Comedienne Amber Wallin Is Bringing Fashion To Stand-Up
Comedienne Amber Wallin Is Bringing Fashion And Theatrics To Stand-Up
- Amber Wallin's comedic journey began with improv and stand-up, then expanded to engaging social media content.
- Wallin's bold fashion choices on tour reflect her theatrical flair and confidence in her body.
- Wallin aims to inspire her children and other women to embrace their unique style and pursue their passions.
Anyone who thinks fashion and comedy can’t be combined hasn’t met Amber Wallin. The comedian, podcaster, and content creator is showcasing her standout style on her very own stand-up comedy tour. When she’s not making people laugh on stage, she’s bringing the humor to our social media timelines.
The digital superstar, who amassed a following of over 3 million and counting, keeps her audience entertained with hilarious videos about family and motherhood, engaging skits, and the occasional houseplant serenade.
Now, the mother of two, is reaching new heights in her journey as a multihyphenate with a headlining comedy tour. The comedienne is a performer at heart, so she’s not just presenting any old comedy show. She’s bringing the theatrics, making sure her audience gets their money’s worth through impeccable storytelling and, of course, fashions to match.
HelloBeautiful: When exactly did you start content creation?
Amber Wallin: So, I have always vlogged pieces of my life since, maybe 2016, 2017. I was a big Snapchat girl at first. Pictures were never really my bag. I loved video and storytelling.
So whatever year the 24-hour story came out, I was just vlogging me and [my husband] Ben in the house and doing things like that, but the gag is that I did stage stuff first, and then I did internet stuff, because the stage was unavailable to me during the pandemic.
HelloBeautiful: Did the pandemic start your TikTok journey as well?
Amber Wallin: Yes, so during the pandemic, I was doing two things. I was a yoga teacher during the day, and then at night, I was an understudy for this sketch comedy show at Second City. I understudied that track for two to three years and was always just on call Thursday through Sunday. And when the pandemic happened, I was laid off from the yoga studio and the comedy club.
I was just like, ‘well, what am I gonna do now?’ Once I was laid off, I had a moment where I was like, well, since everyone’s on their phones at home, I still want to tell funny stories, so maybe I’ll just start really diving full force into content.
I’d always kind of done it on the periphery. I would post, maybe two videos a week, but when I got laid off, I could post two to three videos a day, because we’re all at home on our phones, I’m sitting here waiting on my unemployment check. So, that’s how it really got started.
So, slight inconvenience that happened in our house, I was like, ‘Ben [my husband]I’m finna make a video of this.’ My very first handle on TikTok was called Burr I Am Comedy and then I just changed it to Burr I Am.
HelloBeautiful: So comedy is where you always wanted to go career-wise?
Amber Wallin: Oh, for sure. I started doing stand-up comedy in maybe 2017, 2018. I was terrified, I was shitty at it, like, you could tell I knew how to tell a story, I was like, ‘this is so scary, so what I’m just gonna do instead is I’m going to do a sketch and improv.’ So then I joined a sketch team, an improv team, because I was like, well, at least if this ain’t funny, we can blame it on the group. It ain’t just me. Whereas stand-up is like, if it’s bad, it’s because of you and you only.
I would say I got back into stand-up, like, top of 2023. I was like, now that I’ve been doing comedy for a while, I’m gonna try my hand at this again. Now that I’ve taken more classes [and] know what people respond to more. I always want to make sure I’m doing content creation and stand-up comedy in tandem.
HelloBeautiful: How do you think content creation informs your strategy or your stand-up? Do you think that it has helped you in any way?
Amber Wallin: One of my favorite rules about improv, specifically, because I think a good stand-up comedian is also a good improviser. Even if you haven’t taken a formal improv class, you can just tell growing up who was good at thinking on their feet.
I think a really good lesson that I learned from improv is that it is smart and better for the audience when you start in the middle of a scene.That line of thinking, for me, is what informs how I edit as a content creator. So I don’t like to be like, ‘hey, y’all, my name is Amber, this is my husband Ben, and here’s what we’re fighting about today.’ Just drop people at the most heated part of the scene, and they will figure out how we [got] here.
HelloBeautiful: So that [would be] your hook, do you apply the same to the stage?
Amber Wallin: Oh, for sure! If I wanted someone to have one word to describe and inform my stand-up comedy or my comedic style in general, it’s storytelling. I’m a big storyteller, I love a good story. I think it’s really smart sometimes to start your story with the worst part. ‘Let me tell you how I got a divorce.’ Now, people are locked in.
HelloBeautiful:So, not only do you tell stories on stage, or online, you also tell stories through your clothing as well. Especially now that you are on tour. What does fashion mean to you and how you are expressing yourself on stage?
