ST. LOUIS — Comedienne Shannon Fiedler will perform Thursday, April 18, at the Helium Comedy Club in St. Louis.

She is known on social media for her character impressions from the preppy Connecticut Girl to the naive Minnesotan and more.

This will be Fiedler’s first time in St. Louis. Besides the show, she is looking forward to eating St. Louis-style barbecue as it is one of her favorite foods.

“Definitely going to eat a rack of ribs and all the sides,” Fiedler told Spectrum News.

While she is in town, Fiedler said she plans to visit Washington University’s campus where her sister-in-law went to college, in addition to Forest Park.

In her upcoming show on Thursday, Fiedler said it involves the same themes as seen on her social media, along with more of her personal stories.

“Telling you stories that I’ve experienced versus putting on characters and pretending to be other people, which is what I do on social media,” she said.

While Fiedler may do similar material throughout her tour, she said, “every single show feels different and that's just really cool.”

“It’s so incredible to have people in the room with you and laugh immediately. There’s a connection, not just between myself and the audience, but between the audience and the rest of the audience.”

For tickets to Thursday’s show, click here.

With a degree in theater and writing, Fiedler moved to New York City 10 years ago with a dream of becoming an actress.

“About a year of trying to do the acting lifestyle, which is just incredibly challenging and exhausting, I decided it wasn’t for me,” she said.

Fiedler then pursued her passion for writing and wrote for multiple publications, such as magazines and podiatrist blogs, and became a copywriter for an advertising company.

“It was great because you got to be on set, you’re filming commercials, you’re writing scripts, and you’re writing a ton of work that’s getting published all the time,” she said.

While she loved her job as a copywriter, Fiedler said she missed being a performer. After taking a stand-up class about seven years ago, she fell in love with it.

“I was like ‘Oh, this is what I’m supposed to be doing,’ ” Fiedler said. “I just started doing it as a hobby at first and found out I had a bit of a knack for it and was able to get an audience online, which was hugely helpful.”

Fans have asked which of her characters, such as the Boston girl, Connecticut girl or the Minnesota girl she most is like.

“The answer is they're all a little bit of me, even the ones that are the farthest removed. I still think there’s a lot of me within them,” Fiedler said.

She mentioned she draws inspiration from her own life. 

“I just pull from either things I’m experiencing, which I always find to be the ones that people relate to the most because they seem to be coming from a very honest place, or things that I see my friends going through, or even perfect strangers,” Fiedler said.

Some of Fiedler’s content also derives from passersby.

“I love eavesdropping. I get a lot of inspiration from hearing what people are talking about at a restaurant, on the sidewalk,” she said. “I find the kernel of funny truth in it and (take) that random stranger that I pass for five seconds into a full-blown character.”

For aspiring comedians, Fiedler said not to be afraid of social media.

“It's so scary to put out your first post. It feels so vulnerable, but it's the best way for you to reach more people and to get feedback,” she said.

Fiedler also suggests to always workshop jokes, even after it is performed at a show or posted on social media.

“A joke is never done,” she said. “Even if it feels completely done, there's always a different inflection you could use, or maybe change this word, or add something or subtract something.”

“It's an ever evolving art form, and so the more that you're willing to learn from the work that you've already done, the better.”

The last piece of advice is to always write.

“Anytime I have even the inkling of a thought where I'm like, ‘maybe this is funny,’ I write it down,” Fiedler said.

She said the list of ideas in her notes app is the most helpful tool.

“Sometimes it takes me genuinely over a year to come back to that thought and figure out what the joke is, but it's the first place I go when I want to start writing or when I need to brainstorm.”