Amber Preston Explained

Amber Preston
Birth Place:Fargo, North Dakota
Occupation:Stand-up comedian
Actor

Amber Preston is a stand-up comedian originally from North Dakota and Minnesota and now living in Los Angeles.

In 2011, comic Marc Maron named her one of his five top comedians to watch, calling her a "brassy gal ... who could play a one-nighter at a bowling alley or a 1,000-seat theater and just nail it."[1] In 2018, entertainment website Thrillist named her one of the best undiscovered comedians in America.[2]

Her debut album, Sparkly Parts, was released April 17, 2020, on Stand Up! Records, debuting at No. 1 on both the Amazon and iTunes comedy charts.[3] [4]

Early life

Preston grew up in Fargo, North Dakota and graduated from West Fargo High School in 1996.[5] She is related to television accordionist and bandleader Lawrence Welk, a topic she has joked about in her standup.[6] She moved to Minneapolis in the late 1990s, where she earned a theater degree from the University of Minnesota.[7] In 2014, she moved to Los Angeles to concentrate on her standup and acting career.[8]

Career

Preston began performing standup shortly after college. Her comedy is often autobiographical, and includes topics such as her Upper Midwest accent and Fargo upbringing.[7] A lifelong fan of pop group New Kids on the Block, Preston will sometimes read aloud onstage from a series of novels published in the early 1990s in which the group has adventures in the mode of the Hardy Boys.

She was the 2011 winner of the Best of the Midwest competition at Gilda's Laughfest in Grand Rapids, Michigan.[9] She was a finalist in the 2012 Great American Comedy Festival competition held in Norfolk, Nebraska, hometown of Johnny Carson.[10] In 2011, she was named one of the top 100 creative people in Minneapolis by City Pages.[11]

Preston and comic Andy Erikson (a fellow Minnesota transplant) co-host a weekly comedy showcase, Punchline Punchout, at the Hollywood Improv in Los Angeles; similar to a game show in format, the showcase gives comics 10 minutes to come up with punchlines on a given topic.[12]

Discography

Because of the coronavirus quarantine, Preston livestreamed a comedy set from her home in lieu of a traditional record-release show for Sparkly Parts.[13]

Reviewer Richard Lanoie, writing on The Serious Comedy Site, called Sparkly Parts "a hoot to listen to" with "no weak moments."[14]

Filmography

Preston starred in the 2019 short film The Poacher, which screened at the 2020 Los Angeles Short Film Festival,[15] Culver City Film Festival,[16] and Yucca Valley Film Festival.[17]

Other work

Podcast appearances

  • WTF with Marc Maron, Episode 1132: Amber Preston, J-L Cauvin (June 18, 2020)[18]
  • Stuffed Animal Party, Episode 3: Erik Allen is a Real Doctor (March 22, 2013)[19]
  • WTF with Marc Maron, Episode 292: Live From Gilda's Laughfest (June 28, 2012)[20]
  • WTF with Marc Maron, Episode 576: Whitney Cummings, Shelby Fero, Pamela Adlon, Desi Jedeikin, Amber Preston (Feb. 12, 2015)[21]
  • Magnotronic, Episode 315: Amber Preston (June 11, 2015)[22]
  • The Dork Forest with Jackie Kashian, Episode 293: Live From the Bridgetown Comedy Festival (June 10, 2015)[23]
  • Lady to Lady, Episode 130: Outrage Du Jour ft. Amber Preston (June 24, 2015)[24]
  • Probably Science, Episode 178 with Amber Preston! (Sept. 9, 2015)[25]
  • Obsessed with Joseph Scrimshaw, Episode 92: Amber Preston on New Kids on the Block (Jan. 7, 2016)[26]
  • Magnotronic, Episode 626: Amber Preston (March 11, 2017)[27]
  • Middle Of Somewhere, Winnipeg Vance and Amber Preston (March 30, 2020)[28]

