedy podcasts on a popular Toronto blog.

“I really believe comedians are some of the smartest people I know,” Rodrigues explained. “I find comedians to be philosophical, along with introspective and self-aware. When chatting with them I’m left inspired from their opinions and views on different subjects.”

Rodrigues pointed out that she puts in the time and effort to make sure her questions are relatable to the guest, along with making sure that they feel comfortable.

In the next year, Rodrigues is focused on writing more comedic material, has aspirations for putting out a comedic album, and continuing to produce great content with her podcast and future comedy shows.

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