Natasha Mercado is a Los Angeles alt-comedy darling with a sensitive side. She's an actress, a director and above all else, a clown. She's internationally touring her two solo shows and has appeared on HBO, Adult Swim and TBS.

#1 SON (a work in progress) is performing on OCT 7 @ the Lyric Hyperion

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What initially brought you to physical comedy, sketch and improv?

I did a summer teen intensive at the Washington Improv Theatre in high school. It was very pure. I loved it so much that I made an improv team back at school and taught my friends what I learned (nerd). And then physical comedy was after I moved to LA. I met someone who was really fun to be around and I told them they were like a walking improv game. And he said, "Actually, I'm a clown." And then I signed up for a clown class in like my second week of living in LA. I like to think my comedic voice clicked in after that because my brain finally found a word for something that I didn't know had a name. And now I talk about "clown" all the time. Still nerd!

Who is #1 Son? How did you find the character and what has the development process revealed to you? How does this show feel different from your previous work?

"#1 Son" follows Father Greg Orian. Like gregorian chant. And the title is a cheeky reference to something that is revealed in my other show "Tree". It's fun for me to think my characters are in the same universe. The first bits of Greg appeared after I had come back from performing "Tree" internationally for the first time. I was booked on this variety show and wanted to do something completely different, so I put a shark fin on my head and improvised and Greg's chant voice happened for the first time. It was a whole thing about blood. Sharks, blood, choir voice, you get it. I didn't think anything of it for about a year or so. But then I started feeling the itch to make another show and I follow this great meme account called "christian__nightmares" and it hit me to just go full throttle of priesthood. And even though I've just started, it already feels very different than my other show. I'd say "Tree" is this non-binary, childlike protagonist that implicates the audience through absurdist folklore. And "#1 Son" is very sexy. Very intentionally masculine. And probably a bit more provocative because, you know, God. Oops.

How do you decide when a moment of physical comedy is really "working" on stage? What do you look for and feel when something really starts to click?

It's great because I don't get to decide it's working, it's the audience. But I'm able to pick up on that "decision" when I'm taking in the sounds and sights of the room-- gasps, "oh no's!", smiles, frowns. Classic arms crossed, mad face from certain folks might sometimes mean I'm going in a very fun direction for my target audience. Someone asked me one time, "But how do you know it's going to work?" I don't! But if it's fun for me, it's usually fun for the audience too.

Was there anyone who really influenced you creatively, in your childhood or teenage years? What artists, people or creatives did you look up to?

I used to be embarrassed about not saying "Saturday Night Live" or something as my influence. But I was on the internet a lot as a child. So I'd say one of my biggest creative influences is Homestarrunner-- specifically "Teen Girl Squad". Plus early YouTube classic "Schfifty Five". And Courage the Cowardly Dog. iykyk

What are you working on next?

This year is dedicated to working out "#1 Son" to bring to Edinburgh Fringe next year! And I'm directing a few shows that will debut in 2024 as well-- a couple in LA and one in London. I'm also teaching a lot, which is a big source of joy and inspiration for me. My two-day intensive "Soft Clown" can usually be found at the Elysian theater. It's all about the sensitivity of the clown and harnessing one's absurdity through vulnerability.

Are there any upcoming shows or events you're really looking forward to seeing that your friends and peers are working on, anything you recommend we check out?

Tiffany Kimmel of Nihil Declarandum's quarterly "Art is Life is Art" at the Bob Baker Marionette Theater, Sasha Feiler's masterclass in clown carnage "Yuri's Cat Circus" at the Clubhouse, Bruce Ryan Costella's off-Broadway baby "Spooky & Gay" at the Lyric Hyperion, and Jimbo's Drag Circus, because duh. This is a very good list.