The Humourdor

An Interview with Rhys Darby.

Mon, 28 May 2012 05:40:00 +1000

Happy Sunday! Today, after an admittedly lazy period, we bring you an interview with New Zealand born comic: Rhys Darby!!! (you get the reference, right?) Best known for playing Murray Hewitt (or Brian Nesbit for you radio purists) in the hugely successful HBO series: Flight of the Conchords; Darby is also a quick-witted, brilliantly original stand up, known for mixing acerbic storytelling with mime and sound effects. Here we talk about how Rhys first got into comedy, his transition into acting and those rumours that he was at one time considered a replacement for Steve Carrell in The Office.

The Humourdor: At what point did you realise you wanted to become a comedian?

Rhys Darby: It was when I was in University. 1995. I found out at that point that it might be possible to make a career of it. The university scene gave me the confidence and the platform to hit the stage for the first time.

H: Considering the success of Flight of The Conchords in the states, you could have just settled there, but instead you seem spend a lot of time in the UK. What is it that you like about the British comedy scene?

RD: It’s where I gained all my experience as a comic. Strutting my stuff on the British comedy club stages has always provided me with my bread and butter. The UK audiences challenge you to be original and clever. It keeps me on my toes.

H: When a stand up is in a TV show that becomes popular, some people seem to struggle separating the character in the show from the person playing the role. Did you encounter any difficulty performing stand up after Flight of The Conchords; with people expecting Murray Hewitt and not Rhys Darby?

RD: I was lucky my first stand up DVD came out as soon as the FOTC TV show finished. People wanted more Murray but overall they were both surprised and happy to find out that I was a stand up and not just an actor. Sure, I still get the odd ‘Murray’ call out from the crowd, but all in all the crowds have been great. My own stand up is so different to Murray I think that has helped.

H: A lot of your stand up uses sound effects to great comic effect. What’s your writing process like and how do you account for jokes that rely on sounds as a punchline?

RD: I’m lucky I have that skill up my sleeve. Because as you say - a funny sound can in fact become a punchline to a story that otherwise wouldn’t have one. I don’t write stories with sound fx in mind, but as I’m telling them, I do bring out the sounds of objects and in deed (as bad as this sounds) mine as well. Somehow, because I take the piss out of what I’m doing as I’m doing it… it works.

H: Has acting always been an ambition of yours, or is it something that you just fell into? How does it compare to stand up?

RD: I’ve always wanted to be an actor. (well since I gave up on the dream of being great war commander) Comedy acting predominantly because it just made sense. I’m good at making people laugh… sometimes without realising it. Stand up has always way of doing comedy acting but without needing to be part of some else’s production.

H: How consciously do you shape a style for yourself?

RD: It’s important that the true essence of self comes out. That’s the part that people are going to believe. When it’s obvious in stand up that you’re telling the truth. The audience will laugh harder. When acting a character the more natural I can get it, the more believable he’s going to be. That’s probably the one thing I’ve learnt over the years. Reel it in. Less is more and with that speed, when you do give more than you need it will be a surprise and be that much funnier.

H: I read on wikipedia (the home of ‘fact’) that you were considered as a replacement for Steve Carrell’s role in The Office. How much truth was in that?

RD: That is true. I had a two hour meeting with the producers and the writers. I visited the set and got on splendidly with everyone involved. I walked away rather keen for the position but unfortunately never heard back. Shame really because I think I could’ve breathed new life into that show.

H: Are there any projects coming up that you would like to promote/tell us about?

RD: My first foray into British Saturday night TV is coming up. I’m a team captain on a new iTV1 panel show called ‘Mad Mad World’. That should be airing in the next month or so.

I’m touring the UK with my new standup show ‘This way to Spaceship’ in July. There’s an accompanying book which will be available at the shows!

An Interview with Levi MacDougall.

Mon, 05 Mar 2012 15:33:00 +1000

Self described as a “some-awards-winning comedian, writer, and actor”, Levi MacDougall has been behind, and in front of, some of the best comedy of the past decade. Building a following in his native Canada and forming comedy group The Distractions, with Paul Schuck and Tim Polley, they filmed a half-hour pilot for The Comedy Network, while at the same time his stand up career grew, culminating in an hour long spot on CTV’s “Comedy Now!”. In America, he continued performing stand-up, and appeared at the renowned UCB show Comedy Death Ray in LA, as well as pretty much everything else you’d care to mention. If you’re still wondering how funny this guy is, you shouldn’t be, but if you need any further proof he’s most recently written for Important Things with Demetri Martin. Get readin’! Click the pic for Levi’s website.

How did you get started in comedy? Was there a point where you realised you were funny?

I think I knew I wanted to get into stand-up from around age 12 or 13. So from that point forward, I’d quietly berate myself every day for not yet having tried it. There weren’t a lot of places to do it in Calgary (where I lived from ages 9 to 22) but when I was 17, I started volunteering at a local improv company called Loose Moose, just to force myself onstage. They offered free classes and a chance to perform once a week in front of a packed house. And I’m not sure there was an exact point where I realized I was funny (or that I at least enjoyed the attempt to be). It would have been in school, making friends and other students (non-friends?) laugh. We moved around a lot when I was young so I think it probably first arose as a tool of survival. The funniest tool in my very tiny toolbox of tools.

What was it like starting out in comedy in Canada? Do you think it would have been different if you had started in New York or L.A.?

I feel very fortunate to have started where I did, in my Canadian nation. It doesn’t have a big industry presence so there was never a preoccupation with entertaining or impressing anyone other than the audience, myself, and the other performers. Without that pressure, there’s a freedom to experiment and just follow your whims, as there are so few consequences to failure. I’m guessing that had I started in LA or New York, I’d have used the higher stakes inherent in those places as just another excuse to delay that first time onstage. I was very good at finding excuses to put it off.

You’ve been in a comedy group, The Distractions, how does working in a group compare with working alone?

I was lucky enough to find two people - Paul Schuck and Tim Polley - who have an approach to writing that’s similar to mine. In The Distractions, we would usually write first drafts individually, then bring them to the group for an initial read. Based on that read-through, they’d be tweaked, punched up, or scrapped for better ideas. We’d still come up with ideas together, but even then, one person would usually go off and write it out. It was a system that worked well and allowed us to amass a lot of material, which we needed as we’d committed to doing a new full-length show every month for a couple years. When I write on my own, I can’t tell if something works until I present it to an audience, so it was nice to have the group to add a level of feedback before that first performance. It made me less precious about my ideas and material and I’ve tried to carry that over into my solo work. I try to be a responsible self-governing anti-precious writer.

Do you prefer stand-up or television work?

The times I’m happiest are when I can find a balance between the two, so it’s never had to be one over the other. When I’m doing stand-up regularly, my mind slips into a mode where it’s constantly coming up with or playing with ideas. Television tends to be more deadline-oriented so if I can convince my brain that its natural state is one of casual idea-generating, I don’t get as stressed about having to deliver material. I enjoy the freedom that stand-up allows, but I also really like the challenge of working within the restrictions television requires. So I guess my ideal state is that of a juggler juggling two balls and those balls represent Stand-Up and Television and it’s really easy to juggle just two balls at once? Although if I could pick just one, I’d choose stand-up. So my answer is: stand-up.

What’s your writing process like?

