Most people with anxiety would cringe at the idea of getting up on stage and telling jokes to hundreds of people. But for actor and standup comic Gianmarco Soresi, who has dealt with anxiety since childhood, standup is a refuge. 

 

“One thing I think is nice about comedy is like, I can use that anxiety and live on that anxiety on stage and it can be funny. I can make the anxiety funny and I don't have to hide it.” – Gianmarco (41:43)

 

In today’s episode, Gianmarco shares how he found comedy, using his sometimes dysfunctional family as inspiration for material, his experience with therapy and antidepressants, living up to traditional expectations of masculinity, and how he handles anxiety today.  

 

“That's why I think standup, like, let me be myself more. And I still feel anxiety about standup. Sometimes, sometimes I feel chill. Sometimes I'm filled with anxiety and I still work on it. I still work on enjoying the anxiety or just being like, Hey, you're anxious cuz this is cool. This is crazy.” – Gianmarco (42:33)

 

In This Episode

• (02:01) Acting vs standup, and Gianmarco’s background as a comic
• (05:45) The impact of COVID on standup 
• (11:41) Gianmarco’s family as inspiration for comedy material 
• (22:03) Standup as therapy
• (35:05) The pressure to choose sports over performing in high school
• (39:54) How being Jewish has influenced Gianmarco’s comedy
• (41:10) Making anxiety funny 
• (43:02) Gianmarco’s experience with therapy
• (49:19) “The side effects of depression are death.”
• (51:02) The dynamic of being a child in a joint-custody arrangement
• (59:03) Gianmarco’s comedy writing process, and the changing model of TV viewing

 

Our Guest

Gianmarco Soresi is a standup comic, actor and writer who has been featured on Netflix’s Bonding, PBS’ Stories from the Stage, SeeSo’s New York’s Funniest, Real Housewives of New York, New York LIVE, Vanity Fair, and George Takei Presents. In 2019, he was the winner of Amazon’s Comics Watching Comics Season 8.

Gianmarco is a member of the sketch team Uncle Function and is the creator of the sketch series Matza Pizza. He is the host of a podcast called The Downside with Gianmarco Soresi.

 

Resources & Links

Off The Cuff

• https://www.offthecuff.fm/
• https://www.youtube.com/c/OffTheCuffwithDannyLoPriore
• https://www.instagram.com/1and1otc/
• https://www.instagram.com/dannylopriore/

Gianmarco Soresi

• https://twitter.com/GianmarcoSoresi
• http://instagram.com/gianmarcosoresi
• https://www.facebook.com/pages/Gianmarco-Soresi/428945963842861
• http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCYWagpWEequTwx61dYGT0w