Amber Preston

Last updated
Amber Preston
Amber Preston (cropped).jpg
Born
Fargo, North Dakota
OccupationStand-up comedian
Actor

Amber Preston is a stand-up comedian originally from North Dakota and Minnesota and now living in Los Angeles. [1]

Contents

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." [2] In 2018, entertainment website Thrillist named her one of the best undiscovered comedians in America. [3]

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. [4] [5]

Early life

Preston grew up in Fargo, North Dakota and graduated from West Fargo High School in 1996. [6] She is related to television accordionist and bandleader Lawrence Welk, a topic she has joked about in her standup. [7] She moved to Minneapolis in the late 1990s, where she earned a theater degree from the University of Minnesota. [8] In 2014, she moved to Los Angeles to concentrate on her standup and acting career. [9]

Career

Preston began performing standup shortly after college. [9] Her comedy is often autobiographical, [10] and includes topics such as her Upper Midwest accent and Fargo upbringing. [8] 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. [1]

She was the 2011 winner of the Best of the Midwest competition at Gilda's Laughfest in Grand Rapids, Michigan. [11] She was a finalist in the 2012 Great American Comedy Festival competition held in Norfolk, Nebraska, hometown of Johnny Carson. [12] In 2011, she was named one of the top 100 creative people in Minneapolis by City Pages . [13]

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. [14]

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. [15]

Reviewer Richard Lanoie, writing on The Serious Comedy Site, called Sparkly Parts "a hoot to listen to" with "no weak moments." [10]

Filmography

Preston starred in the 2019 short film The Poacher, which screened at the 2020 Los Angeles Short Film Festival, [16] Culver City Film Festival, [17] and Yucca Valley Film Festival. [18]

Other work

Podcast appearances

  • WTF with Marc Maron, Episode 1132: Amber Preston, J-L Cauvin (June 18, 2020) [19]
  • Stuffed Animal Party, Episode 3: Erik Allen is a Real Doctor (March 22, 2013) [20]
  • WTF with Marc Maron , Episode 292: Live From Gilda's Laughfest (June 28, 2012) [21]
  • WTF with Marc Maron, Episode 576: Whitney Cummings, Shelby Fero, Pamela Adlon, Desi Jedeikin, Amber Preston (Feb. 12, 2015) [22]
  • Magnotronic, Episode 315: Amber Preston (June 11, 2015) [23]
  • The Dork Forest with Jackie Kashian , Episode 293: Live From the Bridgetown Comedy Festival (June 10, 2015) [24]
  • Lady to Lady, Episode 130: Outrage Du Jour ft. Amber Preston (June 24, 2015) [25]
  • Probably Science, Episode 178 with Amber Preston! (Sept. 9, 2015) [26]
  • Obsessed with Joseph Scrimshaw, Episode 92: Amber Preston on New Kids on the Block (Jan. 7, 2016) [1]
  • Magnotronic, Episode 626: Amber Preston (March 11, 2017) [27]
  • Middle Of Somewhere, Winnipeg Vance and Amber Preston (March 30, 2020) [28]

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    References

    1. 1 2 3 Joseph Scrimshaw (2016-01-07). "Episode 92: Amber Preston on New Kids on the Block". Obsessed with Joseph Scrimshaw (Podcast). Art19. Retrieved 2020-04-20.
    2. ↑ Flaherty, Mike (2011-08-22). "The Vulture Pages: Marc Maron's Five Comedians To Watch". New York Magazine. 44 (26). New York. p. 166.
    3. ↑ "The Best Undiscovered Comedians From Every State". Thrillist. 2018-10-25. Archived from the original on 2018-11-06.
    4. ↑ "Stand Up! Records". Facebook. Retrieved 2020-04-21.
    5. ↑ "Stand Up! Records". Facebook. Retrieved 2020-04-21.
    6. ↑ Lamb, John (2014-02-12). "Look who's laughing now: West Fargo graduate returns to headline comedy club opening". Forum. Fargo, North Dakota. Retrieved 2020-04-20.
    7. ↑ Carlson Gustafson, Amy (2010-06-16). "Comedy: Preston almost got to go with the Flo". Pioneer Press. St. Paul. Retrieved 2020-04-19.
    8. 1 2 Brown, Heather (2013-08-15). "Good Question: Where Does The Minnesota Accent Come From?". WCCO-TV. Minneapolis. Retrieved 2020-04-19.
    9. 1 2 Wilson, P.F. (2014-07-29). "Standup Amber Preston on new adventures in Los Angeles". City Pages. Minneapolis. Retrieved 2020-04-20.
    10. 1 2 Richard Lanoie (2020-04-17). "Sparkly Parts – Amber Preston". The Serious Comedy Site. Retrieved 2020-04-20.
    11. ↑ "2020 Headliners Announced!". Gilda's Laughfest. 2019-11-19. Retrieved 2020-04-21.
    12. ↑ "Past Headliners". Great American Comedy Festival. Retrieved 2020-04-20.
    13. ↑ Armbruster, Jessica (2011-05-19). "100 Creatives: Amber Preston". City Pages. Minneapolis. Retrieved 2020-04-21.
    14. ↑ Justin, Neal (2018-01-12). "Former Minneapolis comics Andy Erikson and Amber Preston making their mark in Hollywood". Star Tribune. Minneapolis-St.Paul. Retrieved 2020-04-19.
    15. ↑ 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. Retrieved 2020-04-21.
    16. ↑ "2020 Schedule". Los Angeles Short Film Festival. Retrieved 2020-04-21.
    17. ↑ "2019 Schedule". Culver City Film Festival. Retrieved 2020-04-21.
    18. ↑ "2019 Program". Yucca Valley Film Festival. Retrieved 2020-04-21.
    19. ↑ Marc Maron (2020-06-18). "Episode 1132: Amber Preston, J-L Cauvin". WTF with Marc Maron (Podcast). Retrieved 2020-06-18.
    20. ↑ "Episode 3: Erik Allen is a Real Doctor". Stuffed Animal Party (Podcast). 2013-03-22. Retrieved 2020-04-20.
    21. ↑ Marc Maron (2012-06-28). "Episode 292: Live From Gilda's Laughfest". WTF with Marc Maron (Podcast). Retrieved 2020-04-20.
    22. ↑ Marc Maron (2015-02-12). "Episode 576: Whitney Cummings, Shelby Fero, Pamela Adlon, Desi Jedeikin, Amber Preston". WTF with Marc Maron (Podcast). Retrieved 2020-04-20.
    23. ↑ Maggie Faris (2015-06-11). "Episode 315: Amber Preston". Magnotronic (Podcast). Retrieved 2020-04-20.
    24. ↑ Jackie Kashian (2015-06-10). "Episode 293: Live From the Bridgetown Comedy Festival". The Dork Forest with Jackie Kashian (Podcast). Retrieved 2020-04-20.
    25. ↑ Barbara Gray, Brandie Posey, Tess Barker (2015-06-24). "Outrage Du Jour ft. Amber Preston". Lady to Lady (Podcast). Retrieved 2020-04-20.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
    26. ↑ Matt Kirshen, Andy Wood (2015-09-09). "Episode 178 with Amber Preston!". Probably Science (Podcast). Retrieved 2020-04-20.
    27. ↑ Maggie Faris (2017-03-11). "Episode 626: Amber Preston". Magnotronic (Podcast). Retrieved 2020-04-20.
    28. ↑ "Winnipeg Vance and Amber Preston". Middle Of Somewhere (Podcast). 2020-03-30. Retrieved 2020-04-20.
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