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Cover image credit: Thumbnail: YouTube · Anjelah Johnson-Reyes

Technically Not Stalking

Anjelah Johnson-Reyes

YouTube · 2024 · 66 min

A polished, clean club set about marriage, anxiety, and phone tracking.

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Anjelah Johnson-Reyes leans into the specific brand of marital hyper-vigilance that comes with the ‘Find My Friends’ app. Tracking her husband Manny with a dedication that borders on a full-time job, she convinces herself that any unanswered text is a fatal emergency. The hour thrives on this kind of recognizable domestic dread, translating the mild psychosis of modern marriage and phone addiction into a highly structured, comfortable club set.\n\nFilmed in April 2022 at the Tempe Improv in Arizona, the performance is a self-produced milestone for the comic, who built the material during her pre-pandemic ‘Technically Not Stalking’ tour. Released in late 2024 through 800 Pound Gorilla Media, the hour avoids the dirty-comedy route in favor of clean, broad observational stories. She works through a series of lighthearted anecdotes, from the absurdity of paying for her dog Banzo’s DNA test to the mechanics of phone-scrolling on the toilet. While it lacks a sharp edge, the set showcases her polished timing and physical delivery, especially when staging a bit about encountering a 1990s ghost named Stacy.

The set list

6 bits

  1. Stalking her husband Manny and using the Find My Friends app

    Explaining her 'three babes' and 'three-minute' texting rules, imagining catastrophic worst-case scenarios, and describing a 2:00 a.m. incident where Find My Friends showed her husband stopped on the freeway so she rushed to brush her teeth for the first responders, only to find him asleep on the couch.

  2. Coping with anxiety and 'the what ifs'

    Detailing childhood fears about her mother dying, going to therapy, over-praying for every person and her dog during car accidents on the highway, and trying CBD tinctures and meditation.

  3. DNA testing her shelter dog Banzo

    Deciding to test her dog rather than herself to avoid being framed for murder, discovering he is a mix of Yorkie, Maltese, Shih Tzu, Cocker Spaniel, Miniature Schnauzer, Mexican, and Puerto Rican, and discussing wishing she could speak bark.

  4. Not speaking Spanish despite Mexican heritage

    Reflecting on wishing Spanish would just appear in her brain, trying to help people translate when she doesn't know the words, and confidently singing along to mariachi bands at Mexican restaurants despite not knowing what the lyrics mean.

  5. Haunted locations and a 1990s ghost named Stacy

    Exploring experiences with haunted locations on the road.

  6. Love of seasonal guacamole

    Discussing her appreciation for seasonal guacamole.

How it plays

Tone
Hilarious, personal, playful, self-deprecating, and high-energy.
On stage
High-energy, personal, candid, and relatable 'homegirl'.
Pace
High-energy with rapid comedic escalation, storytelling cadence, and vocal characterizations.
About
marriage and tracking her husband Manny, anxiety and catastrophic 'what if' thinking, pet ownership and dog DNA testing, language barriers, Spanglish, and singing in Spanish, visiting haunted places and ghosts, seasonal guacamole

Backstory

Filmed in April 2022 drawing upon pre-pandemic comedy from her 'Technically Not Stalking Tour'; it marked her fifth comedy special and was a personal victory as the first special she proudly self-produced and self-funded.

Details

Released
Taped
2022, Tempe Improv
Runtime
66 min
Where
YouTube
Director
Taylor Ouellette
Topics
Before
Say I Won't (2023)
After
Ugly Baby (2026)

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