Karen Bergreen

I grew up in New York City and then went to Harvard University, where I was the only person I knew who had a TV set in her dorm room. (Relax... it was black and white and cost fifty dollars.) I majored in European history and spent my summers and free time interning for politicians, museums, and non-profit development organizations. This all prepared me for: you guessed it, a job as a paralegal in a white shoe law firm. There, I never saw the inside of a courtroom and instead spent seventy hours a week, stapling, collating, and proofreading. I was terrible at all of these things. I was certain I would never work in a place like this again. Despite this, I remained optimistic. A fan of LA Law (for those of you who are still confused by the black and white TV reference, this was a TV show), I went to law school at the University of Minnesota. They chose me for my brown hair—I was considered diverse. I chose them for their proximity to some of our nation’s best malls. After law school, ever hopeful, I started as an associate at another upscale law firm where I worked seventy hours a week stapling, collating, and proofreading. I was down, but not for long. As luck would have it, I got the opportunity to clerk for a federal district judge. This was the closest to LA Law I would ever get, and I knew it. When the job ended, I made the obvious and predictable transition: I became a comedian. It was exciting and horrifying at the same time, and it remains that way. I have had the opportunity to perform all over the country (sometimes in other countries, if you count Canada as another country) and with some frequency at just about every club in New York. I'm currently a regular at Gotham, The Comic Strip, and Broadway Comedy Club. I am frequently on Comedy Central and was a regular panelist on Can You Tell, an ill-fated game show on The Oxygen Network. I’ve been on VH1, Court TV, and USA networks. You might have caught me on some comedy programs in Canada (She’s So Funny) or the U.K. (Live at Jongleurs). Here in the U.S., I have performed live on ABC's The View, on Nick Moms, Stand-Up in Stillettos, and LIVE at Gotham. Some of my more memorable stage experiences have been at The Friars’ Club, the Kennedy Center, and the HBO Comedy Festival in Aspen—twice. I love acting when the part is right. I have appeared a few times on The Jim Gaffigan Show (playing myself, which was awesome). I just filmed a pilot for CBS. Maybe it will get picked up? I have done a few of these, and it is a crapshoot. I once got to be a witness on Law and Order. It was the first time I ever had a trailer. During all of this, I fell in love with my husband. We got married, and we have two kids. I needed a little more estrogen in the household, so we adopted the most perfect little mutt named Tootsie. It is unclear how much estrogen she has, but she is a black hole of need. We also have anywhere between one and three hermit crabs—they apparently die. And a fish. The kids, the dog, the crabs, and the fish require my presence at home. I can’t run around the country making people laugh all the time. Instead, I started to write. A novel seemed easier than a poem. And so I wrote Following Polly. And then I wrote Perfect is Overrated. I continue to write—hopefully, you will see something new in your bookstore soon. In the meantime, I have written articles for More Magazine, Hampton Beach Magazine, The Huffington Pos,t and Brown Paper Bag. I also talk a lot on other people’s podcasts...