    External links

    Notes and References

    1. News: Flaherty . Mike . 2011-08-22 . The Vulture Pages: Marc Maron's Five Comedians To Watch . New York Magazine. 44. 26. 166 . New York .
    2. Web site: The Best Undiscovered Comedians From Every State . . 2018-10-25 . Thrillist . https://web.archive.org/web/20181106203906/https://www.thrillist.com/best-undiscovered-comedians-in-america/ . 2018-11-06.
    3. Web site: Stand Up! Records . . Facebook. 2020-04-21.
    4. Web site: Stand Up! Records . . Facebook. 2020-04-21.
    5. News: Lamb . John . 2014-02-12 . Look who's laughing now: West Fargo graduate returns to headline comedy club opening . Forum . Fargo, North Dakota . 2020-04-20 .
    6. News: Carlson Gustafson . Amy . 2010-06-16 . Comedy: Preston almost got to go with the Flo . Pioneer Press . St. Paul . 2020-04-19 .
    7. News: Brown . Heather . 2013-08-15 . Good Question: Where Does The Minnesota Accent Come From? . WCCO-TV . Minneapolis . 2020-04-19 .
    8. News: Wilson . P.F. . 2014-07-29 . Standup Amber Preston on new adventures in Los Angeles . City Pages . Minneapolis . 2020-04-20 .
    9. Web site: 2020 Headliners Announced! . . 2019-11-19 . Gilda's Laughfest. 2020-04-21.
    10. Web site: Past Headliners . . Great American Comedy Festival . 2020-04-20.
    11. News: Armbruster . Jessica . 2011-05-19 . 100 Creatives: Amber Preston. City Pages . Minneapolis . 2020-04-21 .
    12. News: Justin . Neal . 2018-01-12 . Former Minneapolis comics Andy Erikson and Amber Preston making their mark in Hollywood . Star Tribune . Minneapolis-St.Paul . 2020-04-19 .
    13. News: Lamb . John . 2020-04-16 . West Fargo native releases first comedy album, saying, 'If people don't need a laugh now, when do they?' . Forum . Fargo, North Dakota . 2020-04-21 .
    14. Web site: Sparkly Parts – Amber Preston . Richard Lanoie . 2020-04-17 . The Serious Comedy Site . 2020-04-20.
    15. Web site: 2020 Schedule . . Los Angeles Short Film Festival . 2020-04-21.
    16. Web site: 2019 Schedule . . Culver City Film Festival . 2020-04-21.
    17. Web site: 2019 Program . . Yucca Valley Film Festival . 2020-04-21.
    18. Episode 1132: Amber Preston, J-L Cauvin . WTF with Marc Maron . . 2020-06-18 . 2020-06-18 .
    19. Episode 3: Erik Allen is a Real Doctor . Stuffed Animal Party . 2013-03-22 . 2020-04-20 .
    20. Episode 292: Live From Gilda's Laughfest . WTF with Marc Maron . . 2012-06-28 . 2020-04-20 .
    21. Episode 576: Whitney Cummings, Shelby Fero, Pamela Adlon, Desi Jedeikin, Amber Preston . WTF with Marc Maron . . 2015-02-12 . 2020-04-20 .
    22. Episode 315: Amber Preston . Magnotronic . Maggie Faris . 2015-06-11 . 2020-04-20 .
    23. Episode 293: Live From the Bridgetown Comedy Festival . The Dork Forest with Jackie Kashian . . 2015-06-10 . 2020-04-20 .
    24. Outrage Du Jour ft. Amber Preston . Lady to Lady . Barbara Gray, Brandie Posey, Tess Barker . 2015-06-24 . 2020-04-20 .
    25. Episode 178 with Amber Preston! . Probably Science . Matt Kirshen, Andy Wood . 2015-09-09 . 2020-04-20 .
    26. Episode 92: Amber Preston on New Kids on the Block . Obsessed with Joseph Scrimshaw . Art19 . . 2016-01-07 . 2020-04-20 .
    27. Episode 626: Amber Preston . Magnotronic . Maggie Faris . 2017-03-11 . 2020-04-20 .
    28. Winnipeg Vance and Amber Preston . Middle Of Somewhere . 2020-03-30 . 2020-04-20 .

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