HARK!
I hear…a shooting star…
Meet Ashley Rose: Perhaps the next big thing to come out of the Phoenix comedy scene.
In just a few years, she’s gone from whatever, I’ll try it open mic nights to steady, paying gigs; but that’s only part of the her story, as she is a social media powerhouse, with 5,000 friends on Facebook, 2,200 followers on Instagram and 1,600 on TikTok, where she regularly cranks out 15-second comedy bits that are cross-posted on other forums.
Underneath long, auburn hair and oversized glasses, her expressions range from mock-shock to spasm-sarcasm.
She’s not angry at the world–just annoyed by it. Bugged by everyone from the guy in the car behind her having boogers-for-breakfast to Kanye West’s latest meltdowns.
Her Facebook profile says it all, beneath a photo of her beaming over her kids:
Ashley Rose
Try not to be a douche canoe.
While there are scores–if not hundreds–of comics around the Valley, “hoping to make it big,” many in the comedy scene will tell you: There’s something about Ashley…
In comedian chat rooms and Facebook groups, when someone poses a question like “Who’s going to make it big?” or “Who are your favorite comics?”--Ashley Rose often makes the lists.
As fellow comic Tara Shakespeare (who also often makes the lists) told HARK Valley: “Ashley Rose can take her personal experience and make it funny and relatable. She’s always savvy with her delivery and there’s always a twist in the punch line.”
As her manager, Tray Goodman, said, “She's an absolute natural on stage and screen. I saw it right off.”
Goodman said he was mighty proud of her performance in an indie comedy film Some Nudity Required.
Rose even made the trailer.
The Hailstorm Films comedy is currently on the festival circuit, scoring a top award at the Sweden Film Festival.
Her acting adds another layer to the Ashley Rose cake of possibilities…Where does her manager see Rose’s career going?
“I see her in a TV comedy series one day soon,” Goodman said. “I love that she will work hard and has none of the usual signs of narcissism in this business.”
Indeed, Ashley Rose is a multi-tasker, not only fitting being a comedian into a single-mom schedule, but also…
The owner of Sol Symmetry, a “healing studio” (she’s a certified Reiki Master), a single mother of two teenagers and an IT project manager.
“I never set out to do comedy or make it big,” Rose said, in a HARK Valley Zoom interview a few weeks ago.
Most comedians go from Phoenix to LA, but Rose’s life has taken a twisted path. “I am from Los Angeles,” she said, with her trademark semi-grimace. “Then I met my now ex-husband. He lived in Phoenix …
“I got married, had children then got divorced–like everyone else," she said, from her home in Peoria (a suburb of Phoenix).
She looks back on her start in show business with bemusement:
“It was a total accident–I never meant to do stand-up comedy.
“After I got divorced, I finally started to come into my own, figure out who I was; I had my own sense of humor. I started making Snapchat videos, then I would share them to Facebook. I started getting a good response…”
She started making short, funny videos in 2016: “I was newly divorced and entered the dating scene–which gave me plenty of material.
“Like I was sitting in the car bitching about this guy who called me ‘high maintenance.’ I said, ‘You know who funds me? Me!’”
An influencer reposted Rose’s video. “Overnight, I ended up getting thousands of friend requests on Facebook, a mix of comedians, actors, promoters, producers….People kept asking me, ‘Hey, do you do stand-up comedy?’ I was like, ‘No, I just talk shit into my phone. I edit it a thousand times–then I post it. I don’t know anything about performing stand-up comedy!’”
But some of her new comedian friends on Facebook coached her through the process of writing jokes–and egged her on to get up in front of people and try them.
In October of 2017, she went to an open mic mid-week night at Toso’s, a “dive bar” in North Phoenix. She did a 10-minute routine–and was so well received, she was invited back to the Friday night show.
“I had 100 people from my Facebook page come out to that show,” Rose said, laughing at the memory of how it all came together.
Soon after, she was recruited by GCA Media, and within a few weeks had a professional manager–something most comedians spend years chasing.
She now has a “home comedy club:” The House of Comedy.
“I perform here the most and run two shows here called: Not So Black and White and Triple Threat Tuesdays.”
This week, Rose launches an almost-ridiculous schedule of 10 shows in 12 nights, starting with Tuesday night at Brigett’s Last Laugh, then six nights at the House of Comedy (March 24-29). After a day off, she is back to work at JP’s Comedy Club March 31, April 1 and 2.
Jim “JP” Perry, owner of the club, is eager to have her at his Gilbert club.
“Ashley Rose is a local favorite!” he said. “As a comedy club owner–not only is she consistently funny for our customers but working with her is always a pleasure and professional experience.”
Her goals for 2022? “What I want is what most comics want: get recognized, discovered.” She hopes to move up to some of the larger comedy clubs around Phoenix.
“I have a lot of work; the dream is to make it bigger,” she said.
Meanwhile, she continues pushing forward on social media, often marrying stand-up comedy and video-posting.
“People who follow me on TikTok will come out to shows–I’ll even make a TikTok on stage.”
The core of her material, old or new: “Being a parent, having kids, dating…
“Writing is the hardest part for me,” Rose said, with a groan.
But she is egged on to keep going by her growing fans, as well as peers like Tara Shakespeare, who has not doubt where Ashley Rose is going:
“She’s definitely headed for greatness!”
Links
TikTok
Website
ashleyrosecomedy.com