Comedian Greg Walloch on the Power of Personal Narratives to Change Lives
Greg Walloch is a comedian, writer, storyteller, and director based in Los Angeles, California. He shares his passion for storytelling in his own stage work, as well as through advising other performers on their personal narratives. Walloch, who has cerebral palsy, talks here about the intersection of comedy and disability, the power of sharing our stories, and what comedians with disabilities he is watching right now.
VSA and Accessibility: You are a comedian, writer, storyteller, director—so many creative roles! How do you describe your work?
Greg Walloch: Being a comedian, writer, storyteller and director go hand in hand. When you work as a live solo performer on stage you are employing all of those skills live in that moment. You are your own writer, storyteller, and director. Now in my career I translate those skills to help other performers shape their work, like I did with Hasan Minaj for Homecoming King on Netflix and An Evening with Moses Storm at the Kennedy Center.
VSA and Accessibility: I know you are passionate about sharing personal narratives. Can you talk a little bit about how that is relevant for the disability community?
Greg Walloch: Sharing our personal narrative has the power to change not only our own lives, but the lives of those around us. I feel like when we understand someone's personal story on a one-on-one level it becomes more difficult to view them as an outsider to our own experience. Often people find that they have more in common with someone they don't know than they may have first thought. Also, it's powerful for the individual themselves to share their story, it gets it outside of themself and transforms it into something new, simply because it is now a shared experience. This is important for not only disabled people and representing their narratives, but for everybody. It's like they say in old southern churches, "Can I get a witness?" To be heard and understood is one of our deepest needs as humans I think...also keeping in mind that it's about making creative work and art.
VSA and Accessibility: How do you think disability and comedy can intersect? Are there any other comedians with disabilities that you are excited about right now?
Greg Walloch: Disability and comedy intersect in so much as it's a unique point of personal experience to share with an audience. I find that having a physical disability to almost be a lightning rod for odd experiences when interacting with other people. The amount of people that have stopped me on the street to heal me is surprising. I always let them give it a shot if I have time, mostly because I want to see what that interaction is about and how it's going to play out. The writer in me is taking notes as it happens. I can appreciate that the intention underneath is to be kind, even if it's misguided. Who knows? One day it might stick.
I really love Selene Luna of Disney Pixar's Coco, her sharp comedic voice and her activism. It's great to see Ryan O'Connell's Netflix series Special get a second season and wonderful to see Ryan Haddad in Ryan Murphy's The Politician. I feel like disabled people in the media have more representation than ever before; it's exciting to see this community making great strides.
VSA and Accessibility: What are you working on in 2020?
Greg Walloch: I'm working with some artists that I'm really excited about: Craig Conant, Liz Glazer, and Becky Robinson to name a few. They all have great shows coming up! I continue to write and produce my own projects as well. People can follow my work on Instagram @GregWalloch and book workshop sessions through Alchemy of Storytelling: tinyurl.com/alchemy-of-storytelling.