On “Adorable”…
‘LL: Tell us a bit about the title, Adorable, and the story behind that.
Orlando Leyba: Adorable is pretty much when I do comedy shows, I get comments like, “Hey, man, you’re so funny” or “Hey, man, you’re so stupid,” but the most common one, which usually comes from women, because no man will tell me this, but usually women of a certain age will say, “You’re so adorable.” For some reason, that tickles me, man. It’s like, “Aw, thank you.” It’s like I’m Winnie the Pooh wearing pants.
‘LL: What kind of topics will you be covering during the special?
Orlando Leyba: I’m going to talk about my newfound love for cats, sunny days and HGTV, because I’m obsessed with HGTV. I’ve let go of sports. I’m heavy into HGTV and marble counter-tops, and the right cabinets for the kitchen. I talk about going to cross-fit and realizing that it was too much testosterone for me—to even checking if my testosterone is low. I’m also talking about evolving and becoming a more sensitive guy.
‘LL: Before hitting the stage with your set, do you screen it with your friends, or your wife, for example?
Orlando Leyba: That’s actually a real good question. This is like inside baseball stuff. Stand-up come-dy is the only art, for me personally, that in order to see if it’s going to work, you have to go in front of people. So, I can’t do it at home. I can go up on stage and think that it’s the funniest thing in the world, and it could just bomb—or, it can work. So, there is no practicing. There is only just the actual work. The work is getting on stage.
‘LL: How did that whole deal with The Tonight Show come about?
Orlando Leyba: It was like the stars aligned. First, the buzz came out that I had a 30-minute special coming out on HBO Latino, so that raised a flag. Then, this amazing booker on The Tonight Show by the name of Michael Cox invited me to showcase for the show in New York. So, I flew from Los Angeles to New York. I went straight from the airport, and I did one practice set at Carolines (on Broadway), and the following night I did another set in New York Comedy Club for this showcase. The day after, I received a call from Michael Cox saying, “We would like to offer you a spot,” and it was magic, man.
On the future and advice for those on the come up
‘LL: What are some upcoming projects that you have lined up after the HBO Latino special that you’d like our readers to know about?
Orlando Leyba: Everything that’s going to be coming up will be posted on the website, heylando.com. Right now, I’m just going on the road, building. Nothing is official yet, but the goal is that next time we have a conversation, we should be doing an hour with HBO.
‘LL: Any advice for any up-and-coming comedians reading this interview?
Orlando Leyba: The first one is do the work. Every day that you get up, do something towards what you want to do. Write a new joke, get up on a mic, try the joke and see if it bombs. Do the work, because it only makes you stronger, and you’re actually doing what you want to do—you’re being a stand-up comedian.
[The] second thing I highly recommend is look around for comedy festivals. It can get really expensive, so pick the right ones. Some of them you have to fly yourself to do them if you get picked. Also, some of them charge you to submit. Do festivals because festivals are like summer camps. You go there, and you’re with a bunch of other comics. For example, Michael Cox, the booker of The Tonight Show, is someone who has seen me grow as a comic. I met him at Laughing Skull Comedy Festival in Atlanta, GA, and also at Big Sky Comedy Festival in Billings, MT. Those are two festivals that are like camp. You go, you stay in a hotel, you get a roommate, everybody’s together, and you’re doing three or four days of comedy. I’m actually doing another, which is the Moon Tower Festival in Austin, TX, and also SXSW. If you play dollar lotteries, might as well gamble on your career, and gamble on this dream, because you meet more people.
My last [piece of] advice is, especially for comics, don’t be weird, be nice.
Orlando Leyba: Adorable, premieres Friday, November 16th at 9:30pm ET/PT on HBO Latino.