I carry a notepad with me everywhere I go and jot down ideas as they come. I then sit down at my computer and, if I don’t already have something I’d like to write about, I go through my notepads and punch the ideas into my computer. That simple act of transcribing tends to lead to new ideas, and it takes the pressure off having to come up with something new right away. I also walk around a lot.

How did you get involved with Important Things? Does working on US television differ much from Canadian?

As with almost every writing job I’ve had, the Important Things gig came about through stand-up. Demetri was looking for new writers for season 2 and started watching stand-up clips online to see if there was anyone he liked that he hadn’t previously seen or considered. He came across an excerpt from the hour-long stand-up special I shot in Canada and that led him to my website. At the time, my site had other stand-up clips (including one from Comedy Death-Ray in LA, which was a show he’d also done) along with short films and written pieces. Someone at his show (I believe it was Michael Koman, the head-writer) then contacted me asking if I’d like to submit a writing package. I sent them some pieces I wrote specifically for the show, along with samples of sketches I’d done with The Distractions. A couple weeks later they called to say I got the job, and a couple months later (due to the wait for my work visa to come through) I was in LA. I’d say the biggest difference between US and Canadian TV, for me, was in the writing rooms. They were very open in Canada, with everyone from producers to network people coming by to add ideas and tweak jokes or scripts. In the US, the room was limited to the creative department, which I prefer. It allows ideas to form with no priority or agenda other than what’s funniest and best for the show. I think that experience does also exist in Canada (and vice-versa in the US) but that was my experience. There are also fewer shows in Canada, so the ones that exist receive a greater amount of attention and scrutiny from people at every stage of development.

You’ve been involved in a huge amount of short films, why the attraction?

They began as an extension of the live shows I was doing with The Distractions and other friends. We would screen them at the weekly Laugh Sabbath shows we did at the Rivoli in Toronto, so knowing we could watch it unfold on a room full of people in a matter of days was a great incentive. I also discovered that I loved editing film, as it triggers the same timing-tweaking pleasure centers as joke-writing. I’m writing sentences here that I’d never dreamed I’d be one day writing.

How do you decide which material to use in a set?

It often depends on the show and how long of a set I’m doing, but my usual method is to just write down a list of the jokes I have that I’m most excited to tell. Those are usually newer jokes or older ideas that I’ve tweaked or rewritten. Or if I’m performing in Denver, it’ll be all my “Denver material.”

Is there anything you have coming up that you want to promote?

I’m currently doing a North-American stand-up tour opening for Demetri Martin. We’ve been doing this off and on for the past year, and we now have 8 or 9 shows left on this current tour, with some still being added (dates and ticket info can be found on Demetri’s site at www.demetrimartin.com ). In other very large news, I’m currently doing an overhaul of my website to incorporate my Tumblr page - which is comprised of scanned index cards on which I type, write, and doodle. (I’ll be updating that site with other show and TV-project-thing-related news in the coming months.)

UPDATE: The tour with Demetri’s over, that on us (we’re lazy), but it should be noted that Levi is hosting a show, being taped for Sirius/XM radio, in Toronto at Yuk Yuk’s on April 10th, and will be doing stand-up in Los Angeles at “The Meltdown w/ Jonah and Kumail” on May 2nd - ed.

An Interview With Kurt Braunohler

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 03:30:50 +1000

Today we bring you an interview with Kurt Braunohler; a comedian perhaps best known (for now, at least) for his work with Kristen Schaal. Their collaborative work produced the brilliant online web series; Penelope: Princess of Pets (which Channel 4 later commissioned a pilot for and foolishly didn’t pick it up for a full series), in addition to being nominated for a highly regarded if.comedy award (*formerly the Perrier Award, and currently the Edinburgh Comedy Award*) when they took their live show: Kristen Schaal And Kurt Braunohler: Double Down Hearts, to the Edinburgh Fringe. Here we discuss how Braunohler and Schaal met, as well as finding out what Kurt has been up to since they both started concentrating on ventures that didn’t involve each other.

The Humourdor: You often work with Kristen Schaal (is a horse!). Where did you two meet and at what point did you decide to work together?

Kurt Braunohler: Kristen and I met at an improv theatre in New York called the PIT about 7 years ago. I wanted to host a weekly variety show, and I asked the Artistic Director of the theatre for a slot and he mentioned that Kristen had just asked him the same thing. I walked right back stage and asked her if she wanted to host a show together and she said yes. We had never worked together, performed together, or really hung out. We had had one drunken conversation for about 30 seconds on a subway car once. Then it turned out that we really got along and performed well together.

H: Where did the idea for Penelope: Princess of Pets originate from and when did you decide to make it into an online series?

KB: It was an idea Kristen and I had for a movie. About a year later we got an offer from this website called superdeluxe.com to do a web series on “our dream idea.” So we said this was our dream idea. I’m not sure anyone understood what we really wanted to do, but god bless ‘em, they gave us money and let us do it. That was probably 5 years ago? I can’t remember.

H: There was a UK pilot of the show, starring Julian Barratt as Senator Stone. Were you happy with how that version of the show came out, or do you think it lost some of its original charm in some way? Why do you think it wasn’t picked up for a full series?

KB: I was happy with the way it turned out, yes. BUT BY YOUR QUESTION IT SEEMS YOU THINK IT LOST SOME OF ITS CHARM! WHAT THE FUCK KIND OF LEADING QUESTION IS THAT?!!? But seriously, I haven’t watched it in a while, but after I stepped away from it I remember thinking that it moved a little slowly. But it was our first time making a TV show and everyone was really great in allowing us to do exactly what we wanted to do. So if it does seem less charming, that’s totally our fault.

H: You’re credited as having worked on South Park, could you tell us more about that?

KB: I was employed for 5 days and then promptly fired. I’m assuming they fired me because they thought my ideas were just too good and didn’t want to get shown up.

H: What elements do you think are essential to a great comedic performance?

KB: Having a mouth and using it to mention dildos at least once every few seconds.

H: You’ve written for some pretty highly regarded shows, and yet you also have a penchant for improv. Which process do you think spawns the best material?

KB: I did improv for a very long time before I started writing. And if I could have made a living from it, I probably would still be doing it. But at a certain point I had to put improv aside and start writing and performing stand up, just so I could start making some money. And I’m happy I did. I love doing stand up. I’m happy to consider myself a stand up comedian. But I think the part of my brain that I honed from years of improv is what I draw from when I write.

H: What is Bunk?

KB: Bunk is a new anti-game show that I host in the States. We’re shooting in late February and it will come out on the IFC network in June. All the contestants are comedians, and none of the questions have answers. A favorite challenge of mine is “Shame this Puppy” where we show the contestants photos of puppies and whoever does the best job shaming them, wins. And by winning I mean they don’t get anything.

H: Are there any new projects coming up that you could shed some light on? Are you touring any time soon?

KB: I’ll be touring in the states a bit this spring. I’ll actually be in London this weekend to shoot a bit on Morgan Spurlock’s New Brittania. So that should be fun. And I’m continuing making fun of animals with my World Wild of Animals web series: kbwwa.tumblr.com - here’s my favorite: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwOrUeUmM8I

An Interview with Leo Allen.

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 04:05:25 +1000

Leo Allen is a smart, intellectual comedian who manages to effectively create humour from areas that other stand ups may find more difficult. Whether that be through his witty, acerbic stand up or his writing; having written on Saturday Night Live (with comedy partner Eric Slovin) for three years, as well as being credited co-creator on the hilarious John Benjamin Has a Van (in which he also frequently seen on screen), Leo Allen brings a unique charm and persona to an industry that is saturated with the mundane. Here we talk about, amongst other things: how he got in to comedy, what his writing process is and the aforementioned John Benjamin Has a Van.

