I have to admit, I love a good comedian. Working in film and media I find a through line across different genres, industries, and performers in the art of laughter. Some find it a little tricky to get a laugh in the highly political landscape we exist in today. Some people just aren’t that funny. After meeting Diego Avila for the first time, I have some major hope for Milwaukee’s comedy scene.

Diego has a natural air of joy about him. You maybe expect a comedian to walk in cracking jokes but instead he carried a calm air of confidence and kindness with him when we met. I could absolutely feel how any audience would come to a comfortable laughter spending an evening with him on stage. I really enjoyed having a conversation with someone so clever and willing to genuinely listen in order to have fun with some back and forth.

I think I spent half of the photoshoot convincing him to audition for something locally and the other half of the shoot telling myself to write a role for a queer midwest romcom. I think we’ll be seeing a lot more of Diego around Milwaukee and beyond. His talent for comedy extends into writing, media, and I really wouldn’t put anything past someone so funny with that kind of heart.

Where are you from and where are you living now? What has your experience with Milwaukee been so far as a creative in the community?

I’ve been a Wisconite my entire life. I grew up in Janesville and moved to Milwaukee a little over 6 years ago. There have been some great moments and opportunities as a creative in both stand-up and in photography, both of which I started just a few years ago. Some people are extremely eager to connect and support other people which has allowed me to meet, photograph, and just converse in such natural and fun ways. I feel like the first couple of years I squirmed about in a lot of ways trying to get my footing and stretched myself thin but finally landed in a more comfortable creative and social space.

You use your voice very naturally. Do you feel like you have any responsibility as an artist to use your platform to help your community?

Oh absolutely. I think a lot of people see social media as the platform but there’s also the physical spaces around art that are platforms in their own ways. When you find yourself in a green room or smoking a cigarette outside a venue after a show and someone asks “you’re from Milwaukee, right? So how do you like living there?” You have a choice to make. I choose to put on for my city.

What kind of comedian and performer are you, if you had to describe yourself to someone who’s never seen your stand up or come across one of your videos?

There have been many late night arguments about how I classify my comedy because apparently I’m wrong to call it observational. But what I can say is that I write more long-form stand-up, I like jokes that flow into each other and create a somewhat cohesive narrative around what’s going on in the world and why I feel the way I do. I try to keep it lighthearted, with some darker misdirects here and there, but always with the intent that I want what’s best for people and society.

My instagram videos are a whole other thing. Aside from stand-up clips (BORING) they might also be a wall of text that only pays off if you read until the end, me discussing something serious in a reel, or even just me crying over Cafe India. It’s stream of consciousness and I try to shoot in a few takes, edit a bit, and just move on. It keeps the creativity up without massive emotional drain if it doesn’t land or perform well. I want to keep engaging with ideas in my mind without having to feel like it has to be written into a joke. I consider it just as legitimate of a form of art, to tap into a current moment or even create a hyperspecific cultural artifact that is tinged with your voice. My internet presence is very much that guy you met at a party a few years ago and you thought, surely he isn’t always like this. There’s layers of authentic reaction, calls to action, happiness when it’s good, sadness when life happens, and then just always trying to catch my friends off guard.

What are some of your favorite movies? Comedies or otherwise. And are there any actors that you find significant or inspiring to your own style of comedy?

I love a good sci-fi or fantasy action type. My top films on Letterboxd are The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Princess Mononoke, Arrival, and The Holdovers. I surprisingly don’t watch too many comedies, but have been trying to watch more of them. I always felt a kinship with ridiculous characters like Jim Carrey in The Mask, Donny Thornberry, Taz, Doodlebod but that doesn’t really seep into my standup.

You’re also a self taught photographer. What do you think is a benefit or being an artist working with multiple disciplines?
It’s a great way to keep your creativity active even if you have any kind of motivation or writer’s blocks. I’ve had months where I struggle to write or come up with new jokes. In those months I lean into photographing more, and vice-versa.

I think I asked you a hundred times during the photoshoot but now I have to wonder again! Would you ever consider acting in local film? You have such natural comedic timing, it only seems fit.

I was a bit of a theater kid growing up, I was in show choir and I was actually the lead of my play. I also scored really well at forensics (solo-acting humorous category for those who know). That’s likely where that timing comes from, if someone had a good idea for me acting in something and it made sense, I’d do it. I’ll try anything.

What do you prefer about performing live vs the short form videos you make on social media?

There’s no redos in standup, what makes standup such an awesome artform is that it’s the liveness that makes it fun and exciting. A good comic is reading the room, making microadjustments, being extremely present in the moment. That’s why we practice so much, the material should be second-nature, that’s what opens up our capacity to add new inflections and test those out on the fly.

Do you remember your first time doing stand up? What was that like?

Absolutely I remember, I even remember who was hosting the open mic that night. It was in April 2022, I really didn’t get into writing stand up then though, I wavered for almost a year and a half doing one open mic a month before I fully committed. For the first year I genuinely would black out on stage and I still get extremely anxious before I go up. So that’s what’s like for me at least.

Do you have any advice for a younger version of yourself?

Taking your chances and trying your best will always be worth it.

What are you looking forward to? Do you have any projects in the works or things you’re excited to try next?

Currently, I’m trying to work toward a few versions of a club ready 20+ minute set. I have a strong 15 minutes that I like but I want to be able to swap stuff out to meet different circumstances.

Where can we find Diego’s work?

“I’m @trashpimp on quite literally everything.”

Into independent film? Want to learn more?

Learn more about Jolee Mallman