Amber Preston is a
stand-up comedian
Stand-up comedy is a performance directed to a live audience, where the performer stands on a stage and delivers humorous and satirical monologues sometimes incorporating physical acts. These performances are typically composed of rehear ...
originally from
North Dakota
North Dakota ( ) is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota people, Dakota and Sioux peoples. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minneso ...
and
Minnesota
Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...
and now living in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
.
In 2011, comic
Marc Maron
Marc David Maron (born September 27, 1963) is an American stand-up comedian, podcaster, writer, actor, and musician.
In the 1990s and 2000s, Maron was a frequent guest on the ''Late Show with David Letterman'' and appeared more than forty times ...
named her one of his five top comedians to watch, calling her a "brassy gal ... who could play a one-nighter at a bowling alley or a 1,000-seat theater and just nail it."
In 2018, entertainment website
Thrillist
''Thrillist'' is an online media website covering travel. ''Thrillist'' was founded in 2004 by Ben Lerer and Adam Rich. In October 2016, Thrillist merged with internet brands ''The Dodo'', NowThis News, and Seeker to form the digital media ...
named her one of the best undiscovered comedians in America.
Her debut album, ''Sparkly Parts'', was released April 17, 2020, on
Stand Up! Records
Stand Up! Records is an American independent comedy record label founded in Minneapolis, Minnesota, by Grammy-winning producer Dan Schlissel. It has been called "the country's most respected indie comedy label." Stand Up! has released more than 2 ...
, debuting at No. 1 on both the Amazon and iTunes comedy charts.
Early life
Preston grew up in
Fargo, North Dakota
Fargo is the List of cities in North Dakota, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat of Cass County, North Dakota, Cass County. The population was 125,990 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, which was e ...
and graduated from
West Fargo High School in 1996.
She is related to television accordionist and bandleader
Lawrence Welk
Lawrence Welk (March 11, 1903 – May 17, 1992) was an American accordionist, bandleader, and television impresario, who hosted ''The Lawrence Welk Show'' from 1951 to 1982. The program was known for its light and family-friendly style, and the ...
, a topic she has joked about in her standup.
She moved to
Minneapolis
Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...
in the late 1990s, where she earned a theater degree from the
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...
.
In 2014, she moved to Los Angeles to concentrate on her standup and acting career.
Career
Preston began performing standup shortly after college.
Her comedy is often autobiographical,
and includes topics such as her Upper Midwest accent and Fargo upbringing.
A lifelong fan of pop group
New Kids on the Block
New Kids on the Block (also initialized as NKOTB) is an American boy band from Dorchester, Massachusetts. The band consists of brothers Jonathan and Jordan Knight, Joey McIntyre, Donnie Wahlberg, and Danny Wood. New Kids on the Block had ...
, Preston will sometimes read aloud onstage from a series of novels published in the early 1990s in which the group has adventures in the mode of the
Hardy Boys
The Hardy Boys, brothers Frank and Joe Hardy, are fictional characters who appear in a series of mystery novels for young readers. The series revolves around teenage amateur sleuths, solving cases that often stumped their adult counterparts. ...
.
She was the 2011 winner of the Best of the Midwest competition at Gilda's Laughfest in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
She was a finalist in the 2012 Great American Comedy Festival competition held in
Norfolk, Nebraska
Norfolk ( or ) is a city in Madison County, Nebraska, United States, 113 miles northwest of Omaha and 76 miles southwest of Sioux City, Iowa, at the intersection of U.S. Routes 81 and 275. The population was 24,955 at the 2020 census, mak ...
, hometown of
Johnny Carson
John William Carson (October 23, 1925 – January 23, 2005) was an American television host, comedian, and writer best known as the host of NBC's ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' (1962–1992). Carson is a cultural phenomenon and w ...
.
In 2011, she was named one of the top 100 creative people in Minneapolis by ''
City Pages
''City Pages'' was an alternative newspaper serving the Minneapolis–St. Paul metropolitan area. It featured news, film, theatre and restaurant reviews and music criticism, available free every Wednesday. It ceased publication in 2020 due to a ...
''.
Preston and comic
Andy Erikson (a fellow Minnesota transplant) co-host a weekly comedy showcase, Punchline Punchout, at the
Hollywood Improv in Los Angeles; similar to a game show in format, the showcase gives comics 10 minutes to come up with punchlines on a given topic.
Discography
*''Sparkly Parts'' (
Stand Up! Records
Stand Up! Records is an American independent comedy record label founded in Minneapolis, Minnesota, by Grammy-winning producer Dan Schlissel. It has been called "the country's most respected indie comedy label." Stand Up! has released more than 2 ...
, 2020)
Because of the coronavirus quarantine, Preston livestreamed a comedy set from her home in lieu of a traditional record-release show for ''Sparkly Parts''.
Reviewer Richard Lanoie, writing on The Serious Comedy Site, called ''Sparkly Parts'' "a hoot to listen to" with "no weak moments."
Filmography
Preston starred in the 2019 short film ''The Poacher'', which screened at the 2020 Los Angeles Short Film Festival, Culver City Film Festival, and Yucca Valley Film Festival.
Other work
Podcast appearances
''WTF with Marc Maron'', Episode 1132: Amber Preston, J-L Cauvin (June 18, 2020)WTF with Marc Maron
''WTF with Marc Maron'' is a weekly podcast and radio show hosted by stand-up comedian Marc Maron. The show was launched in September 2009. The show is produced by Maron's former Air America co-worker Brendan McDonald.
Background
The show's ...
'', Episode 292: Live From Gilda's Laughfest (June 28, 2012)Whitney Cummings
Whitney Cummings (born September 4, 1982) is an American actress, stand-up comedian, writer, producer, director, and podcaster.
After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania in 2004, Cummings moved to Los Angeles. She appeared in the lo ...
, Shelby Fero, Pamela Adlon
Pamela Adlon ( ; ; born July 9, 1966) is an American-British actress. She is known for voicing Bobby Hill in the animated comedy series ''King of the Hill'' (1997–2010), for which she won a Primetime Emmy Award. She also voiced Baloo in '' Ju ...
, Desi Jedeikin, Amber Preston (Feb. 12, 2015)
References
External links
Official Amber Preston website
*
*
Amber Preston at Stand Up! Records website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Preston, Amber
Living people
American stand-up comedians
American women comedians
21st-century American comedians
Comedians from North Dakota
Comedians from Minnesota
People from Fargo, North Dakota
University of Minnesota College of Liberal Arts alumni
Stand Up! Records artists
Year of birth missing (living people)
21st-century American women