The Humourdor: What was the genesis of you getting into comedy?

LA: I moved to NYC with the vaguest of aspirations of becoming a comedy writer, with no idea of what to do or who to talk to - so I started performing.

H: You were in a duo, Slovin and Allen, how does performing in a duo compare with solo? Is there one you prefer?

LA: Well, in a duo, in your mind you can blame the other person if things aren’t going well. Somehow bombing in a duo actually feels worse, because you have to stick with it more than with a standup bit that isn’t going over well. I like them both, but its much harder to arrange a schedule for two people than one.

H: What’s your writing process like?

LA: If I have a deadline that I’m getting paid for, I’m pretty good at getting it done. When I’m writing for myself, I’m much more of a procrastinator. I always experiment with different ways of generating material.

H: You host “Whiplash” at the Upright Citizen’s Brigade, what does being host involve? How did you get started doing this?

LA: I started because the people at the UCB asked me to take over that show when Aziz Ansari moved. As a host, I feel that my job is to set the tone with the audience that this show is a place for performers to legitimately try out new things. I do try to make sure the tone is good for the performers. But, it also helps that we consistently have literally the best standup comedians in the world every single week.

H: Do you prefer writing or performing?

LA: I like both, and hate them both. I do feel that one really helps the other.

H: You wrote for Saturday Night Live, which a lot of people have horror stories about, what was the experience like?

LA: Most of the time, you sit around and people tell you horror stories about things that happened before you got there. Then around 4 am, you start to write the sketches you wish you’d written on Monday night like a responsible person would have.

H: How did you get involved with Jon Benjamin Has a Van? What does the H stand for in his name?!

LA: In October of 2009, Jon Benjamin sent me a cryptic email, and later that same evening we I met at a bar and talked about what the show could be. Then he told me he’d ‘forgotten his wallet’, so I ended up paying the bar tab. So I guess the H stands for ‘has no wallet’.

H: You’ve written for a lot of shows created by other people, is it ever hard to write for comedians who have a distinct style, like Demetri Martin? Would you ever consider doing your own show?

LA: It’s actually much easier to write for people who have a distinct style - they’ve done the hard work by setting the template. Also, there’s always a collaboration when you write for someone, so it will always be tweaked to fit their style even more. I would consider doing my own show if anybody asked me, or if I ever had a thought of something that would be interesting that only I could do.

H: Do you have any advice for aspiring comedians/writers?

LA: The only real advice is to keep making stuff, performing, and writing. There’s no secrets, shortcuts, and I personally have never really had a “Eureka” moment. All other advice is just procrastination from doing that.

An Interview with Todd Barry.

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 04:05:21 +1000

If you’ve managed to find this site but somehow you don’t know who Todd Barry is, then its likely you’ve created a paradox that will unravel the very fabric of time and space, or at the very least, you’re not the comedy nerd you thought you were. Congratulations! For those of you that have read past this unfunny, slightly patronising intro, Todd Barry is a great comic who has starred in in some of the best comedies out there; including Louie,The Flight of The Conchords, The Larry Sanders Show, Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! And others that I can’t quite recall of the top of my head. He is also a great stand up, and any comedy connoisseur should be familiarise themselves with his brilliant comedy album: From Heaven. Interview below.

The Humourdor: Why did you want to get into stand up initially? Was it something you’ve always wanted to do?

Todd Barry: I used to go watch open mic nights in Florida, then at some point, I just got the urge to try it. I never thought about doing standup until after I graduated college.

H: Besides your stand-up work, you’ve worked on a a huge variety of TV shows. Has that been satisfying?

TB: Yeah, it’s pretty fun doing the occasional acting role. I do a lot of standup shows, so it mixes it up a bit.

H: Sex and the City has a history of putting younger comics in bit parts. Arguably, your most famous role is “Ordinary Guy” in that series. Do you think it significantly helped your career, being on a programme that is viewed by so many people?

TB: I can’t say whether or not that particular role helped my career, but I don’t imagine it hurt.

H: What are your views on torrent sites, with regards to your material?

TB: I have no idea how many people are downloading my stuff for free, and wouldn’t even know how to figure that out. I’d love it if they all paid for it, but I’m sure many people who are using torrent sites are downloading stuff they wouldn’t buy if torrent sites didn’t exist.

H: A lot of interviews with you seem to focus on the huge internet backlash to your Conan appearance/negative reactions to your comedy. Do you think there’s a persona of being a dick that people have created of you, despite it (as far as I know) not being true? Perhaps partially because you tend to play characters like your role in The Wrestler?

TB: I don’t know how “huge” that backlash was. It was really one woman posting an opinion. I happened to see it, and I sort of stirred it up, by reading it on Conan.

H: It seems like you work in a pretty tight-knit community of comics, who get each other parts on their shows/tours/etc. Do you think this sort of idea of a community amongst comedians is fading what with the information superhighway and the YouTubes?

TB: I think people still want to have actual friends, so I don’t think youtube has affected that.

H: Is there ever a nostalgia for when you were all young comics doing comedy in little clubs? There seems to be a bit of that in Louie.

TB: I still do a lot of my shows in little clubs, so I haven’t reached that “nostalgic” phase net.

H: How did you get involved with Funny or Die? Do you think the internet has reached a point where it can compete with mediums like Film and TV, or does traditional broadcasting still have too much of a hold on too many people?

TB: I know a guy who works at Funny or Die, so when some friends and I came up with the idea for the “Black Swan” video, I just called him up, and he was into helping me make it. I have no idea about the future of traditional broadcasting, but I’m sure the internet is just going to get bigger and bigger.

An Interview with Matt Kirshen

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 04:05:11 +1000

Today we have an interview with Matt Kirshen, a regular stand-up on the London circuit, who is probably best known for his impressive run on NBC’s Last Comic Standing. Here we talk about the stress and strain involved with putting on a show at the Edinburgh Fringe, how he got into comedy in the first place, how jokes translate in other countries, and much, much more!

H: When did you realise you were funny enough to be a comedian?

Matt Kirshen: As a student, I started writing for and then editing a comedy paper. I’d then watch people laughing at my jokes on Friday at lunchtime and got a bit of the bug. I didn’t know for sure I was good enough to do stand-up properly until a few months in, when bits of money started to come in for gigs. The amounts slowly crept up over the years until it was my job.

H: You’ve played in a pretty diverse spread of countries, how do you find jokes translate to overseas audiences?

MK: Often in places like Singapore or Dubai, you’re playing to ex-pats, so the audience isn’t that different to a gig in London. That said, my comedy very rarely covers pop-culture, and most of my political bits cover general themes or large issues that most people follow. The rest of my set is universal topics and personal stories, so my comedy isn’t country-specific. I don’t have to worry about, say, an American audience not knowing what happened in Coronation Street, because i don’t know that either.

Also, when you come in as a foreigner, you have a huge advantage - you get to explain to them how their culture looks to an outsider. It’s an angle a native just doesn’t get to have.

H: Related to this, you’ve done a pilot for Paramount Comedy in Spain, and appeared on Last Comic Standing in the U.S., how did these opportunities come about? Have you found success overseas?

