Comedian and Miramonte grad Will Burkart is currently on a nationwide tour that includes a stop through his hometown and performances at the San Francisco Punch Line Comedy Club July 10-12.
When Will Burkart was a senior at Miramonte High School, his English teacher assigned a Challenge Project that required students to push their limits. While classmates chose activities like cooking dinner for a week or camping outside in their backyards, Will chose stand-up comedy. At 17, he performed at an open mic in San Francisco with his parents in the audience.
“It was so nerve-wracking,” he said. “I think I blacked out.”
Nevertheless, the seed was planted, and local fans will get to see the result when Burkart returns to San Francisco’s Punch Line July 10-12.
But Burkart took some time before settling on stand-up. Will studied film at De Paul University in Chicago, aiming to act or direct, but he continued to hone his comedian skills when opportunities arose and eventually settled in Los Angeles.
“Looking back, I’m glad I didn’t post anything until I was ready – about six years in. By then, I had improved a lot,” he said. “What I love about stand-up is there’s more control than in acting – you’re writing, directing, editing, even doing the cinematography.”
During the pandemic, Will built a massive online following and decided to test whether fans would attend his shows. His self-organized “Just Us” tour covered 13 cities and quickly sold out.
Afterward, he was signed by a William Morris talent scout and began performing at top comedy clubs. In 2023 he toured more than 45 cities and is currently returning to those cities for encore performances.
He recently filmed his debut comedy special in Sacramento, set to be released soon.
Will credits his parents, Kate and Bill Burkart, for introducing him to quality films and comedy. As a kid in Orinda, his favorite comedians were Dane Cook, Mike Birbiglia and Mitch Hedberg.
The Burkarts moved to Orinda when Will was three; he attended Del Rey Elementary, OIS and Miramonte – and he still likes to play hoops at OIS when he’s home. He also visits old favorites like Nation’s for pie and Loard’s Ice Cream. “They moved Nation’s across the street from where it used to be, which throws me off,” he laughed.
“I had an awesome, beautiful upbringing with two amazing parents,” he said. Essentially an only child, he would create stories in his head and then act them out in the backyard.
Much of Will’s act includes crowd work, which keeps the show new.
“Telling jokes is easy,” he said. “The crowd work is the only time I get nervous. It’s gambling – you just don’t know what’s going to happen. It will either be an amazing moment or I might have to find a way to pivot out of it.”
The last time Will performed in San Francisco was at Cobb’s Comedy Club, which he said, “was a dream come true,” because it was the club his dad took him to growing up.
In 2010, his mom was interviewed by The Orinda News for her latest album. Will was then a junior at Miramonte High School and she said, “He’s watched my career take off in different directions and, hopefully, it has shown him that life isn’t limited. It’s full of possibilities.”
Now, over a decade later, it’s fair to say Will Burkart is living proof.
