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Brick Wall Comedy
Brick Wall Comedy

Failure To Thrive

Suzette Ferretti

YouTube · 2026 · 45 min

A dark stand-up hour about Hollywood rejection, chronic illness, and grief.

Watch it free on YouTube (opens in a new tab)

Released , on YouTube.

Suzette Ferretti spent nearly a decade in Los Angeles collecting the specific indignities of chasing show business: living in an elderly man’s maid’s quarters on Mulholland Drive, working as a retail wizard at Universal Studios, and losing a writing job to someone whose entire resume was fart jokes. Most comics scrub those embarrassments or frame them as hurdles on the way to a break. Ferretti treats them as an autopsy of her early career.

Filmed at the 49-seat Madnani Theater during the 2026 Hollywood Fringe Festival, the 49-minute set came out of years spent grinding short spots and bringer shows at the Comedy Store. Rather than waiting for industry validation, Ferretti built an hour around an uninsured Crohn’s disease diagnosis, years of medical gaslighting, and losing her father to Alzheimer’s.

During its festival run, reviewer Duncan Lewis described her tone as Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s goth Floridian cousin, noting her comfort balancing grim personal grief with crisp club timing.

Notable bits & set list

6 bits

  1. Working as a retail wizard at Universal Studios while pursuing entertainment in Los Angeles.

    Comically juxtaposed against the reality of chasing Hollywood dreams.

  2. Living in an elderly man's maid's quarters on Mulholland Drive.

    Shared as an example of the surreal living situations endured to stay in LA.

  3. Two years of doctors gaslighting her before receiving a Crohn's disease diagnosis without insurance.

    Mined for dark humor from the physical and bureaucratic catastrophe.

  4. Losing her father to Alzheimer's disease during the pandemic.

    Explored with tender, devastating, and uncomfortable honesty.

  5. Losing a dream job to a competitor whose entire resume was fart jokes.

    Framed around the absurdity and heartbreak of industry rejection.

  6. Consoling a man who announced he was planning to livestream his suicide.

    Presented as an intense, unexpected encounter during her years in Hollywood.

How it plays

Tone
Darkly funny, vulnerable, devastating, and ruthlessly humorous.
On stage
Raw, deeply personal, and uncomfortably honest with an unflinching instinct for finding dark humor in catastrophe.
Pace
Engaging and measured, connecting directly with the audience without relying heavily on audience interaction.
About
Pursuing a creative career in Hollywood, Chronic illness and medical gaslighting, Grief and losing a parent to Alzheimer's, Shitty day jobs and surreal survival experiences, Failure and perseverance

What the critics said

Praised as a fun and engaging 45-minute stand-up special where Ferretti skillfully transforms the pitfalls of Hollywood into a joke-filled, compelling journey that leaves audiences rooting for her success.

In the room: An intimate, engaged 49-seat house experience fostering a sense of shared community and vulnerability.

Summed up from reviews, articles and listings. Sources: hollywoodfringe.org, fanbasepress.com, partiful.com.

Backstory

Autobiographical backdrop centered on Ferretti's first-generation Cuban-American upbringing, eight years of navigating Hollywood rejection, dealing with a Crohn's disease diagnosis without health insurance, and losing her father to Alzheimer's during the pandemic.

Details

Released
Taped
The Madnani Theater, Los Angeles
Runtime
45 min
Where
YouTube
Topics

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