MK: I’m not sure where you got the first one from, but I’ve not been to Spain since I was a student. Though it isn’t a rumour I’d mind spreading. I quite like the idea of telling people I’m huge in a whole load of countries they’re unlikely to check. At the moment it’s only really Croatia, where I sold out a show in their national football stadium and a line drawing of my face is their most popular back tattoo.

Last Comic Standing came about because the season I was on (5) just happened to go international. They did a showcase at the London Comedy Store. I went on, had a great gig and the next thing I knew I was flying to LA.

(* Note to self: When swamped with interviews to write, never forget to double check anything you read on Wikipedia)

H: What was the inception for creating Bigipedia? Unlike a lot of British shows, it’s written with a team of writers, how do you think this differs from the insular method that’s more common?

MK: Bigipedia was Nick Doody’s idea originally. He pitched it to David Tyler at Pozzitive Productions, who liked it, put it into the BBC and they gave him some cash to make a pilot, which I co-wrote. It is a team, but it’s a small team - not like US sitcoms with 15 people in a writers room. It’s just me, Nick, Sarah Morgan and Carey Marx in various combinations, plus at its heart it’s a sketch show, so different people can write different parts without it affecting the tone of each episode. Then at the end, Nick and I sit in an office piecing the whole thing together and writing the links. At its most basic, if it makes us both laugh a lot, it’s in. Then David pours over the script and makes us justify every line, which tightens the whole thing.

H: What’s your writing process like more generally?

MK: If it’s something like Bigipedia, I find it much easier to write with someone else. Stand-up I normally write alone, though a lot of my stand-up is developed onstage, so in a way, the audience is the co-writer there. It’s really useful to have a sounding-board for any comedic ideas. The longer I do this, the more honed my instincts get, but it’s amazing still how often I’ll take a new idea on stage, and it either doesn’t work, or, more oddly, the bit I think will work doesn’t, but a tiny nuance in what I think it the set-up gets a huge laugh. You then drop the second bit and work on fleshing out the first.

H: How do you go about collecting material for an hour long show? Do you prefer these, or smaller club gigs?

MK: For me, writing a full show is much the same as for smaller sets - I pace about musing over ideas, then chuck them at an audience and see what sticks. When a theme strikes a chord, I start improvising around it and expanding on it. Small sets can be great fun - when you can just go on at a high pace and smash out 15 to 20 minutes - but doing a full hour show where you can take an audience on a journey is a lot more satisfying.

H: Can you tell us anything about your upcoming Edinburgh show, Wide Eyed?

MK: I’d love to but I’ve sworn myself to secrecy.

(Though I can let it leak that it’s about hindsight, embarrassment and confidence. And Americans feature. They always do.)

H: You’re doing a pretty huge number of shows at Edinburgh, does doing the same show every night get tiring?

MK: Absolutely. There’s always a point around the two and a half week mark where I just have to sleep for about 12 hours. It’s not just that you’re doing your hour show every day, it’s all the other late shows, daytime shows, radio spots and so on - your stress levels don’t really come down for the month. But on the other hand it’s such a rare pleasure to be able to do the same show in the same room for so long. There’s no better way to both hone that show and become a better comedian in general.

H: You were recently on the Late Late Show, how did this come about? What was the experience like?

MK: It was a combination of a producer called Bart and an agent called TJ who first got me into a festival in Vancouver, where I did a TV spot that went particularly well. Bart is also a producer on the Late Late Show and when I got back to LA, he got me onto the show. It was a joy to do - Craig Ferguson is such a loose, improvisational host, which sets the tone of the show, so his audience felt less like a TV studio crowd and more like a late night comedy club.

An Interview with Matt Green

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 04:05:05 +1000

Matt Green is an English comedian, actor and writer. He was also the President of the prestigious Cambridge Footlights from 1999-2000. Since leaving University, Matt has enjoyed success as both a stand up and actor, having appeared in various TV and Radio shows. Here we talk about how Matt got into comedy, who his influences are and whether comedy is Art.

H: How did you get started in comedy? Was there a point where you realised you were funny?

Matt Green: I’ve always enjoyed performing on stage, and got involved in lots of shows at school and then university. For a while I thought I might try to be a serious actor, but I soon realised that getting laughs is a lot more fun. I performed sketch and character stuff for a couple of years before taking the plunge into stand up about six years ago.

H: How would you describe your stand-up to those who haven’t heard of you?

MG: I’m quite fast-paced and I do a mix of observational and storytelling material, with a dash of political and topical stuff and a sprinkle of audience interaction. I compère a lot and really love being able to improvise with the audience to create something unique.

H: What’s your writing process like?

MG: Most of the time I just wait for the inspiration to strike and always make sure I have a notepad with me. When I’m preparing for an Edinburgh show I tend to gather as much material as I can together and then start writing routines out and seeing how they could fit together. But as far as I’m concerned a huge amount of the writing process happens onstage: sensing how an audience is reacting to something and adapting it accordingly. A joke is never fully ready until it has been tested in front of a few crowds!

H: Do you think the internet/technology is too present in comedians’ careers nowadays or are you embracing it as much as possible?

MG: I feel a bit ambivalent about this. My new show is called Too Much Information, and is partly about the rise of technology and how it is affecting our lives. I suppose I think that it is dangerous if it distracts us from other things that are important, but as a comedian new technology has some huge advantages. Things like Twitter and Facebook are brilliant for staying in touch with people who have enjoyed your work, and can provide a really valuable support network with other comedians, promoters and people in the industry. Plus obviously YouTube and other media sharing sites have made it so much easier to get your material out there and seen by people.

H: Who would you say your influences are? Do you ever see echoes of their work in yours?

MG: I’m sure I have loads of influences; I watch lots of comedy and have done since I was growing up. I was a huge fan of people like Rowan Atkinson and Eddie Izzard when I was growing up, and I’m sure I have moments in my act where my admiration for them comes through. More recently other comedians such as Chris Addison, Daniel Kitson, Paul Sinha and many many more have inspired me to try to be better. If I could achieve anything like what they have done I’d be very happy.

H: Do you think comedy is something that should be cerebral, that people should pick apart, or can it just be a bunch of silliness that people laugh at? What sort of comedy do you prefer?

MG: I think it can and should be both. I love the political rabble rousing of Mark Thomas, but I also laugh myself silly at Tim Vine’s inspired idiocy. It takes intelligence and skill to do both of those things. I probably slightly prefer the cerebral side of comedy, but in the end it’s just about how well it’s done. I’d far rather see a good silly comedian than an average cerebral one!

H: Is comedy Art?

MG: I think that’s a bit like asking: “Is music Art?” Some is, some isn’t. I think that one of the fascinating things about comedy is that it is the only art-form that requires a physical response from an audience. You don’t have to have people crying in your audience to have a successful tragedy, but you do have to provoke at least some laughter to have a successful comedy. That’s not to say that comedy has to make you laugh all of the time: some of the most interesting comedians like to play with that tension of when (or even if) there is going to be a punch-line. Someone like Stewart Lee is an obvious example of that. I think some comedians are true artists, although many might be better described as craftsman: they have learned and honed the skill of getting an audience to laugh, which is no mean feat. I don’t know if I’d consider what I do to be Art with a capital “A”. I hope it’s entertaining and sometimes thought-provoking, but the main thing is always making an audience laugh. That’s the most important thing.

H: You’ve appeared in various TV shows, is this an area you’re actively pursuing or are you content with being on stage?

