The comedian has stepped far beyond short video clips on TikTok, however.
As touching as it is funny, the show takes audiences in every direction and more.
Keeping it in the family
You cover your family a lot in “No Bad Days.”
I’ll start at the tail end of that.
My mom loves the impressions, and we do them together.
The videos have become a thing we do together.
She’ll say something, and we’ll be like, “That’s a line.”
It’s almost like we both are in the writer’s room together whenever we’re hanging out.
I feel in that capacity, I wasn’t brainstorming.
Five years later, I got to look back and be like, “Where was I then?
What was happening in my life, and how have I changed since then?”
I love that quote.
I suppose that’s really it.
Life is going to be hard all the time.
Okay, this is bad, but we can still laugh.
We can still connect."
It breaks it for a second.
You go, “We’re here.
We’re still okay.
We’re not falling down.
We’re experiencing this moment, but we’re still laughing together.”
I talk about it in my show, but I felt almost like I owed it to my dad.
With the terrible time he had, he was able to make the absolute most of it.
He was able to ski.
I have this picture of my dad cross-country skiing on a patch of snow.
It’s mostly grass, but there’s a patch, and my dad’s got his skis out.
How could I not as well?"
How did you decide on that dynamic, and were you inspired by any other comedians or comedy specials?
Yes, to all of it.
I definitely was inspired by so many comedy specials that are bending and breaking the barrier of comedy.
[They’re] comedy specials that are funny but are also delivering a message.
I was doing this as more of a way to talk about this when it all happened.
[When] I started as a comedian, my life got upended.
I would do a lot of dance when I was at home.
My one piece of relief was running and dance.
It’s always changing, and I wanted that feeling to be present in my special as well.
You dive deep into past relationships and high school material as well.
Has anyone from your past ever reached out either in anger or to reconnect after a set?
No, not really.
She got sat in the front row, so that was really nice to see her there.
You know that story I tell where I’m at the table in the cafeteria?
She was at the table [in] the cafeteria, so she was right there.
No, I haven’t had anyone, but we’ll see.
We’ll see if anyone reaches out.
We’ll see if Stephanie reaches out after this.
A lot of people will always be like, “Don’t put me in the act.”
That happens a lot.
Do you do it then anyway out of spite?
Yeah, but it’s always someone who you would never put in your act.
It’s your dentist.
It’s like, “I’m not putting you in my act.
What would I say?”
Are you a big football fan, and what was it like working with him?
Were you nervous, or did that dynamic come naturally?
It was this beautiful thing because my dad was a really big fan of Tom Brady.
I’m from Massachusetts, and I shot those right before I shot this.
My mom wanted to take a stab at get Tom Brady to come visit him when he was sick.
For the two of them to happen at the same time was really cool.
The best part was that they let me improvise a lot.
At a certain point, the line was, “You’re from California, aren’t you?”
I was like, “I’m from Boston,” and then I dropped into a Boston accent.
I was like, “You remember Boston?”
I was like, “This is pretty cool.”
I just shot something with John Gabrus, who’s so funny.
I shot this movie with Fred Armisen, who’s great.
I remember reading it and feeling so inspired because what she was talking about felt similar to me.
I remember being like, “Oh, it’s possible.
you’re free to do this.”
Maybe I’ll meet Ellie and tell her that one day.
Who would be your dream person [or people] to collab with?
I really adoreSteve Carelland everything he does.
His ability to be so funny and so real is very inspiring and motivational to me.
That would be a treat.
Everything can feel like you’re the only one experiencing it.
Going on tour helped me be like, “This is universal.
We’re all on this boat together, and everyone on this boat is not that different.
We live in different places.
That was an exciting discovery of the road with this show.
I remember quitting my job.
It totally was a great way for me to get to New York.
The day I quit, I started waitressing tables that day.
I’m on the road every day.
From that day on, I’ve felt free.
I feel very lucky.
I feel very lucky that that’s something I get to keep waking up and doing.
We were both dying laughing.
I probably have 20 minutes of us.
Those were such a fun way to spend time with my mom.
That’s so funny.
Do you have any tips for people to turn their trauma into comedy in their own way?
Do what feels right to you.
If comedy is your choice, then great.
Letting out your trauma in any way that feels good to you, that’s my tip.
Find whatever feels right and feels good and go toward that.
If comedy is right, then trust that’s the way to go.
Honesty is always the best policy.
Every time she’d say that, we got the joke.
People are good [sports].
One that is fun is I go into the audience to ask if you feel my dad there.
She’s like, “I really love what you’re doing up there.”
I was like, “Thank you.
That’s very sweet, but that’s not going to help me right now.”
The opposite of that is just people yelling, “What’s happening?”
I always felt very, by the end, grateful for the audiences for going on the ride.
Oftentimes, I would say, “Who here knows what this is about?”
and it’d be one or two hands.
“Alyssa Limperis: No Bad Days” is now streaming on Peacock.
This interview has been edited for clarity.
