Today we’d like to introduce you to Taylor Higginbotham.
Every artist has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
I grew up in Little Elm, Texas in the 90’s. It was exactly how that read. A classic small town where everybody knew everything about everyone. It was a 10-minute car ride into this small town from our house so I made friends with my parents’ expansive movie collection. My tiny, bully-able frame mimicked classic scenes for my family and eventually my classmates and tormentors. It got to the point I was planning and performing silent film stunts at recess to the acclaim of my peers and concerned phone calls from my teachers. My family fell on hard financial times in the early 2000’s, leaving my mother to raise 3 kids by herself. I assigned myself as the comic relief during these times to raise my mom’s spirit. My sister and I would ask her for a prompt and we would go film sketches and edit them in-camera for her.
The bullying continued through middle school and early high school. I joined the media tech classes my junior year and I decided that’s what I wanted to pursue to get student debt: film and television production. Flash forward 2 years to the dropout Taylor moving back home from Waco. Easily the lowest times of my life. So, naturally, I went to open mics in Frisco, Texas to see how crushed a soul could get. Turns out, pretty crushed. I eventually moved to Denton to be closer to a job. It wasn’t long before I was hiding in the corners at the open mics in Denton, I decided I wanted to give it another shot.
Please tell us about your art.
I’m a standup comedian and comedy booker/promoter. I love to perform. There is an immediate transfer of information from standup comedy. A truth, a direct message coated in a laugh. I love it, I love being around it. Through my schooling I had learned a bit about advertising and I had taught myself design programs like Photoshop. I designed posters and album art for bands in college and transferred that experience to comedy shows in Denton.
I’ve tried characters, reading short magniloquent stories on stage, doing an entire set inside a large box, political/pop humor, insult comedy, and one-liners. Now I tend to write about my personal experiences with some misleading descriptions. I’m learning to just get the laugh no matter what I’ve prepared.
As far as booking goes, I just saw the unbelievable amount of talent in North Texas and want more people to see it and more opportunities for the comics to perform. My policy has always been what I call “implied legitimacy”. Crowds in Denton walking by a poster don’t know if the comics are 20-year pros or 4 months in, all they have is the promo material. With the comics I have worked with, every show is filled with remarkable talent, but the prospective audience needs to be convinced it’s worth their time.
What do you think about conditions for artists today? Has life become easier or harder for artists in recent years? What can cities like ours do to encourage and help art and artists thrive?
I think it’s easier for artists to have their creations seen but it can also become lost in a sea of content. If your work can be posted/experienced/purchased online, you’re fine. But if it has to be experienced in person, it’s a bit more of a struggle. Everything is so accessible, it makes tangible things inaccessible. Encouragement can come from venues and galleries creating more of an incentive for artists and audiences alike.
Or to find a healthy medium between the online experience and the live one.
How or where can people see your work? How can people support your work?
Predominately Denton, Texas. We have a weekly live podcast recording at Dan’s Silver Leaf on Tuesdays at 10pm. My cohost Brad McKenzie and I feature one standup comic for 15 mins and then we sit with them and talk about a different subject every week. Our aim was to give the audience a glimpse into how comics hang out after shows.
Brad and I also have a show the last Wednesday of every month at Harvest House in Denton. We feature comics from all over Texas and even a few traveling comics. I am on the board for the North Texas Comedy Festival which is in its second year as of 2018. Almost all of the proceeds from the festival go to charity. I also perform in various places in Dallas and Ft. Worth.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.taylorhigginbotham.com
- Email: -thiggmedia@gmail.com -brave.boys.email@gmail.com
- Instagram: -@thigg_media -@brave_boys_podcast
- Facebook: –https://www.facebook.com/thebraveboys –https://www.facebook.com/thigginbotham17
Image Credit:
Stephanie Semen and Language of Laughter
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