Liao went from working in human resources at Netflix to appearing in the streamer’s “Verified Stand-Up.”
Liao loves structure and accountability; she grew up dreaming of being a corporate superstar running Hollywood. Yes, she is “cut from a different cloth than most comedians,” as she puts it. “I went to film school wanting to be a power-suit executive who ran a studio and produce
fun comedies.”
After graduating from USC, Liao worked as an assistant in comedy production at Universal Studios. But one night, while scouting talent, she was so unimpressed by the performers that she decided to try getting on stage herself.
But she didn’t leap right in. Being methodical meant starting with a writing class, “basically stand-up for dummies,” to learn how it was done. “I wanted and needed the structure like my corporate day job — ‘write 10 jokes this way, due Wednesday morning,’” she recalls. “I needed that accountability, to have someone watch and judge me.”
From there, she moved on to open mics and then paying gigs, working her way up to a headlining hour-long set. “When I started with 10-minute sets, I just wanted to write a good joke that makes sense,” she explains. “Longer sets give me freedom to be looser and sillier and to incorporate more storytelling.”
But even as Liao proved her chops, she kept burning the proverbial two-ended candle with her desk life, eventually moving on to Netflix in 2017. She only left her job there this year when her bosses saw her doing standup … on Netflix.
Once they learned about her secret identity, they encouraged her to take the plunge and go full time. “Still, I miss the day job, looking at my calendar and knowing exactly what’s going to happen,” she says, knowing how strange that sounds. “I do try applying that structure to my day now — to give myself an agenda and checklists so I feel like I’m accomplishing something in comedy every day.”
—S.M.
Reps: Agency: UTA; Management: Levity Live; Legal: Hansen, Jacobson, Teller, Hoberman
Influences: Conan O’Brien, Bill Burr, Tig Notaro, John Mulaney, Sarah Silverman, Ali Wong
Source Agencies
