Today we’d like to introduce you to Rauce Padgett
Hi Rauce, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I got into comedy because I got told “No” at an audition and completely understood why I didn’t get it. I knew I had to get stage time. At first I tried improv comedy but it wasn’t for me. It was more of my brother’s thing so I went to an open mic and on the 6th time trying stand up comedy, I bombed so bad. So incredibly bad. However bad you think it was I want whoever reading this to double the badness. I had two friends at the show and it was such an awkward walk to the car. It was so bad that I quit stand up all together.
A year later I moved into a house with one of my brothers friends who did stand up. He came home from a paid gig and I had told him that I missed doing stand up. Then he said the most important two words in my life…..”Prove it”.
That was 15 years ago. I have now opened up for some of my favorite comedians and done some of the most legendary venues in the state. I have won Orlando Weeklys Comedian of the year five times now. I have Taken planes to tell jokes all because I was challenged to “Prove it”. That audition that said “No” ended up being a “Yes” years later.
“Prove it” is the most important part of my story
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It has not been smooth. Becoming a comedian shouldn’t be smooth. Bad open mics are how you start and its like telling jokes with weights on. No audiences. Bad sound. Bad venues. Driving hours to tell jokes for 3 people at a bar who didn’t know there was a show. Its those shows that make you appreciate the good ones and honestly makes the big shows even easier. Making 500 people laugh is so much easier than making 2 laugh.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I specialize in hopefully making people laugh as much and as hard as they can whether it be stand up, podcasting (Good Sauce with Rauce and Joel), live sketch comedy or even internet videos. I am the most proud of the sketch/trailer “If Orlando Was a Movie”. Its a love letter to the city that loved me back and the hardest Ive worked on a comedic project along side too many talented people to name all of them. It came out even better than I thought it would be.
Its an awkward question of what sets me a part from others. I don’t know who originally said it but I try to follow the sentiment of
“I am better than no one and no one is better than me”
What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
What I like most about Orlando is truly thinking that we might be the most talented city per capita in the country. If we’re not, we’ve got to be pretty up there. There is just so much stage time to be had with our homegrown arts scene all the way to performing in theme parks. I cant think of another city that can get you those 10,000 hours of performing quicker.
The rest of the country only knows about the theme parks and completely overlook so many great things that we have, like our amazing culinary scene! Even though thats starting to change. I’d still love to see the dollars not go to an overpriced popcorn bucket every now and then and go back to a small business restaurant thats always killing it. The theme parks are a little too good at keeping people on vacation at there locations and not having them go to downtown.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Raucecomedy.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/raucepadgett/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/raucepadgettcomedy/
- Twitter: https://x.com/RaucePadgett
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@RaucePadgett
