Film and Television
Ava Ganz has spent years writing jokes without ever telling them to an audience. The Wonka’s The Golden Ticket contestant had a Google Doc full of concepts and even entire 10-minute sets, but like plenty of aspiring comedians, she kept waiting for the right time to get onstage.
Then came Netflix.
The reality show offered Ganz an opportunity to introduce herself to a new audience, and she saw it as the perfect moment to finally pursue stand-up. Rather than letting the attention pass her by, she began posting comedy content online and performing at open mics.
“I just started it all at once and dove headfirst,” Ganz says.
At this stage, she’s more comfortable describing what her comedy isn’t than putting a label on it. She’s not a physical comedian, nor does she rely on impersonations, accents, or a wide range of characters, she says.
And while her comedic style is still taking shape, she knows her personality aligns well with comedy.
“I would say I’ve been a really unserious person my whole life and always used humor to cope from a very young age,” she says. “I’ve always loved oversharing. I feel like I've always been a little bit of an unsettling personality. I’ve always liked to say the thing everyone is thinking in the room, but doesn’t really quite want to say.”
Now, she’s putting her material to work, drawing inspiration from her everyday life in New York City.
Some topics are to be expected: dating and public transportation. Others are the kinds of things only Ganz — and her intrusive thoughts — could get away with. She jots down her “internal dialogue in everyday situations,” she says, “where you have those almost intrusive thoughts of, ‘What if someone was willing to say this? Or what if someone were willing to confront this, and then what would that look like?’”
Ganz says she’s scheduled to perform several shows in Manhattan in November and is trying to get onstage as often as possible.
“There’s literally no better high than making people laugh, genuinely,” she says.
While the Netflix show introduced Ganz to viewers, she’s beginning to build an audience around her comedy, too. People have approached her on the street after recognizing her from The Golden Ticket, but she says the people showing up to her comedy shows have largely discovered her through her comedy content online.
Ganz knows the attention surrounding the show may not last forever, and she’s eager to use the opportunity to build a following that will stick around.
“I know this is my 15 minutes, and I’m trying to make it last,” she says. “Like, let’s get at least 45.”