Moontower Just For Laughs Austin featuring comedian Avery Moore

Avery Moore is a standup comedian, actor, voice actor, and more. She talks about how she got started in comedy, her favorite comedians, why Austin is a great place for comedy, and how you can see her at the festival.

AUSTIN, Texas - Avery Moore is a standup comedian, actor, voice actor, and more living in Austin, Texas.

"I’ve just always wanted to be a comedian in some form. And when I started watching standup specials in like middle school I realized that you could actually do that. I just didn’t make that connection that it was a job," Moore says.

Moore was born in San Antonio and says she comes from a theater background. Her mom ran a children’s theater. So it’s not too much of a surprise that she got into performing, as Moore says, it’s always been a big part of her life.

She first performed comedy at Laugh Out Loud Comedy in San Antonio at the age of 19 and now, at the age of 33, she says she doesn’t see a time when she’s going to stop performing.

In terms of which comedians she loves, it seems classic comedians are her thing. Moore says her mom said that she had an "old soul" because she was obsessed with Grouch Marx and old "Saturday Night Live" when she was a kid.

"Yeah a very old person inside," Moore jokes.

She cites fellow Texan Carol Burnett as her favorite as well as Mary Tyler Moore and Dick Van Dyke. She said she enjoys the comedy of "The Carol Burnett Show" and "The Odd Couple" as well. Other funny people she says she likes are Steve Martin and Gilda Radner.

"My parents just had that stuff on tape like recorded on VHS so that’s what we would watch and so my grandparents like to watch and I thought it was hilarious, so I never really moved on from that," Moore says.

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Maria Bamford and Andy Kindler are two comedians Moore says she also enjoys, and she says that "Seinfeld" is also one of her favorite things in the world.

It's safe to say that Moore has a unique brand of comedy. She describes it as a combination of characters and bits and "weirder stuff." An example? She said currently she’s doing an impression of Shirley Temple trying to buy cigarettes and alcohol at a liquor store.

"A lot has been pointed out that all my references are too old for me and usually too old for the audience except for a few people. But I guess I’ve been doing this long enough that I still make them laugh even if maybe the reference goes over their head," Moore says.

Moore calls herself a "wacky wild card" and says her process comes down to if it makes her or someone laugh, then she writes it down.

"I also try to find humor," Moore says. "I people watch a lot and I like I’ll write down a phrase that I hear an old woman say like in the mall and then that phrase turns into like a character or something."

As for the musical bits and impressions she does, Moore says they’re mostly just ones she’s done since she’s been a kid. When asked if she has a favorite impression, Moore says she'd probably choose her impression of Julia Child if she had been cast in "The Mask" instead of Jim Carrey. Another impression she says she liked to do as well is Bernie Sanders.

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In 2012, Moore moved to Austin, and she says it’s a great place for comedy because it’s a place that fosters creativity in a different way than cities like New York and Los Angeles. She says "the scene is amazing."

"We have a lot of weird-themed shows that allow you to like stretch your legs and be creative. And I think people across the country really love that," Moore says. "I just think it's just going to keep going up. We just, we’ve been on a really nice, steady incline, and it just gets better and better."

Moore has been performing at Moontower Comedy Festival for almost eight years, and she was selected as a New Face 2018 at The Montreal Just For Laughs Festival. The two comedy festivals have now joined forces this year and having experienced both, Moore says she’s excited. "I just think it’s such an awesome combination and I can’t wait to see what happens."

For Moontower Just For Laughs Austin, Moore will be performing on April 20-21 at Parish and April 21 and April 23 at The Velv Comedy Lounge.

Moore performs regularly at The Velveeta Room and Creek and the Cave. She also runs a monthly show called The Most Hosts at The Long Play Lounge East.

She was also named Best Stand Up Comic 2018 by The Austin Chronicle and is nominated again this year. You can vote for her here.

You can get more information about Moore on her Instagram.