One funny young woman chases dream

Think about the most common careers pursued by Fort Recovery natives.

Farming and agriculture probably rank at the top of the list.

The education, construction and health care fields are all fairly common.

Stand-up comedian? That one is pretty far down on the docket, if it even makes the list.

But that's the dream Shelby Siefring is chasing.

Until recently, comedy was merely a sideline for the 2002 Fort Recovery High School graduate. But she left her full-time job at Sweetwater Sound, a music, instruments and pro audio shop in Fort Wayne, to work at Deer Park Irish Pub and allow herself more freedom to follow her ambition.

"I just quit that job about a month ago to start bartending, so I could have more flexibility," said Siefring. "And at the same time, when you're bartending, there's a lot of material coming through that door. It's been good for me."

The 26-year-old got her first taste of performing stand-up comedy as a student at Ball State University. She had a talk show with some friends on student radio station WCRD 91.3, and the group put together a charity stand-up show.

"It was really fun, but I was terrible, absolutely terrible," said Siefring.

She said she didn't really think about comedy again until she moved in 2008 to Fort Wayne, where she worked part time for radio station WAJI Majic 95.1.

WAJI occasionally sponsored shows at Snickerz, a comedy club near IPFW and Ivy Tech, and Siefring's boss agreed to make her the emcee for an event.

"So I got to host that show, and Snickerz liked me, and they asked me to come back as an emcee," said Siefring. "That's how it all started."

She has returned to the Snickerz stage about a dozen times since, most recently for a show featuring Boston comic Tommy Savitt in late April.

She has also performed at Westfield Tavern in Indianapolis, Piggy's Sports Pub and Nite Club in Angola and the Fort Wayne Pride festival. She was on stage Monday at Morty's Comedy Joint in Indianapolis as part of its Monday Night Hype show.

"She's very enjoyable to be around," said Mike Gardner, a comedian and booker for Morty's. "I think she's funny as a comedian. ... She's got really good writing.

"She's by no means a polished, nationally-touring comedian yet, but I think if she keeps at it the way she's keeping at it now ... she's definitely got a shot to do this for a living."

A week ago she organized her own show at Deer Park, bringing in four other comedians, including one she worked with at the radio station in college. It was a success by all accounts as the bar, which seats about 40, was packed with nearly 100 people for a standing-room only show.

Siefring kept the crowd cackling throughout her 18-minute set, telling jokes about Fort Wayne "adult" establishments, Ball State University, her time in the high school band and her sexuality (she's a lesbian).

She said her parents "probably thought I was nuts" when she mentioned stand-up comedy as a potential career. But their eyes were opened at the June 5 Deer Park show.

It was the first time they had seen their daughter on stage since her debut at Snickerz.

"I was amazed tonight," said her father, Marvin, who Siefring pokes fun at during her act for looking like Ned Flanders of The Simpsons. "She had me in tears laughing.

"She was pretty good (at Snickerz). ... But tonight, she's really evolved since a couple years ago. ...

"This is the first time I've felt (she could do this for a living)."

"Oh my god ... this time ... I didn't realize that she had gotten so confident," added her mother, Diane. "I was pretty proud of her. That was awesome.

"I'm kind of shocked a little bit. ...

"I can see her doing that. That was her comfort zone tonight."

At this point in her career, Siefring said she is on stage about once a week and has about 30 minutes of solid material. She admitted to being a bit of a procrastinator on the writing front, saying she needs deadlines to help her churn out jokes. But she also carries a notebook with her at all times, just in case anything strikes her as funny.

Siefring, who refers to Sarah Silverman as a "genius" and names Dmitri Martin as another major influence, said she's hoping to do more feature work, performing as the lead-in to the headliner. Her first such show at Morty's is scheduled for June 28 at 8 p.m.

She will look to continue to perform in that capacity in Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, Chicago and throughout the Midwest.

"Eventually, someday, I'd really like to have it as my full-time gig, just travel and tell jokes and make people happy," said Siefring, noting that her dream as a child was to be on Saturday Night Live. "If everything went exactly how I wanted it to be, I would be touring the country doing shows - I'd like to do a lot of college shows - and I'd love to have a Comedy Central special. That would be the coolest thing ever."

Siefring, who played basketball and softball at FRHS, will perform at the Fort Wayne Pride festival at Headwaters Park July 23 at 9 p.m. She also hopes to organize another show at Deer Park sometime in the early fall.

"It's just fun," she said. "It's hard not to have a good time when you're telling jokes ... and most of the time people are laughing."

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