The Rebellious

New Book Coming Soon


The Rebellious is a story about how someone finds their way back from the edge through an unlikely method: an ethnographic study on the Comedy Store in La Jolla, CA. Chronologically, the story begins with the author’s experience moving back in with her parents in her early 30s. She hadn’t spoken to them for a year. Her mother had made her choose between her fiancé and her family. Even though she had chosen her fiancé, she crumbled at the last moment, calling her wedding off. Her life devolved into manic depression, ending in her being sent to live with her older brother in Portland, OR. Marooned, she drops out of her PhD program in Sociology at Temple University and begins working at a Buffalo Exchange. It ends with the author performing stand-up at the Comedy Store and forgetting her set. She is leaving San Diego to go teach at Siena College.

Organizationally, the book is interwoven with chapters on memoir, research narrative, and life stories. Chapters on memoir chart the time period when the author moves back in with her parents (2012), back to Philadelphia to finish her PhD (2012-2015), to Portland, OR (2015-2018), and to San Diego (2018). Chapters on research narrative are organized around unifying thematic characteristics of comedy, like honesty and timing, and cover the 6 months of participant observation conducted at the Comedy Store in La Jolla, CA, Jan-Jun 2019. Excerpts from all 26 life stories appear in research chapters and explore classic anthropological and sociological analysis like critiques on gender dynamics or rites of passage in comedy culture.

Life Story Interviews

  • Brandon Potter Portrait

    Brandon Potter

    Born 9/5/1987, Years as a Comedian: 5, Interviewed on July 5, 2019 at The Comedy Store and The Central Library

  • Kevin Bennett Portrait

    Kevin Bennett

    Born 4/4/1987, Years as a Comedian: 8, Interviewed on Jun 25, 2019 at The Comedy Store

  • Lisa Gilbert Portrait

    Lisa Gilbert

    Born 8/30/1967, Years as a Comedian: 4, Interviewed on April 20, 2019 at her residence, Lemon Grove, CA

  • Mike Vinn

    Description Born 9/4/1980, Years as a Comedian: 14, Interviewed on April 16, 2019 at The Comedy Store

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  • Shawn McCaw Portrait

    Shawn McCaw

    Born 2/4/1960, Years as a Comedian: 2, Interviewed on June 7, 2019 at TheCentral Library

  • Vince D'Amico Portrait

    Vince D'Amico

    Born 1/23/1977, Years as a Comedian: 7, Interviewed on June 25, 2019 at The Comedy Store

More Life Story Interviews…

  • Afan Sadiq: Born 3/1/1995, Years as a Comedian: 7 months, Interviewed on July 5, 2019 at The Central Library

  • Alex Wright: Born 5/5/1993, Years as a Comedian: 4, Interviewed on May 31, 2019 at The Central Library

  • Allyson Vastano: Born 8/13/1991, Years as a Comedian: 8 months, Interviewed on June 18, 2019 at The Comedy Store and The Central Library

  • Blaze Tricoli: Born 4/18/1987, Years as a Comedian: 3, Interviewed on July 12, 2019 at The Central Library

  • Cameron Frost: Born 5/4/1994, Years as a Comedian: 5, Interviewed on July 17, 2019 at his residence, Lemon Grove, CA

  • Colton Harpie: Born 1/17/1989, Years as a Comedian: 9, Interviewed on July 16, 2019 at The Comedy Store

  • Damien Pruitt: Born 4/6/1972, Years as a Comedian: 10, Interviewed on May 14, 2019 at The Comedy Store

  • Daunte Cordova: Born 5/5/1992, Years as a Comedian: 8, Interviewed on June 4, 2019 at The Comedy Store

  • Debbie Dee: Born 6/15/1957, Years as a Comedian: 10 months, Interviewed on June 7, 2019 at The Central Library

  • Gordon Downs: Born 9/19/1977, Years as a Comedian: 14, Interviewed on May 10, 2019 at The Central Library

  • Jae Waldman: Born 10/15/2001, Years as a Comedian: 1, Interviewed on July 19, 2019 at The Central Library

  • Jason Lawhead: Born 10/30/1972, Years as a Comedian: 15, Interviewed on April 23, 2019 at The Central Library

  • Jeff Bilodeau: Born 6/24/1983, Years as a Comedian: 10, Interviewed on April 26, 2019 at The Central Library

  • Jordan Coburn: Born 5/8/1993, Years as a Comedian: 2, Interviewed on June 28, 2019 at The Central Library

  • Kirsten Freed: Born 12/23/1970, Years as a Comedian: 3, Interviewed on April 23, 2019 at The Central Library

  • Mall Hall: Born 6/17/1984, Years as a Comedian: 12, Interviewed on July 19, 2019 at The Central Library

  • Ron Ripley: Born 7/28/1981, Years as a Comedian: 4, Interviewed on May 14, 2019 at his residence, La Jolla, CA

  • Tatiana Cwiklinski: Born 3/8/1997, Years as a Comedian: 2, Interviewed on May 21, 2019 at The Comedy Store

  • Tessa Cunningham: Born 11/7/1957, Years as a Comedian: 22, Interviewed on May 1, 2019 at her residence, Oceanside, CA

  • William Newby: Born 4/2/1974, Years as a Comedian: 6 months, Interviewed on June 28, 2019 at The Central Library

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