Guess what made its way back to town? The LOL Comedy Festival, which made its S.B. premiere last year. Once again, the organizers have booked renowned comedians to complete the purpose of this comedy festival and have you laughing — no, roaring — out loud. The roster includes reputable big names such as Cheech Marin, Andy Daly, Chris Hardwick, and many others. The Santa Barbara Independent staff had a chance to talk to some of the headlining comedians coming to town: Kira Soltanovich, Brad Williams, and Eric Schwartz.
Kira Soltanovich
The voice of the photo booth on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, a regular on Girls Behaving Badly, and a cast member of truTV’s How to Become a Grown Up, Kira Soltanovich answered my first interview question—“What’s up?”—with a deadpanned, “I just had a baby six weeks ago, so I have no life. Interview’s over!” Raised by Russian parents, who are “still scary when smiling,” Soltanovich finds humor in every aspect of life. At 15, she would sneak into comedy clubs with some friends and her mom, who would claim to security, “Yes! They’re all 18 and all my children,” Soltanovich said, “and it would be me, my Asian friend, and my Mexican friend.” She slipped in jokes to every part of our conversation, making it easy to see why she got into comedy, which comes to her so naturally. “It was court ordered,” she said.