She claims to have been a “terrible student,” but whatever Rachel Feinstein lacked in the classroom, she more than makes up for onstage; her stand-up is as smart as it is devastatingly funny, with punchlines so perfectly written they’re almost poetic (plenty of prose focuses on life’s minor annoyances and makes liberal use of the word “tits,” right?)

While her act is at times character-driven, she also dabbles in straight-up absurd bits, like the brilliant Ice Cold Rhoda, the world’s toughest (and oldest) hip hop reviewer, or Joshua, the world’s most precocious eight-year-old — when she’s not busy making cameos on shows like Hoppus On Music, Venture Brothers and Comics Unleashed, that is.

Rachel was recently in Arizona, and we caught up with her between shows at Stand Up! Scottsdale to talk comedy, conflict and karaoke.

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How’s Scottsdale?

It’s pretty nice; I’m doing this thing for TruTV called World’s Dumbest Criminals, and they send me DVDs of people doing stupid things and getting arrested, so I’ve been sort of laying around watching these videos of various morons and writing jokes about them in a nice hotel.

That sounds like a sweet job.

I actually really like it; it’s regular and shoots in New York and LA, so now I’m doing it every few weeks. It’s been fun. I get to imitate people, and they have videos from all over the world so I get to do accents, and I love anything where I can use that.

Do you enjoy those sort of quirky, commentary-based projects?

I love stuff like that. Like this last week I did something for Fuse where I wrote various things about music and sort of talked smack about bands on Mark Hoppus’ show, with Dee Snider, so that was fun. Next week I’m doing another show called Hip Hop Squares for MTV where I get to joke around about music.

My ideal career would be to continue to do lots of different things like that. I always prefer performing over writing, or being able to write when I perform; performing is definitely first for me, so of course I’d love to do anything where I can be there.

You moved to New York when you were only 17, right?

Yeah.

What was it like being that young, and new to the city, and also trying to break into such an insular, emerging scene?

I was riddled with insecurity; I sometimes wonder what those years would have been like if I hadn’t hurled myself into the most terrifying, competitive industry that’s wrought with so much rejection. I think it’s probably good that I just dived right into the deep end, but it was definitely very hard for me, getting used to bombing in the beginning, and all of the sort of networking things that you’re supposed to do: bringing around your tape and asking people to watch it, going to all these open mics, never feeling like I was in the right circle I was supposed to be in and trying too hard. It was a messy time.

But I just kept doing it because I really, really loved it, I loved the feeling when I was onstage and when I was having a good set and was able to make a joke work; it was definitely a high that I’d never experienced before in my life. I guess that kept me going back. And there weren’t a lot of other options — I didn’t go to college, I was a terrible student. That was it, that was what I wanted to do, and nothing else. There wasn’t any other idea in my head besides stand up and comedic acting, ever.

Do you remember what made you decide to take that plunge?

Well, I moved to New York originally with a guy in a band, so that’s how I actually got myself there, but then I stayed. We broke up really quickly and I stayed in New York doing all the rest of that.

But younger, I remember going in front of my class and imitating my teacher in eighth grade, and I remember getting these big laughs. She was a really interesting character — she would use her arms real wildly — and I would do my impression of her for various people. Then someone told her I did it, and she asked me to come up in front of the class. I thought she was going to scream at me, but she liked it, she got a kick out of it — she was a warm, sweet lady. That was my first experience killing in a small setting, because everybody laughed; I got this attention that was really exciting. I felt like the shit, and I never felt like that in school. I didn’t excel in any subject in any way, but I remember that moment, like, “I have a lot of power here.”

You mention how stressful it was, getting started in New York; do you feel that some of it has subsided as you’ve worked more, or is that something that’s always present?

It’s a different kind of pressure. I’m definitely more comfortable in my own skin than I was at that time. I look at old videos and journal entries, because I always kept a journal, and feel really sorry for myself just cause I was so disarmingly insecure.

But you know, when you really care what people think, that never really fully leaves you. I’d like to say I could give a shit what somebody writes about me on a message board, but that’s an absolute lie — I care, I internalize those things. It’s just sort of my temperament. I try not to, I’m working on it, but if someone doesn’t like me, I care. It’s part of being a comic for me, getting that immediate acceptance, so it’s always a process to remind yourself to let go of what people think about you.

If I have a crowd where everyone’s laughing but one person’s just looking at me with this real disgusted expression, I’ll remember that face. I don’t know why, but I will, that one person who’s just not buying it. And it will bother me, but less than it did when it started, when I was 21, so I guess that’s good.

