by Jeff Clark, Contributing Writer
MISSISSIPPI GULF COAST (GG) — Any proper list of influential Southern women would include Julia Sugarbaker, Dolly Parton, Eudora Welty, Jesmyn Ward and Ouiser Boudreaux. However, you would be remiss not to include Hattiesburg comedian and writer Mary Ryan Brown on this list.
To say that Brown is just a “comedian and writer” is disingenuous, as she is many things, including a mom, wife, writer, influencer, creator, marketer, and curator of the new definitions of what it means to be southern. Her version of the South is more Boosie and Kevin Gates than Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn. It’s Orange Beach and Rosemary Beach. And that’s a good thing.
Brown returns to Coastal Mississippi for two shows in two weeks. She’ll performed with Jen Kober and Will Merrill on Friday, July 18, at The Sanctuary in Biloxi. Additionally, Brown hits the West Coast on July 26 with a show with Andy Huggins at The Loft in Bay St. Louis. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased through Eventbrite.
Although she has been performing stand-up comedy since 2022, Brown, who graduated from USM with a masters in creative writing, spent several years teaching. But she decided to move on from teaching in the classroom about a year ago to spend more time with her family.
“I have no regrets,” she said when asked about her first year outside of the classroom. “I’m so happy I decided to become a stay-at-home mom. It’s been wonderful. They’re at a magical age when they’re in preschool. We get to spend so much time together. I also do freelance work, creating web content for various companies. It’s been good to do that at my own pace.”
The career move also allows Brown to devote more time to her comedy. She’s adding more shows around the South and beyond. While all stand-up comedians approach their material in many different ways, Brown said she uses a “block method” for her live shows, where she lays out her material in chunks that can be arrangeddepending on the location and crowd reactions. Although the beginnings and endings of a set may be similar, a Bay. St. Louis Mary Ryan Brown show, for example, may have a different feel and flow than a show in Baton Rouge or Huntsville.
“I tend to get really personal with people at the beginning of a set to let them know that I do my due diligence in observing where they live,” she said. “The blocks aren’t always interchangeable. I have some that I’m retiring. They just don’t hold up as well a year later as they once did. It leaves me a place to replace them with new content. I think that’s what any good artist should be doing.”
Brown also approaches her comedy from an intellectual and deconstructive perspective. But like any great comedian, she writes her new material in small batches and hones it in the comedy clubs of her native Hattiesburg.
“I’m currently working on a one-minute part of something that’s part of a larger premise about a woman scorned,” she said. “And your hometown comedy club is the best place to do new material because they know you and they aren’t going to cut you any slack. And in Hattiesburg, it’s mostly college kids, and you’re competing with their iPads. It’s true from the abyss; iPad kids, you really have to show up and show out, or they’ll be playing ‘Animal Crossing’ or something. They are a very unforgiving audience, and I’m thankful for that. If I can win them over, then I know the material is strong.”
As with anyone who lives a results-based life, there’s a process that’s adhered to, challenging one to see real-time results through acts of discipline and self-sacrifice. For Brown, the process starts as a solo effort.
“My process is deeply rooted in how much alone time and preparation I have,” she said. “I’m a devout exerciser, and if I’m doing some shows, then I’m going running. I’m like one of the ice bath guys, but I’m not getting in an ice bath. I find that my physical well-being and creativity are linked. I need to sweat in the same way that I need to write. I have to get it out of me. I also like spending time with my husband and my family before shows. Ideally, I prefer to travel with them. I run the set with my husband, my mom, and my dad to see if it works. They are reallythe litmus test of whether it’s going to work or not.”
Brown’s comedy has also found a substantial following on social media, where her sketches and character-based comedy have become a part of the comedy algorithm. Her “Southern Mom” character is particularly popular with both Southern moms and dads. Her latest reel is an honest take of “Mississippi’s Giant House Party” — the Neshoba County Fair, where it’s “hot as hell” and “you wait around like you are in purgatory.” She said she didn’t have to look too far for the inspiration for the beloved character.
“The call is coming from inside the house,” she said. “I live in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, and I grew up in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. That voice comes from the people who raised me and who I am. I monogram my kid’s clothes; I was in a sorority — I am very familiar with this world. But I owe it all to my mother. She’s always had one foot inside that door and one foot outside of it. And at the end of the day, she’s going to march to the beat of her own drum. I’m just following in her footsteps. She’s always been able to participate in and mimic that ‘genteel southern white women culture’ and do it with such grace. That’s what’s given me the courage to do that.”