MG: I still enjoy acting very much and would love to do more of it. The collaborative and immersive nature of acting is very different from stand up, where you are always essentially working alone and moving from gig to gig, analyzing your performance on your own as you go. I find working with a company on a play or a cast and crew on a TV show is a great way to recharge my creative batteries and I usually return to stand up afterwards with a lot more energy and focus. I’d also love to do some stand up on TV or radio, but those slots are incredibly competitive at the moment so I’m happy working on the live circuit for as long as people will let me!

H: Are there any ideas that you find yourself returning to when writing your material? What do you think are you favourite things to talk about on stage?

MG: Most of my most durable material comes from myself. Incidents from my life, thoughts and experiences I’ve had which I can share with the audience. Sometimes these are big stories, at other times they are little moments or observations I’ve had which lead to a funny idea or joke. I’m also fascinated by language and the way in which it is used and abused. I’m always on the look out for a telling phrase that reveals more than the speaker intended: a lot of my more topical and political material comes from this.

An Interview with Keith Farnan

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 03:44:58 +1000

Keith Farnan is an Irish comedian who has steadily been showcasing his assured stand up to a wider audience through his appearances on highly watched British shows, such as “Michael McIntyre’s Comedy Roadshow” & the Irish stand-up series: ”The Liffey Laughs’. Here we discuss how Keith got in to stand-up, as well as his views on the state of the industry. We also talk about whether comedy should have any ideology behind it and what its like dealing with hecklers.

H: At what point did you realise you were funny enough to be a comedian? Was it an easy decision to start doing gigs?

KF: There was no eureka moment. I sidled from doing bits of theatre in college to doing bits of improv to stand-up. Because I’d had the experience of doing improv gigs where you sometimes have to MC, it wasn’t a huge leap to just standing out there on my own with some material. Or so I thought. Then you turn around when something dies and there’s normally somewhere there in Improv to save you. The first time you realise that safety net is gone is pretty brutal.

H: What’s your writing process like? How do you decide when to test material and where to put it?

KF: God you make it sound like there’s a plan. I come from the theory of throw so much of it at the wall and whatever sticks, that’s the stuff that works. It’s less of a process, more of a compulsion. In terms of where you put it, that’s where it’s good to have other people come along to previews who you trust as they can sometimes see the bigger picture and where material might work better.

H: How do you deal with hecklers or bombing?

KF: I’m usually extremely polite to hecklers, I deal with them with as much grace and aplomb as I can muster when I’m being called any number of names. Mostly, I don’t inspire hecklers but when I do I like to chat to them and just get as much info from them as possible. They tend to give themselves enough rope for the audience to hang them. However, if someone shouts something at another audience member that I might be talking to, that’s when I truly lose it.

H: What do you think of comedy as an industry? What do you think the future holds?

KF: It’s extraordinary how it’s become such a vast money spinner in the uk. I’m pretty sure comedy will be floated on the stock exchange at some distant point and then we’re really in trouble. It’s hard to know what will happen; will people get fed up? Will it inspire a new wave of alternative, political, hard hitting comedians? Will sketch be the new stand-up? Lots of questions, no answers… welcome to my world.

H: Do you think comedy should have a message or ideology behind it?

KF: Comedy should first and foremost make you laugh. If you can and want to squeeze in something you believe in, then by all means go for it. I try to use my Edinburgh shows to engage people in topics they mightn’t always be interested in, or in a way they mightn’t have thought about, but I don’t think having an ideology is a pre-requisite to comedy.

H: How consciously do you shape a style for yourself, and how much is just natural?

KF: I’m not really that precise. It’s 96% natural, 4%conscious J

H: Do you prefer festivals or club gigs? How do the two differ?

KF: Depends on the festival and the gig. Some festivals and club gigs are pretty much the same, some club gigs are better and allow you to do whatever you like, some club gigs you’re catering to the audience. Festivals, there tends to be a lot more mud…mostly

H: How has comedy changed since you started? Is there anything crucial you’ve learned?

KF: I’ve only been at it for a few years, so not a lot has changed. There have been a lot more shows on mainstream TV pop up as well as panel shows, and there’s a lot of strategising it seems to me from very early on in people’s careers, which can sometimes stunt your growth as a writer and performer as you’re following a plan and not an instinct. What have I learned? Hmmm… listen to your instinct and try not to go onstage after 3a.m. when everyone’s feeling a bit tired and emotional, including you…

H: The internet figures pretty largely into comedians’ careers nowadays, do you think this is a positive or negative?

KF: Depends on how you use it. It’s nice that people can see you advertised, look up a bit of material, and then come to your show. You do find you have to retire that material though after a while so you just have to be careful what goes up there.

An Interview with Kate Smurthwaite.

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 03:44:50 +1000

Kate Smurthwaite is a UK-based comedian, writer and activist. She is the vice chair and media spokesperson for Abortion Rights UK and an active member of London Feminist Network. On stage, Smurthwaite is able to deal with important issues in a way that is funny, and yet still manages to have a significant impact on its audience. Here we discuss the effects of the internet to comedy, as well her writing process and the difficulties of writing comedy that also has serious points to make.

H: At what point did you realise stand-up was for you?

Kate Smurthwaite: When I started doing it. I really only did my first gig as a bit of a personal challenge, I didn’t think I’d ever do a second gig but I was hooked right away.

H: You’re quite active on the internet, regularly updating a blog, do you think the internet figures too strongly in comedians’ careers?

KS: Not at all. I think the Internet makes different and new kinds of comedy possible. Stand-up generally works best in a nice big venue with a friendly crowd and a bar but other things like sketch and character work great online, plus on my blog I get to go into a level of detail on political subjects that I wouldn’t have time for in a typical 20 minute set.

H: Is it ever difficult to separate the seriousness of your advocacy with the lightheartedness of comedy? Do you think it can lead to people not taking what you’re talking about seriously?

KS: Actually I think the reverse is more true - people see me talking about something serious and think I won’t be funny. Which is partly because people assume comedians are HILARIOUS all the time, even when they’re talking about war in Darfur… Which is a bit like seeing a musician talking about human rights and going “That rap doesn’t rhyme!”.

H: What’s your writing process like?

KS: I write all the time, my phone is full of emails to myself and draft text messages full of ideas. My desk is covered in notes and I often freeze in the middle of conversations with my friends and go “ooh hang on, that’s nice, I’m going to write that down”. Apologies to my friends who have to put up with this. Then I try things out at smaller gigs, new material nights and when I’m compering at my residency at Soho Comedy Club. The things that work well I then sit down and develop and experiment with.

H: Do you think the playing field is equal for male and female comedians?

KS: In a word: no. Not a week goes by that someone doesn’t come up to me after a show and say “I used to think women weren’t funny, but you were great” and I think to be honest if you’re happy to wander about without questioning your deep-seated misogynist attitudes then I don’t really care what you think of my act… Thinking women make bad comedians is no different to thinking black people make bad dentists. It’s just a discriminatory attitude. Some women are great, some women are awful, some men are great, some men are awful.

H: How do you decide which material goes into a set?

KS: At any given time I have a standard “club” set which is my tight, gag-heavy, fairly accessible set. There is some politics in it but nothing too complicated. When I play for a specifically political crowd such as fundraisers I’ve done for victims of sex trafficking or Abortion Rights UK or the show at the Marxism 2011 conference I’ll drop all the friendly chatty crowd-pleasey stuff and just go straight into politics. For my solo show as I have an hour I can be chatty at the start but still have time to explore some of the bigger issues.