You’ve mentioned that, when you were starting out, some advice you got on editing, on trying to sound ‘less intelligent,’ was particularly helpful; is there any advice you’d pass on to other comics?

For me, I always somewhat felt like a fraud because I don’t write these quick joke-punchlines, so I’ve had to learn to be brief and that’s always been hard for me. I get too attached to my words, you know, and my word choices. And that’s fine when you’re writing and telling a story, but if you’re performing stand-up — and even when you’re writing, sometimes, too — you want to get to a point, you have to be able to let go of things.

I think that sort of goes with the same ‘smart’ thing: don’t be too self-congratulatory with the words you choose, and just enjoy the point of what you’re trying to say. Start from what you think is funny and not a message that you’re trying to put across. In that same vein of keeping it simple, that’s what I think makes good comedy.

If you have a joke that has a point or social influence or makes a point that’s powerful or interesting or compelling, I think that’s great — comics should never try to avoid stuff that’s divisive or jarring, things that will invoke discussion — but I don’t think you should start from trying to make that point. Start from what you think is funny, and don’t shy away from accidentally making those points. But I feel like if you start from that place you can come off as heavy-handed. That’s not the responsibility of a comic — it’s to get to what’s funny. Then whatever’s in your way, whatever you touch on in that process, let that be and don’t shy away from stuff that’s shocking. Does that make sense?

It definitely does. Kind of in that vein, you have a lot of jokes about your parents; do you ever feel like that sort of personal material is something to shy away from?

Yes, I feel guilty and conflicted all the time. It’s always hard for me to fully understand — I think my mom likes being in my act, she’s sort of cool with it. But there’s certain stuff that I’ve said about people I’m dating, or even their families — when you date someone, especially when it’s serious, you get introduced into that family and all of their hilarity, and I always want to talk about them onstage. I’ve definitely had arguments with boyfriends and people in my life about that, and I never want to hurt anyone’s feelings. I don’t mind being teased and made fun of, it’s one of the main qualities I look for in a guy, being able to joke with and mock each other — in a warm way — but not everybody likes that.

The bottom line is, as a comic, I talk about my life, and I warn people around me that that’s going to happen. I dated a guy once who would go for a walk whenever I did a bit about his mom, and I felt bad about that; I felt bad for his little lonely man-walk he went on, but at the same time, he’s dating a comic, you know? He either accepts it or he doesn’t.

Another unavoidable thing is touring; do you enjoy being on the road, or do you prefer working at home in New York?

I have certain shows and certain places that I like, but all things being equal, I like to not be travelling as much as I do. It’s hard when you’re constantly hurling yourself to another city. I like to do a little bit of it, but less. I do like New York.

With so many people relocating to LA, do you ever feel pressure to head West?

Yeah, I go back and forth. I was just in LA and I’m going back this month; I’m not working or anything, I can go back and forth and I don’t have to make that decision, so we’ll see what happens. I’ll just let it all figure itself out. I have a friend I stay with there, and she stays with me when she’s in New York, so I can go out when I feel like it’s a good time to, so I’ll keep doing that. But I prefer being in New York, if I had to choose.

What else do you have coming up?

I’ll be on a couple episodes of Hip Hop Squares on MTV, hosted by Peter Rosenberg; it’s like a Hollywood Squares-type show about hip hop. And I like hop hop a lot, so any way I can mix that into my life, I try to. I’m also shooting a stand up spot for TV Guide, so that will air soon.

Speaking of hip hop, your debut album is titled Thug Tears — did you have that name in mind from the beginning?

It’s a line from a joke I have about my mom wanting to, like, hold a young student while he cries thus tears in her arms; I just sort of thought it would be a ridiculous but funny thing to call it. I was back and forth, I had a couple different ideas, but I didn’t want to be serious, I just wanted to do something playful and silly and fun — I feel like that’s kind of what the album is like.

You were recently in Austin — are you excited to be back in town?

Austin’s one of those places, when I’m on the road, that I really love to go. There are certain places that I love, love, love, and Austin’s always one of them. It’s definitely one of my favorite cities in the country. I specifically like a karaoke bar called Common Interest, that’s in a strip mall — I have a lot of fun there.

It’s a cool city with an interesting energy to it and people really come out and support comedy in Austin. There are certain places where you go and you’re like, “I’m so glad I get to do this,” and Austin’s one of them. I sometimes imagine that I might live in Austin at some point in my life.

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Rachel Feinstein (and 70+ other comics) will be performing at the Moontower Comedy and Oddity Festival April 25 - 28. Single performance tickets and festival passes are available now.