With a passion for writing and a heart for comedy, local comedian Gilli Apter continues to make a stride in the industry. Born and bred in Sandton, Apter has always had a soft spot for the entertainment space.
After attending film school for writing and directing, she developed a love for comedy. “I have just written comedy throughout the years and eventually I decided to actually get into stand-up.” After just five years of performing stand up, Apter has rounded up a number of achievements under her belt which include being part of Trevor Noah’s NationWild, the Kings and Queens of Comedy and even the all-female line-up at Frizz Pop.
“The truth is that doing stand-up itself has honestly been the highlight of my life, the writing, the performing and getting good at it. From the smallest shows right down to the 5000-person shows. Just the craft of it, even after five years, has felt like a moment,” she said.
Apter noted that even with the passion and love for comedy, the writing aspect of it can be quite challenging and even tedious at times but it is important to keep at it. “I’ve always felt like writing is one of those things that as writers, we do it really reluctantly even if we are really good at it and even if it is your purpose in life,” she said.
Apter admitted that even when she is not throwing punch lines on stage, comedy still seems to take up all her time.
“In the last five years, I have been so dedicated to doing this job that I haven’t done much else. I think I just cut it all out to focus on my craft,” she said, reminiscing of her life before stand-up. As for the time being under lockdown, Apter is working on new content and perfecting some of her old material. Much like most of the entertainment industry, she has also taken to the online space to continue her sharing her passion with others.
Together with comedian Tats Nkonzo, Apter has just kicked off her weekly series called This Is Why. “Tats and I have written stand up together for quite a long time so I came with this idea for us to take apart semi-current topics and be like ‘this is why people are talking about x, y and z’.”
You can check out the first episode of This Is Why on her Instagram page @gillog
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