Today we’d like to introduce you to Milton Granadillo.
Hi Milton, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I have always loved comedy, specially Stand-Up: One person onstage with no props, no gimmicks, just…stories!
When things got too complicated for me in Venezuela, I decided to move to Argentina.
There, a friend told me about a Stand-Up comedy course. I went with zero expectations of becoming a comedian; I just wanted it as a tool to be comfortable in work presentations. Well, I got hooked. I got a couple of gigs and even was a founding member of Suramerica Standup, a group of comedians that became very profitable….after I left Argentina.
I moved to Miami for work in 2016 and found out there were no places to perform in Spanish. In my naive / dumb mind I thought “Well I ‘ll just translate what I have”. What followed was…a lot of bombing.
I understood that I had to write from scratch in both languages, and I started to perform all around town. I opened for a Venezuelan comedian called David Comedia and an awesome domino effect started, allowing me to open shows for renowned comedians in big places as The Miami Improv.
In English, many doors opened also, and now I’m part of “the scene”. I became the resident comedian of Front Yard Theatre Collective, a group that performed at the incredible Olympia Theatre. I also became a part of Just The Funny. Recently, I’ve been roaming around every theater in Miami, like the Villain Theater.
In 2020, before the pandemic, I was part of a BBC World Service show called “The Arts Hour”, a program that is transmitted worldwide.
Now, I’m set to become a Touring comedian and I’ve performed in West Palm Beach, Nashville, Orlando and Dallas. I’m excited to see where my career takes me!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Not a smooth road, AT ALL. lol
Performing Stand-Up is very unpredictable. No matter how “prepared” I am, there’s always room for weird venues, rowdy audience and one or two “viejitas” that think that they’re funnier than you and interrupt the show.
The best/worst story comes next.
I bombed in front of 500 people, doing a 15 minute set that got silence and yawns, opening for a Venezuelan comedian. The flip side of such a massive failure is that now, every time I perform, I say to myself “well it can’t be worse than time”. Also, I wrote a set where I tell that story and works amazingly in English and Spanish. I found out that the deeper I get, telling stories about humiliation, embarrassment and fears, the more connected I get to the audience. And even if they don’t laugh, at least they’ll be on my side.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’m a TV producer by day and well…I’m also a TV producer by night because the hours suck. However, my passion is Storytelling and Stand-Up is the best vehicle to tell stories.
I’m very demanding with myself and tend to criticize every performance, good or bad. However, I’ve learned to also remind myself to appreciate the craft and be proud of it.
I perform in English and Spanish. That gives me a chance to connect to a lot of different audiences and obligates me to develop jokes that can make people laugh, regardless of where they come from, That makes me proud.
What would you say have been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
I’m not 100% in control. I can prepare myself as much as I can but at the end of the day, it all depends on the reaction of the audience.
Respect the audience. If they don’t laugh, it’s not personal.
Contact Info:
- Email: miltongranadillo@gmail.com
- Website: www.miltongranadillo.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_milton_show
- Twitter: @miltonshow
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/miltongranadillo/featured
Image Credits
Manny Fernandez (@midstudio.photography)
Micah Johnson (@thecuriousmicah)
Daniel Barbera (@danielbarbera)
Villain Theater (@villaintheater)
Ryan K (@ryank.photos)
