You would think that a working, full-time student who directs, writes, and produces films, in addition to being a stand-up comedian and participant of the UCD Dead Arts Society, would have a portable 24/7 caffeine IV constantly supplying her veins with energy, but this quadruple threat has something much more powerful keeping her awake and working: the love of what she does. When she is not busy taking over the entertainment world, she enjoys long walks to the fridge and headbanging to Circa Survive.
Name: Palmira Muniz
Major: English & Film Double Major, Class of 2015
Hometown: The Bronx, New York and Anaheim, California.
When did you realize you first wanted to become a filmmaker?
My family has always been into movies. They are obsessed with old movies, and ever since I was a kid I was always writing stories. My first year at community college, I took a playwriting class, and I was really good at it. I realized at the time (2010), television and film was really sucking and I remembered thinking, “I could do better than that.”
So a few months ago, you premiered “Saturday with Charlie,” at the Davis Film Festival. Are you working on anything right now?
Yes! I am working on a short film with a colleague, Lauren Calsada. She was amazing to work with. We finished filming it over the summer and decided to call it Color Scheme. When she gets back from study abroad in Argentina, we are going to edit it during the winter and send it to every film festival we can think of. I just do the writing and directing side, and I don’t do camera work, so she was a fantastic asset to the technical production of the film. The actors in the film I have worked with before and everyone was just great.
So you recently started doing standup- how long have you been doing that and about how many shows have you done?
A whole whopping eight weeks, and I’ve done about a dozen shows.
What’s the biggest hurdle you have faced with standup?
Ironically, it has nothing to do with the audience- they actually really like me and my “differentness.” I’d say my biggest hurdle has been getting along with other comics, and if I’m allowed to keep it real, a lot of the other comics are privileged white boys who only talk about Tinder and OkCupid, and their content isn’t very original. In addition, they don’t really see me as a colleague because they’ve been doing this for years and I’ve only been doing stand-up for eight weeks. Not to mention I’m usually the only girl and the only person of color on the bill, but this was only in my experience in southern California. When I was performing in New York, seasoned veterans with whom I performed saw potential in me as opposed to competition, which was cool.
Is it important to you to make a space for women of color in comedy?
Definitely. I want to show that it’s okay for women to identify as feminists. Especially in comedy- it’s a boys club, and women want to fit in. I don’t want to be in the boys’ club, I want to make a girls’ club. I want to destroy the idea that “women aren’t funny.” A lot of content that is used in comedy has been around forever, and not only is it harmful, but it isn’t funny. Comics who are women of color have come so far, and yet we still have to hear Jim Crow-esque jokes? I definitely try to use satire and parody to my advantage to show how ridiculous certain comics sound when they use racist, sexist jokes.
Is that a big motivation for you to keep pursuing comedy?
Yes, I would love to improve the conditions of my gender and my race, but my first priority and motivator is that I love it. Its good stress and I enjoy it- it is so much fun. I come from an artistic family, so doing what I’m doing just makes a lot of sense to me.
How do you find time to do everything?
No sleep! I like the stress of doing the things that I love. When you really want something, time doesn’t matter- you make the time. Since I am in classes that have to do with my specific major, they improve my work. Everything that I am doing really does aid and fuel my passions, by not only learning more, but also by just having a good time. I can sleep when I am dead.
Biggest piece of advice you can give to any artist?
Always believe that your craft or skill can be improved. You could have dozens of awards and critical acclaim, but you can still improve. Always seek guidance, and seek criticism. If you don’t evolve or grow, then there is no point in continuing your work. Expand.