Viral comedy duo #IMomSoHard are coming to Wichita
One of the two mothers behind #IMomSoHard calls the duo “the Ted Lasso of comedians.”
“Put us next to Ted Lasso, which should make Wichita feel very good,” Kristin Hensley said. “I mean, I would like to sit next to Ted Lasso on all levels.
“We wanted to lean in with positivity and light-heartedness and show this friendship,” she added.
Hensley and Jen Smedley, whose empathetic and funny Facebook videos grew to 300 million views in their first five years, will take the stage at the Orpheum Theatre on Thursday night.
The two, both born and raised in Nebraska, didn’t meet each other until they were each struggling comedians in California.
“Jen and I met in Los Angeles, but our love story started because we were both from Nebraska and didn’t know each other in Nebraska,” Hensley said in a joint phone interview. “When we met each other, that Midwest contingent was such a strong bond we felt like there was someone else out there in this giant city who completely understood the way we talked, what we ate, how we parented, how we were as people. It was immediately a love connection.”
“We had a similar upbringing, and it was different enough because Kristin was from a small town in Nebraska (Central City, population 3,000), and I was from the quote-unquote bigger town (the Omaha suburb of Bellevue),” said Smedley, who visited her grandparents in Muskogee, Okla., about five times a year, always passing through Wichita.
While commiserating over motherhood one night, they hit the record button.
“It all started over a glass of wine one night, when we were crying over feeling like failed parents,” Hensley said. “We thought, ‘I wonder if we showed the terrible job we were doing if other moms might feel better about how they’re doing.’”
A highlight of the first video was when Smedley couldn’t remember the name of her own daughter, 7 months old at the time – “I’ve never laughed harder,” Hensley said.
“Once the women started to comment and say how much they loved it, we felt extra motivated to stay and keep doing it,” Hensley said. “When we saw the response from women it was so clear that there was this part of the internet that was very untapped, which is a nonjudgmental, fun, rowdy, lean-into-friendship space that makes you feel better.”
Smedley said #IMomSoHard brings out the unvarnished truth to other mothers.
“Being a parent can be a little bit isolating, so we consider whoever’s watching our friends,” she said. “What we do is provide friendship and camaraderie to people. Come as you are, and even if you’re a hot mess, you’re still loveable.”
The two say they are careful not to censor themselves – their two most popular videos are them trying on various swimsuits and various forms of Spanx.
“We show all of our flaws. (We’ll say), ‘You think that’s a flaw? Let me double down and tell you what my son stole from TJ Maxx today,’” Hensley said. “There’s a fine line between ‘Is this funny?’ and ‘Is this the most tragic thing that’s ever happened?’ As long as you can find the funny in it – and generally you can – there’s hope that it’s not gonna be as bad as you think it is.”
Their husbands not only support the show but are at work behind the scenes – Smedley’s husband is the director and Hensley’s is a producer.
“We always say we’re married to modern men. They were so incredibly supportive right off the top,” Hensley said. “We’re all four working collectively to drive this engine and stay authentic to what we’re trying to say. They push us comedically to work harder as comedians to thread a needle that moves the dial but doesn’t sound the same as it did before. … They are behind the camera fist-bumping each other or doing bits along with us.”
Each has two children, an older son and younger daughter for both. Hensley’s are 12 and 10; Smedley’s are 10 and 8.
“Nothing will make your kids more frustrated than having them know you have your own version of a YouTube following, because those are their heroes,” Hensley said. “They’re like, ‘How can you, who is so uncool, have a following in a space that I love?’ They’re cheesed by it.”
“Us doing this just gives them another opportunity to be super-embarrassed by us,” Smedley said. “It’s not just screaming ‘I love you’ at drop off.”
“They love it, they’re proud of us,” Hensley said. “My daughter said, ‘I think it’s really cool that you make moms laugh.’”
#IMomSoHard has branched out into a best-selling book (a second book may be on the way soon), a children’s book, and several attempts at making a situation comedy, with them looking at the possibility of a reality series.
There’s also an #IMomSoHard podcast, an extended version of the videos.
Seven years ago, the two took #IMomSoHard to the stage, performing for a sold-out house of 2,600 the first night – after entertaining at a baby shower for 30 women at a church that afternoon.
“It’s an extension of the playroom (the locale of the videos), but it’s definitely an R-rated rowdy party that’s meant as a space for moms to be seen and heard,” Hensley said.
Smedley said the two have a lot of “shorthand” that all mothers understand.
“If you’re a mom, you can’t help but mom all the time,” she said. “It’s kind of what defines your life.”
“Being from the Midwest gives us a similar language or the same baseline to start from,” Smedley added. “Being a mom is the exact same thing.”
About 80% of the show is scripted and the other 20% is interacting with the audience, including on-stage inspections of the purses of women in the audience.
“It’s not a TED Talk, there’s nothing really ‘Kum Ba Ya’ about it,” Smedley said.
“Unless it’s a Ted Lasso talk,” Hensley added. “That’s different.”
#IMOMSOHARD
When: 7 p.m. Thursday, June 22
Where: Orpheum Theatre, 200 N. Broadway
Tickets: $35-$75, from wichitaorpheum.com or 755-SEAT
