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Brandie Posey brings the funny to The Ground Floor 2.0

In such harrowing, divisive, and intense times as these, the old adage “laughter is the best medicine” seems the most appropriate. Luckily for those planning to be in attendance 7 p.m. Sunday at The Ground Floor 2.0, 2925 W. Fourth St., comedian Brandie Posey, along with others, is giving out doses of exactly what the doctor ordered.

For Posey, there were never any huge ambitions to hit the comedy stage. In fact, what got her into stand-up comedy wasn’t secretly watching Eddie Murphy’s “Delirious” as a kid, or reciting her favorite lines from Janeane Garofolo’s HBO Comedy Half Hourset to her friends. Actually, Posey’s inspiration came from the classic piece of cinema known as “Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls.”

“I remember going to see ‘Ace Ventura : When Nature Calls’ when I was like 10 and I remember thinking ‘Wow, this is great. I want to feel like this every day!’ “

With aspirations of Jim Carrey level laughter in her sights, she was off to the races — well, not quite. While she had wanted to make people laugh since she was young, Posey never considered hitting the stage until she was into her 20s. Luckily, the L.A. comedy scene is swelling with opportunity.

Posey began making her rounds through open mic nights, hitting “around 15” a week, honing her craft. Well, it seems like it is certainly honed now.

Now that Posey’s career is on the rise, she is joining the ranks of the new comedy guard: a wave of female comedians finally getting their due and the spotlight in what has a predominantly male saturated field for decades. Posey is certainly happy about the change, as this gives her and others in her realm the chance to make their own careers instead of going through the traditional comedic channels.

“There aren’t any more gatekeepers. Thanks to the internet and things like YouTube, we can kind of make our own careers instead of going to clubs hoping someone will give us a shot.”

However, being a female comedian isn’t without its hardships. Posey notes that while things are easier now with the advent of technology, there is still an old aspect of comedy that hasn’t gone away. As the times have changed, there is still a specter of men who like to do things the old way.

“You have some old guys in a blazer who will book mostly men. It’s hard because these guys may book only one, maybe two, female comedians a month.”

As any comedian will tell you, life as a comedian shapes how you view the world on stage as well as off, and Posey is no exception. A perception of comedians is that they are the hardest group to get a laugh out of, and Posey can attest to this. She states that whenever she hears a joke, whether it be from a friend or fellow comedian, she always analyzes the jokes, even if just to herself. But more significantly, comedy has changed how she interacts with people.

“I am really conscious of what I say and how I say it now, and I am constantly watching others and how they speak as well.”

Her interactions with people actually are what bring Posey to Williamsport in the first place. When asked about her connections to the town, she credits her performances at festivals and having the opportunity to meet fellow comics, such as Kevin Seibert, co-producer, alongside Chris Williams, of The Comedy Shop.

Posey aims to do more than to just get on stage and get a chuckle out of the audience. She aims to get the crowd thinking as well. As many performers before her, she utilizes her platform to get the audience to take their guard down, which makes then hear what she has to say about the world without feeling preached to. Her method of laughter with a lesson enables her to “get across some ideas that I think are good.”

However, no matter how many stages she has graced, ovations she’s gotten, or guts she’s busted, Brandi Posey is still a victim of the oldest enemy of performers: nerves. But according to her, still having nerves before she performs is a good thing.

“Being nervous still means I care about what I’m doing, so I think it’s a good thing. If I got up there and didn’t care, I wouldn’t be nervous but I also wouldn’t be at my best.”

Brandi Posey will be at The Ground Floor 2.0, nerves and all, on Sunday, along with other acts such as Alex Russum, Kelsey Blue, Jeff Kunkel and more. Doors open at 7 p.m. with the show starting at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are available at the door.

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