You don’t have to buy a ticket to a stand-up show to encounter Emily Holden’s sense of humor. Around Decatur and metro Atlanta, she has hosted fundraisers and community events, produced local comedy shows, portrayed Mrs. Claus during the holidays, and even brought musical trivia to senior centers. Give Emily a microphone and a room full of people, and she seems right at home.
That ease with an audience is part of what sets the Decatur comedian apart. Whether she is performing stand-up, hosting a show, or responding to someone in the crowd, Emily has a way of making people feel like they are part of the fun. “I love the authenticity of comedy and how it puts people at ease,” she says.
That is easy to see when Emily hosts Moms Unhinged, the nationally touring stand-up comedy show she has performed with since 2024. Instead of simply moving the show from one comedian to the next, she finds ways to connect with mothers throughout the audience and across almost every stage of parenthood.
Who here are new moms? Who has teenagers? Who has older children? Who are officially empty nesters? As audience members respond, Emily finds the humor in each phase. There are the exhausting, milk-pumping days of early motherhood and, on the other end of the spectrum, the unexpected freedom that can come when kids leave home. She hasn’t personally reached every stage she jokes about, but that hardly seems to matter. She can recognize the absurdity, hopes, and frustrations in each one and invites the audience to recognize them, too. Soon, a theater full of strangers feels a little more like a room full of friends.
That connection is part of what Emily loves most about performing. “I feel closest to a higher power when I am onstage making people laugh more than any other time,” she says. “And that’s even if I am making an R-rated joke, maybe even especially when I am making an R-rated joke!”
After moving to Atlanta in 2004, Emily discovered and fell in love with improv comedy. Later, she helped her husband, Blair, start Village Theatre, which they operated from 2008 to 2023. During those years, Emily also started Jimella’s Bakery, a cookie sandwich company, while the couple raised their daughters. “Every family really should have the stress of owning two businesses while raising children,” she jokes.
Emily stepped back considerably from improv during those busy years, but performing never really left her. When she turned 40, she began thinking seriously about trying stand-up comedy. It took another two years before she worked up the nerve to get onstage. Once she did, there was no turning back. “I love it so very much,” she says. “Deep down, I knew this was what I wanted to do at 10. It just took me a while to admit that fully.”
Her comedy reflects the different kinds of humor she grew up around. Emily describes her dad as a “lovable goof” and her mom as sharp and dry. “I like to think I have some of both of them in me,” she says.
Her improv background is still evident in the way she performs. Emily likes to be prepared, but she also leaves space to respond to the people and energy around her. An audience reaction, an unexpected answer, or a spontaneous exchange can become part of the show. That ability to meet people where they are explains why Emily seems just as comfortable hosting as she does delivering a stand-up set. She enjoys the moments that can’t be completely planned.
Much of the life that now fuels those moments has unfolded in Decatur. Before becoming parents, she and Blair would walk past the Toy Park on their way to Taqueria del Sol or Brick Store Pub. Seeing all the families gathered there started to change something for her. “It made me go, ooooh, I want some of those,” Emily says. “The kids, not the toys!” Years later, Emily and Blair are raising their daughters, Maggie, 14, and Lucy, 10, in the community that first caught her imagination. Decatur has become both home and, occasionally, material.
Her relationship with a Decatur audience actually began before she ever performed stand-up. When the pandemic started, Emily began writing daily messages on a whiteboard in her yard as her way of finding the humor in such difficult times. Some jokes responded to current events; others were distinctly Decatur. Neighbors and walkers would take photos of them to share with others. “It made me realize how much I missed being creative and entertaining others,” she says.
Emily tours nationally with Moms Unhinged, a comedy show founded to create better-performing opportunities for mom comedians and give mothers in the audience a place to laugh about the experiences they share. In 2026, she performed at 4 different national comedy festivals, including Rogue Island, Asheville, Cleveland, and Lookout Comedy Festival.
Locally, she performs at Atlanta comedy clubs including Helium, Punchline, and Laughing Skull and produces local shows such as Funny as Funk at the Avon Theatre and Banjo Lounge at Little Tree Art Studios. Emily has worked with many household names, and her favorites include Beth Stelling, Lisa Ann Walters, and Derrick Stroup. She also hosts private events, fundraisers, birthdays, and other gatherings. “Give me a mic, and I am there,” she says. Emily was also named a 2024 Decatur Hometown Hero for her involvement in the community.
Although she admits loving attention, when she has a mic in her hand, Emily brings everyone else into the experience.
Sometimes that means asking a room full of moms which stage of motherhood they’re surviving at the moment. Sometimes it’s finding the joke hidden in those audience responses. Sometimes it’s putting something funny on a whiteboard and leaving it in the yard for the neighbors. The mechanics may be different, but the instinct is the same: find something people recognize and give them a reason to laugh about it together.
That sense of connection is also part of what Emily loves about Decatur. She points to the city’s walkability, small businesses, and small-town feeling within reach of a major city as some of Decatur’s highlights. “It’s been such an amazing place to raise kids,” she says. While touring has given Emily opportunities to perform for people with very different backgrounds and experiences, it’s also made her appreciate the community waiting when she comes home. “I think it’s essential to recognize how lucky we are to live in such a wonderful place,” she says.
Emily has no plans to slow down and is excited about what’s on the horizon. Find all upcoming performances at emilyholdencomedy.com.
“I feel closest to a higher power when I am onstage making people laugh more than any other time."
“I love it so very much. Deep down, I knew this was what I wanted to do at 10. It just took me a while to admit that fully.”