Rudick Family Comedy Show

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Photo by Andrew Doench via Instagram

Leah and Andrew Rudick

Leah (left) and Andrew (right) Rudick

Leah and Andrew Rudick could have had an actual sibling rivalry. 

Instead, as a sister and brother who often co-headline as touring stand-up comedians, they are more apt to cooperate than act as competitors. 

“We perform together pretty regularly,” says Andrew of the comic with whom he often shares stages and can't help but share parents. To explain the format of their shared 7:30 p.m. show, Saturday June 21 at The Bend Theater in West Bend, he offers, “While we both headline solo, we also do coheadline shows a few times each month. We each do a 35-minute set separately then we come onstage at the end together for a 10–20-minute Q&A.” 

 “The Q&A’s have become some of my favorite moments on stage,” Leah remarks of the times audience members get to ask her and Andrew about their work and lives. 

Funny Folks

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the household in which they grew up was one that nurtured their comedic sensibilities. 

Andrew recalls of the inspiration provided by his family. “Our dad is a traditional ‘dad joke’ guy who always tries to be funny but mostly fails; When he’s not trying, he can be very funny. Our mom is absolutely hilarious, both intentionally and unintentionally funny at all times. Our older brother is funny in the vein of a roast comic. He’s witty, sarcastic and a natural troll. He bullied Leah and I our entire lives, which is one of the main reasons we do stand-up comedy now. He helped us develop a thick skin and a mountain of trauma that we’re now sorting through every time we get onstage.” 

Leah concurs, adding in regards her kin, “The way our family shows affection is through teasing or, you know, hardcore bullying. So, I think from a young age we were primed to be comedians." 

Her and Andrew's path to stand-up, however, differ markedly. Though Leah was enough of a lover of the artform in her youth to have had her fake ID confiscated for the first time at a comedy club, she first took to the sketch comedy that made her a star TikTok creator. “I was really inspired by comedic and character actors more than anything. The first time I saw a Christopher Guest movie, I think that was the moment that something really clicked for me." 

Sketch Videos

“I was studying to get my master’s degree in English lit,” Andrew shares of the time his sister started making videos in New York. “I was very inspired by the sketch videos she was putting out and decided I wanted to try my hand at stand-up. I figured if I was going to pursue a career where I made no money, I might as well have fun doing it." 

Of her following in her brother's footsteps into stand-up, Leah recollects, "When I moved to Los Angeles I wanted a different outlet. Andrew was already doing it, so it was really helpful to have him to talk about the industry and to bounce ideas off of." 

The help is reciprocated, as Andrew observes, “Leah has helped me both creatively and professionally. I’ve gotten to perform at the best clubs in the country because of her.” He alludes to his sister's social media notoriety before entering the fray of stand-up, but she has good to say of her brother, too. 

“I would not be where I am without Andrew!” she enthuses. “He’s been a constant cheerleader my whole life. He’s the person I call when I’m afraid to do something and need a little pep talk. He was also the person who told me to get on TikTok, which really was where my career took off.”

 Though there is mutual admiration among the Rudicks, they don't lack for annoyances either. 

 The first peeve that comes to Andrew's mind about touring with his sister? “Having to make sure a coffee shop or restaurant is 'cute' before going there.”

Leah, though, may want all that cuteness as a relief from how she describes her brother's mode of transportation. “When I’m being driven around, I want it to be in style, not a used Honda full of Taco Bell wrappers and unidentifiable sticky surfaces.”  

An affectionate snippiness run throughout the duo's interview repartee, But they likely wouldn't be touring as coheadliners were it not for the familial love that bonds them. But the apparent novelty of comedy running thorough their bloodline shouldn't have anyone thinking theirs is a novelty act. 

“I don’t view it as a novelty act, although it is kind of rare to see two sibling stand-up comedians tour together,” Andrew observes. 

Leah agrees, adding, “Yes, exactly. It’s a co-headline as opposed to a duo act. So, we’re each doing our sets separately.” 

Here Leah reprises her Wealthy Woman character from her TikTok shorts to her stand-up act ...

... as well as a bit of Andrew musing about living with his parents in his adulthood ...

... and here's a bit of their Q&A banter ...