We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Cassie Duncan. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Cassie below.
Cassie, so great to have you with us and we want to jump right into a really important question. In recent years, it’s become so clear that we’re living through a time where so many folks are lacking self-confidence and self-esteem. So, we’d love to hear about your journey and how you developed your self-confidence and self-esteem.
It’s an odd feeling having constant imposter syndrome but also feeling confident in my abilities. Stand-up comedy isn’t a team effort. You alone decide how much work is put into your art. So when you get comics who host shows actually wanting YOU to be on their show, I can’t help but feel better about myself. It’s always a gamble though. Sometimes you will miss the mark with the audience and you’re brought right back down to Earth. But when you get a room of people laughing at jokes you wrote in your apartment, the confidence goes WAY up!
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
I do have a job to keep the bills paid but I’d be lying if I said stand-up comedy wasn’t my biggest focus in life. Thankfully Kansas City has an incredible stand-up community because I have to spend most of my time with them. From performing on shows to going to other comic’s shows to open mic’s, etc. A part of taking this art seriously is trying to promote myself and my brand as much as possible on social media. I record my sets then cut them up into bite-size clips to post to my Tiktok (hashtagcassie), Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and anywhere else I can throw my face and dumb jokes. All the time and work that goes into it is very much worth it to get the best feeling ever which of course is getting a whole room laughing!
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Be kind and be assertive. Be good to people but don’t let people walk all over you. Because they will. Trust me. I have had to teach myself this. Don’t be afraid to reach out to other comics for advice or ask if you can be on their podcast/show. Make sure you aren’t out of sight/out of mind. Networking is important in all different professions and arts. It’s certainly true in comedy. Get to the open mic’s. Friend the comics on social media. Share their content to your story on Instagram. Show you want to be a part of the community. When it comes to your material? If it doesn’t get laughs on the first try, don’t give up on it. Sometimes you need to try material a few times to see if it works or not. It may not work for everyone but I practice my sets at home. I find when I am talking out my material, I come up with my best jokes in those moments. Always remember to write down ideas you have about a new bit or a new joke to add to an old bit. If I don’t write it down immediately, I will forget it.
Looking back over the past 12 months or so, what do you think has been your biggest area of improvement or growth?
I would say it’s how I sound on stage. I think I sound a lot more natural and confident. Like most people, I was a little awkward and sounded unsure on stage when I started but watching my growth on stage in the past year and a half has been one of the things I am most proud of in life.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: hashtagcassie
- Twitter: hashtag_cassie
- Other: Tiktok: hashtagcassie