H: Bombing and/or heckling is something every comedian inevitably faces, how do you deal with it?

KS: Comedians are not supposed to say this but I like heckling. Obviously not so much that you can’t do your show but I think the fun of a live performance is some interraction with the audience and responding with some improvised lines. Otherwise you might as well buy a DVD. Bombing, once you leave the open mic circuit, happens pretty rarely but usually it’s because you’re not what the audience was expecting or wanting. You wouldn’t expect Rufus Wainwright to impress a crowd of thrash metal fans but it doesn’t mean he’s not great at what he does.

H: You opened for Shazia Mirza, who is quite notable for both her comedy and advocacy, how did this come about? What was the experience like?

KS: Bizarrely I was headlining a charity event in 2009 and put a call out for a female act to support me and Shazia volunteered. So she supported me first which I was incredibly touched by and then when she was talking about her new tour I volunteered to be the support act. She plays a lot at Soho Comedy Club where I’m the resident MC so she’s used to me introducing her on.

Touring with Shazia was probably about as distantly removed from the image of the rock and roll comedy tour as it’s possible to get. She doesn’t drink so there’s no likelihood of a big aftershow party, just a few Guardian readers wanting autographs and maybe a cup of tea at the services on the M1.

My favourite moment was at the Epsom Playhouse when she came up from the dressing room and asked the elderly usher how my set was going and he told her “She’s really warming them up, just like Ken Dodd!”.

H: You’ve also worked on TV and radio, do you think that it’s a more advantageous way to reach listeners/viewers? Is there something about stand-up you prefer?

KS: The advantages of stand-up are firstly that I can set the agenda and secondly that it can be interactive. The advantages of TV and radio are firstly the larger audience and secondly the chance to actually put my points directly to some of the people I disagree with. The (obvious) solution is for me to have my own TV show.

H: Can you tell us about your upcoming show, The News at Kate 2011?

KS: Yes I can… It’s my third News at Kate show and it’s about what’s been in the news this year, like phone hacking and the royal wedding. Plus I’ll talk about my own appearances in the news such as my very public row with Daily Mail writer Angela Epstein and upsetting a whole studio full of dignitaries in front of Nicky Campbell on BBC One’s The Big Questions. Also, unlike all the other shows in town, it’s hilariously funny. No really. You’ll cry, I’ll cry, someone will cry. Probably Nicky Campbell.

An Interview with David Mills

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 02:40:00 +1000

Here we have an interview with David Mills: the man who was crowned “New Act of The Year” (2011) at Hackney Empire’s annual talent competition (notable past winners include Stewart Lee & Ardal O’Hanlon). Having started out in cabaret, Mills later made a jump to stand up, and in this interview, we discuss why he did this, as well as who has influenced him and what he’s learnt since starting out.

H: Why did you want to get into stand up initially? Was it something you’ve always wanted to do?

DM: Because there’s no money / future in cabaret. I’ve wanted to do it ever since I realised there was no money / future in cabaret.

H: How would you describe your stand-up to those who haven’t heard of you?

DM: It’s a mash up of Dave Allen and US comic Paul Lynde. Not a complete rip-off but close as I can without getting sued.

H: What’s the most important thing you’ve learned since you got started in comedy?

DM: Newcomer = 10 years in the business.

H: Who would you say your influences are?

DM: Joan Rivers, Jennifer Saunders, Bob Newhart, Tony Randall, Scott Capurro.

H: Even the greatest comedians have had nights where they’ve really bombed- how hard is it to come back to stand-up after one of these shows?

DM: I’ve got used to it so it’s not that difficult.

H: Which do you prefer: writing or performing? Why?

DM: Performing. Writing is like pulling teeth.

H: Where does the inspiration for your stand up come from? What is your writing process like?

DM: I write in the shower mostly. I used to wank. Now I write. Uggh.

H: Are there any ideas that you find yourself returning to when writing your material? What do you think are you favourite things to talk about on stage?

DM: I don’t really talk about myself. But everything else is up for grabs. I don’t do much explicitly political humour, however I try to be political in the way I talk about things.

H: Do you think comedy is something that should be cerebral, that people should pick apart, or can it just be a bunch of silliness that people laugh at? What sort of comedy do you prefer?

DM: I don’t like silliness. I like smart comedy, comedy for adults. A lot of comics should stick to performing at parties for ten year olds. There’s way too much silliness.

An Interview with Adam Tempest.

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 03:48:00 +1000

We (fairly) recently conducted an interview with the acerbic Adam Tempest, who has been demonstrating how funny he is, professionally as a comedian at least, since 2007. His stand up has been very well received, and if his comedy cv is to believed (and why wouldn’t it be?) this praise is not just coming from audiences, but also comics alike. He kindly took the time to answer out questions thoughtfully and we kindly took forever to put them up. Sorry about that! Nevertheless, here they are!

H: How did you get started in comedy?

AT: I started going to watch The Last Laugh in Sheffield when I were a ‘shtoodent’ there. I saw some great acts, like Toby Foster, Paul Sinha and Jason Manford. I also saw the odd shit one which made me realise live comedy isn’t like it is on TV. Me and a mate went every week and he once said “I’ve had this idea for a sitcom…” I got WAY too enthusiastic and said we should start doing stand up. He said he was joking, backed off from the whole thing and a couple of years later I got started gigging.

H: Do you prefer playing smaller clubs, or larger festival gigs?

AT: A good size club is a joy to play. I haven’t done a great deal of festival gigs but outdoors/daytime/sunshine aren’t natural friends of comedy in my experience.

H: Do you think the internet/technology is too present in comedians’ careers nowadays?

AT: I still don’t think people have realised how influential the internet could be actually. It gets your comedy to people for free and gives you a potentially global audience. There’s been and is some great stuff online, like The Ray Peacock Podcast, Collings/Herrin, WTF With Marc Maron and many others, it seems like the difficulty is getting it to make money! Even the smallest new acts can get 200 people to listen to a free podcast once, and if it’s good people will always come back because the price is right.

H: How did you get involved with Patch Hyde? How does working in a group compare with working alone?

AT: I believe it started with drinking. He’d had a great idea for a show he’d been sitting on for years, and I blurted out words to the effect of “DO COMEDY IN FUDGE SHOP”, which was something he’d been thinking about for years. He was great to work with, and though we thought we’d punch/stab each other at some point the show went relatively well for a pair of chancers doing something a bit different. He’s developing the idea by doing something called (I think) ‘The Fudge Shop’, which I am very much looking forward to seeing. Working in a group is great because it gives you a social obligation to do work, the idea of deadlines doesn’t really come up when you’re just trundling around gigging.

H: Do you have anything upcoming you want to promote?

AT: Spaghetti LOLOGNAISE, 7:20pm at The White Horse on the Laughing Horse Free Festival (3rd - 28th) at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. I saw an article about the worst show titles on the fringe and I didn’t make it. Gutted.

H: Is stand up something you want to focus on, or would you like to go into TV/films in the future?

AT: It might be nice to do something different in the near future, work with people and maybe be less on-stage than I am in the future. A lot of telly is shite, there is a lot more creative and interesting work being given away online and that’s something I’d be interested in doing.

H: Is the comedy circuit in the UK tight knit at all, or is it more of a solitary thing?

