Heather McMahan has always been something of a showstopper. This comic turned writer turned actress turned podcaster has been taking center stage since she was a child.
“I’ve always said that I’ve been doing comedy since I could form a sentence,” Heather shares, her voice beaming over the phone. “I believe that we all have a gift and if my gift is to be silly and bring joy, then that’s what I am going to do.”
And bring joy she does! Quickly surpassing over 700,000 followers on Instagram, the thousands of comments that flood her page are inspiringly positive and filled with gratitude for Ms. McMahan and the genuine, authentic way she presents herself. Unlike many other celebrities, Heather prefers to be off-the-cuff and silly, which undoubtedly is what has amassed her such a loyal and dedicated following.
With so much to share and such a well of passion, Heather finds that she is always occupied with one project or another. “I’m such a work horse, there’s no in between. I’m either on the road, working, or I am at home in a medically induced coma,” she laughs. “When I do have free time, I like to spend it traveling. The top of my list right now is to see the cherry blossoms bloom in Japan, so I hope to make that happen. I’ve also recently taken up baking bread, which I am horrible at and makes me very angry and covered in flour, but I’m going to keep at it.”
A recent newlywed, Heather and her husband spent several weeks in Italy—celebrating their honeymoon, exploring the country, and driving each other absolutely mad. “Listen, if you ever spend an entire month in another country with your significant other, then you’ll definitely come back with a whole arsenal of material. I could do a 90-minute spot just on that.”
Aside from a full clip of jokes about marriage, Heather says her most inspiring place to be is in the airport. “I spend sooo much time in airports—and I know it sounds insane—but it’s my happy place. It is the best place to people watch, which means the best place for character development.”
Currently in the midst of a five-month tour across the country, Heather makes her first-time debut in Idaho on March 15, 2023 at the Morrison Center. A master of intrigue, she titled her first comedy tour The Farewell Tour, inspired by the great Elton John. “This was always my plan, to first do a ‘Farewell Tour,’ because who really knew how it was going to go. I figured if it went poorly, I could just move on. But no one was anticipating the pandemic…” Heather shared.
And right she was, because smack in the middle of her “Farewell Tour” was the dreaded COVID-19, the destroyer of all things public-performance. But as unpredictable as that was, it only made her current tour, The Comeback Tour, all the more relevant. In a way, we are all ‘coming back’ to the public space. And so it began, from January 17 to June 17, Heather has been roaming the country, sharing her hilarious antics and insightful prose with nearly 30 cities across the U.S.
What’s next for Heather McMahan? Everything.
She is currently working on a multi-cam sitcom pilot for NBC and Universal Studios, ramping up her podcast Absolutely Not!, and as she says, “just wheelin’ and dealin’. I was a late bloomer in my career, so when you get the call, you give it 120%.” And personally, we’d all like to see Heather on White Lotus Season 3, so we’ll just put that out there.
We will undoubtedly be seeing more of Heather McMahan as she continues to wow the west with her wit, authenticity, and stage presence. We can’t wait for her global debut!
If you’re interested in attending one of Heather’s upcoming shows, visit her tour page at HeatherOnTour.com.