Amber Wallin: I am someone who remembers how when we were little kids, we loved dressing up in our closets, in our mama’s close? That part of me that was supposed to grow out of me never left the building. Even if I was making a ridiculous choice, I would rather make a memorable choice than not be remembered. So,I want people to associate what I’m looking like with my personality. So, I started noticing this as well with stand-up comedy is [that] the modern-day comic is wearing jeans and a t-shirt, and that’s fine.
I feel like if I come with something bright pink or lime green or whatever, you’re already like, well, I’m halfway there. I’m still very new to stand-up comedy, but when you’re new, you’re like, ‘if I mess up tonight, at least they like the shoes.’
I’ve always wanted to be a Broadway, big theatre performer, so this is my way of bringing a little bit of that theatre kid in me to stand-up. I like to say to people,‘you know what, they’re already spending at least $200. Let me at least put on a lip. Like, let me at least give the people a shoe!’
HelloBeautiful: How would you describe your style, now that you’re diving into it? What do you want to say when you show up on stage?
Amber Wallin: I really want some, like, bold color. I also love a funky, textured fabric. I love tulle, I love leather, I love sequins. I’ve been learning a lot about what colors look good on stage, even some purples and things like that. And then there’s some part of me that always wants to slightly look like A drama teacher slash art teacher… slash drag queen lite.
I want you to see proportions. I’ve had two kids, and I feel like a lot of times, with anybody thicker, the message, especially growing up, is to, like, cover up, wear something slimming, and I’m like, nope, I got my push-up bra.
I’m trying to cinch my waist with a little corset, and I’m giving you some va-va-voom on the hips, so that when I tell this really animated story, you might see a little jiggle, too, because this is what real bodies look like on stage.
HelloBeautiful: There have been many Black women who have opened doors in comedy and you are forging a new path, by mixing fashion and performance. Would you agree?
Amber Wallin: That is definitely my goal. When I think about the Black women in comedy that really shaped my childhood like the Mo’Niques and the Sommores and the Luenells. I think now the tide is turning, even Sommore used to give us a little va-va voom in the chest, but I think there is space for a sexy, funny girl, too. I always looked up to Luenell with those long freaking nails on stage. I feel that way about Cynthia Erivo, too.
HelloBeautiful: What do you teach your children about following their own dreams through your work?
Amber Wallin: I grew up with a confident mother. She could have done all the Get Ready With Me’s when I was growing up. I used to just sit in her bathroom. I was like, this is exclusive content! I used to sit in my mama’s bathroom and watch her get dressed. So, I am hoping, and it’s already happening, I am hoping that my child sees me getting dressed to go do a show and be like, okay, I’m gonna be confident too. I hope my child knows [that] you can make a bold fashion choice, I wanna be her biggest fan and cheerleader, because that is when your imagination starts to really go crazy, I think, in a good way, in a healthy, productive way.
HelloBeautiful: What would you say to someone who says that comedians can’t be stylish?
Amber Wallin: I feel like Housewives [Of Atlanta], ‘Who said that?’
I think anybody can be stylish. Comedians are like the ultimate narcissists. I’m going on stage and talking about myself for an hour, hour and 15 minutes. My goal is to stand out in the crowd. I actually think it’s crazy when you are a little too pedestrian.
HelloBeautiful: What have you learned so far from this experience on tour?
Amber Wallin: The tour has been going really well. I was in my head about [touring] something on my own. [I thought,] will people want to come to this? Because I do share a lot of my family, and I do share a lot of my husband. Will people still come if it’s just me on stage by myself?
I don’t even know why I would ask myself that question, because so many people are like ‘I’ve always been here for how you tell the story, your perspective’ or ‘I see so much of myself in you.’
I’ve just been drowning in the love from the tour and how people show up for me.
And now we’re even doing this fun thing where my stylist will style me for the show, and let’s say I’m wearing pink that night. I’ll be like, Detroit, I’m wearing pink tonight, so if you want to dress with me, please wear pink. LA, I’m wearing animal print, wear animal print. I think I’m Beyoncé in my head, the Beyoncé of the comedy. So, I love seeing how people connect with me behind the screen and now in person.
HelloBeautiful: Do you have a favorite look so far that you’ve worn?
Amber Wallin: [My stylist] Precious has just been outdoing herself. Like, I cannot thank her enough. For me, it’s been a toss-up between the leopard [and] this all-green fit that I’ve worn that was just, cozy, comfortable, and such a loud, beautiful color. Then, this leopard suit really made people see, ‘oh, this is gonna be a Netflix special one day.’
There’s something about a power suit with a pop of color, where people are like, ‘I so clearly see what path you’re on.’
HelloBeautiful: A Netflix special, that’s what we will manifest for the future, right?
Amber Wallin: It might not happen today, tomorrow, it might not happen in five years, but it’s happening. Hear me when I say it.