AT: From what I hear it’s a lot more friendly than in the US but it can feel immensely solitary getting on a National Express bus at 11:59pm leaving some God-forsaken hovel for the overnight trip home. The good thing about doing comedy is everyone is still up at that time so it only takes a few quick texts to find out someone else is on a longer trip home on a MegaBus, sat next to a farting pensioner. Once you know someone else has it worse than you, you can start to relax. That’s the best way to deal with unhappiness isn’t it?

An Interview with Delete the Banjax.

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 03:34:00 +1000

Delete the Banjax are a london based comedy sketch troupe made up of Samuel Champion, Daniel Cook, Gareth Cooper and Caroline May-Jones. They formed in early 2008 and have been performing at sketch, character, cabaret and musical comedy nights around the UK ever since. Their most recent Edinburgh show (their fourth show at the festival): Pigs and Ponies, received great reviews and they are most certainly gaining momentum.

The Humourdor: At what point did you realise you were funny enough to be a comedian?

Delete the Banjax: Not really sure – but this is our fourth Edinburgh so we’re either comedians or completely self-deluded (though some would argue that’s the same thing).

H: Was it an easy decision to start doing gigs?

DtB: Yes – finding those first gigs was the difficult thing!

H: What’s your writing process like?

DtB: There’s not much of a “process” for us really – we just try and make each other laugh with little ideas or scenarios and then go from there.

H: How do you decide when to test material and where to put it?

DtB: We’ve had our own new material night this year, at the Pleasance in London, so we’ve had to force ourselves to write a load of new stuff each month. If a sketch goes well we’ll try it out at other people’s gigs, where most of the audience won’t know us – this is a good test as to whether the sketch holds its own or not. Once we had enough material we were happy with, we started previewing it, changing the running order each night to find the best combination. It does genuinely make a big difference where your sketches are placed in the show – for example, we tend to prefer fast, punchy sketches at the top to grab the audience’s attention before Gareth loses it by doing his Mr Darcy monologue.

H: How do you deal with hecklers or bombing?

DtB: Heckling in sketch shows can be a nightmare as you don’t always have the opportunity to respond without ruining the sketch. However, if you do deal with it well, and it’s funny, it can actually get the audience more on your side. Bombing is never easy – at least with four of us in the group we can sit down, drink a lot of beer and cry for a while together (um, not that we ever bomb, of course).

H: What do you think of comedy as an industry?

DtB: It’s bizarre – I think a lot of people would be surprised at how seriously everyone takes it.

H: What do you think the future holds?

DtB: Currently for us, a trip to the pub. Then we might want to think about our career.

H: Do you think comedy should have a message or ideology behind it?

DtB: It can but it doesn’t have to – to paraphrase Billy Connolly, it’s either funny or it’s not.

H: How consciously do you shape a style for yourself and how much is just natural?

DtB: Bloody hell, that’s a good question! It’s almost impossible to tell – we always feel like we formed our style through PBH’s Free Fringe, with little to no tech, basic props, using the low-fi space to our advantage etc. While we’re now in a paid venue and do use some tech (we’ve got animation this year!), we still try to keep the show fairly fast-paced and informal, like our previous shows.

H: Do you prefer festivals or club gigs? How do the two differ?

DtB: Festivals. For a sketch act, a club set of only 10-15 minutes is very little time to get your style across. At a festival, you usually get the chance to bring the audience into your own silly little world for an hour or so – it’s usually more fun for us and the audience.

H: How has comedy changed since you started?

DtB: Michael McIntyre is now playing the O2, whereas we saw him in Pleasance One a few years ago. Other than that, it’s pretty much the same.

H: Is there anything crucial you’ve learnt?

DtB: It’s difficult to survive off beer and chips for a whole month. But it is definitely possible.

H: The internet figures pretty largely into comedian’s careers nowadays – do you think this is a positive or negative?

DtB: It has to be a bit of both. We really don’t know how people got an audience for their show 10 years ago - we do everything by Facebook and Twitter etc. Social Networking and things like YouTube have revolutionised the way we access comedy and music, and there’s a wealth of amazing material out there, but you can lose literally days trawling through stuff you don’t like to find stuff you do.

An Interview with Chris Martin

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 03:26:00 +1000

Today we bring you an interview with the up-and-coming Chris Martin. Average, mundane, annoying; these are all words which could be used to describe one Chris Martin, but thankfully we’re not interviewing that one (you now see why were the interviewers and not the interviewees). Whilst I could now proceed to tell you all the reasons why he’s a rising star, its all discussed in the interview below, so enjoy!

H: Why did you want to get into stand up initially? Was it something you’ve always wanted to do?

CM: Yes. I used to watch it when I was at still at school. I used to love Jack Dee and Eddie Izzard when I was a teenager. One day I thought I would do it, and I was less crap than I thought, so I did it again.

H: How would you describe your stand-up to those who haven’t heard of you?

CM: Conversational, silly, sometimes funny.

H: What’s the most important thing you’ve learned since you got started in comedy?

CM: Hotel rooms are depressingly boring.

H: Who would you say your influences are? Do you ever see echoes of their work in yours?

CM: I used to love Jack Dee and Eddie Izzard as I said above, but I try to just write in my own way, otherwise you end up being someone you’re not on stage.

H: Even the greatest comedians have had nights where they’ve really bombed- how hard is it to come back to stand-up after one of these shows?

CM: I had one of them the other night. Then I just wanted to gig asap to wash away the bad gig. It gets easier as you do more because you know more often than not that your jokes are funny.

H: Which do you prefer: writing or performing? Why?

CM:Performing because of the adrenaline rush you get from a big laugh.

H: Where does the inspiration for your stand up come from? What is your writing process like?

CM: The process is normally me talking out loud, when I’m walking around. I try not to do it the street because people look at you funny.

H: Are there any ideas that you find yourself returning to when writing your material? What do you think are you favourite things to talk about on stage?

CM: Anything really. For some reason I always end up writing like my life is an action film when clearly it’s not.

H: Do you think comedy is something that should be cerebral, that people should pick apart, or can it just be a bunch of silliness that people laugh at? What sort of comedy do you prefer?

CM: Comedy can be whatever makes people laugh. There is a vast spectrum; if it was all exactly the same then it would be boring.

An Interview with Mike Upchurch.

Tue, 08 Nov 2011 21:49:10 +1000

Breaking the perceived barries of comedy interviews that nobody cares about except for the people involved, Mike Upchurch recently (a few months ago) submitted to an email interview. He discusses his varied career behind the scenes of various shows, such as the seminal Chris Rock Show and Mr Show during the ’90s, as well as his own online sitcom “Powerloafing”, which was recently sold to Turner Entertainment for broadcast on the TV box. Currently, he’s co-written and co-directed “Henson Alt.Reality Show” for the Henson Company that you can snap a preview of here. But first, read the interview!

The Humourdor: How did you get started in comedy?

Mike Upchurch: Oh, I love your accent!

H: It’s not an accent, it’s the way I talk. It’s called a dialect. I’m from England.

MU: I’m familiar with your country; I went to school at University of London. I found out the English often use different words and phrases than we use in America.

H: Bindi gar mulligan.

MU: For instance, I learned that what we in the US call “the trunk” of a car - you in England call “the bung hole.”

H: Good Lord, no, we call it “the boot”. We refer to vaginas as bung holes.

MU: Oh, I guess I got that wrong. But, whereas we say “colored people,” you say “coloured people…” Right?

H: I’m as far as you know coloured. Can we just get on with the interview, please?

MU: Sure, let’s do this.

H: And, ethically, feel I should point out that you are fabricating all of this discussion thus far.

MU: This is definitely happening. All of it.

H: No it isn’t, I’m not saying any of this, and you have yet to answer any of the questions I’ve emailed you.

MU: You called me on the telephone. It’s your phone bill, but I don’t like the tone of voice you’re using, however, I’ll answer your questions because I promised I would.

H: Thank you, I’d appreciate that.

MU: Okay, first question: Why did I get a lobotomy? I was part of some military experiments in the late 1950s…

H: No, stop it! How did you get started in comedy?

MU: (lights cigarette, gathers thoughts)

H: (coughs) Could you not smoke? We’re in a maternity ward.

MU: (indistinguishable) I was a heavy Mad Magazine reader, and my first dream was to write for Mad. I wanted to be one of “the usual gang of idiots…” mentioned in the byline, because it sounded like a great job. I drew cartoons in school notebooks and showed them to friends. Then, one night at about age 10 I was flipping channels and happened to stop on PBS, our Public Broadcasting System, and saw “Monty Python’s Flying Circus.” I couldn’t believe how fast and funny it was. I actually taped a sign above the TV: “Sunday night, 9:00 O’clock, Monty Python!” Of course, Saturday Night Live and SCTV were also a big influences on me. From then on, I wrote sketches and pitched them to friends, and followed every sketch show. You’re a good listener…

When I was 18 I practically took over a cable access channel in Boulder City, Nevada, and wrote and directed a sketch comedy show called “First Take.” It was awful, but I learned a lot by making mistakes. I continued putting on live sketch shows with friends, and shooting sketches whenever I could get a camera and scrape together enough money. I finagled a $5,000 arts grant to produce commercial parodies while in college, and I’m still amazed I got money for that. I forged stationary from the University of Nevada Las Vegas and got professional cameras and a 280 Z car on loan, among many things. We discovered that local businesses would donate stuff if we used the word “community” a lot and promised to mention them in credits. We proceeded to do stunts with the car and mounted the cameras to skateboards and bumpers, and many other terribly irresponsible things.

As a complete shock to me and my family, I was awarded a full scholarship to the graduate program at the Greenspun School of Communication, which seemed a perfect way to put off the real world for a while and continue messing around doing sketch comedy. I had to write a Master’s thesis as part of the course work, and I was interested in narratology, (the study of narrative), so it seemed a good idea to do a narrative study of sketches. I went to New York and interviewed Al Franken, then head writer for SNL, and Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca from Your Show of Shows when they did a revival show at The Sands Hotel in Las Vegas. I also bugged sketch comedy writers from the Golden Age of Television, including Mel Tolken, head writer of Your Show of Shows, and read dozens of really boring books on “comedy theory” and history. My thesis, “The Poetics of Sketch Comedy,” took me three years to complete, and it’s over 100 pages. At that point I was writing spec sitcom scripts in my spare time and had a couple movie scripts under my belt. I finished college, and was just sitting around spinning my wheels. I credit my good friend, Charles Skladanowski, with literally demanding that I move to Los Angeles with him to make movies. I couldn’t think of anything better to do, and really had few viable career options, so I sold an old car I had restored and used the money to move to LA. I had planned to spend 10 years to make something happen, but a little over a year later I managed to stumble into a job writing on Mr. Show. The movie thing hasn’t happened yet, but I was far more prepared to write sketch comedy anyway, obviously.

Ugh, I’m really light headed from this cigarette. I don’t smoke, and I thought it would make me seem cool, and the babies crying has given me a headache. Bad idea. I think I’m gonna puke…

H: Are you alright?

MU: Please, take your hand off my leg. You’re taking advantage of me because I’m vulnerable now.

H: May I remind you that you were pretending this was a phone conversation, so this isn’t even logically consistent. You should probably revise the earlier part if you’re going to have me make a pass at you.

MU: No, I like it, and I’m going with it. Logical inconsistency is… (gasping) funny. Uhhgh! (throws up) Okay, I feel better now. Where were we?

H: …on my Timberlands! What made you choose writing comedy over performing it?

MU: I guess I had no desire to become famous. I actually enjoyed performing, but there was a point when I made a conscious decision to pursue only writing. As a teenager, all the funny kids in school had what I later learned was a “schtick,” a dependable gimmick that consistently gets laughs. I had no schtick, I’d just thought of funny things to say, which was more work, but it was what I did.

I’m actually performing stand up comedy now, and I like doing it. With writing it’s all vicarious thrills, but you get an immediate jolt when you get a laugh on stage, and there is nothing comparable. I do absurdist bits and wear a suit when I perform stand up. I’ll probably keep doing it.

H: IMDB lists your first writing credit as Mr Show, which is pretty impressive- how did you get involved in that? What was the experience like?

MU: It was a fluke that my first apartment in Los Angeles had a cable sticking out of the wall, and I hooked up my TV and got free HBO. That very night was the premiere of Mr Show. I thought it was great, but four episodes later the cable shut off. Later on, I discovered that I’d seen the initial “experiment” as HBO called it, of four episodes. Over the next year I took a few temp jobs and struggled to make ends meet, and hit many walls trying to sell my screenplays. I started checking out the alternative comedy scene, which was vibrant, original, and very funny. I happened into a place called Pedro’s, a neighborhood bar in Los Feliz, and saw a great weekly comedy show that was the precursor to Largo, a legendary comedy show still running in a different location. I met Bob Odenkirk, and David Cross and many of the people involved in Mr. Show, like Paul F. Tompkins, Scott Auckerman, BJ Porter, and Eban Schletter, (who scored the music.) I learned that Mr Show had just wrapped a second season of 10 episodes. When I felt comfortable, I began pitching sketches to Bob and David - probably a dozen in all. I would come home from my terrible day job (answering phones at a hair transplant mill) and write sketches until I couldn’t keep my eyes open anymore. Finally, Bob and David told me to stop sending sketches because they didn’t even know if they’d be picked up for a third season. About two months later, I got a phone message from Dakota Films telling me to be at a coffee shop called “The Bourgeois Pig,” in Hollywood. I went there and learned I’d be writing for the third season of Mr Show.

The experience was amazing. The writing room was so funny and quick. It was intimidating, but I got with the flow because I’d been writing sketches with friends for years before that. The first few weeks all the writers pitched sketches, and we were sent off to write them. The walls of the offices were made of cork boards, and we put sketch titles onto note cards and pinned them everywhere. Then, after selecting the sketches, we’d all sit together in Bob and David’s office and figure out how to connect them into episodes. Some episodes went quickly - a couple hours, and some took days to finish. Interestingly, we had no writer’s assistant at Mr. Show, and we all traded off typing sketches ourselves depending on who was closest to the keyboard. By the end of the season Bob and David were out shooting sketches while the rest of the writers sat in the office trying finish the final episodes. It was extremely arduous, because we didn’t have a lot of time, and Mr. Show’s budget got squeezed after HBO took the cost of Tenacious D shorts directly out of our budget, which came as a terrible surprise. So, it was something of a pressure cooker with a considerable amount of yelling and bickering towards the end due to stress and lack of sleep, but I’d never trade it for a million years. I love all those guys, and I feel like we were in combat together.

H: You also worked on the Chris Rock Show and MADtv, is there something about sketch writing that you prefer?

MU: I love the pure creativity, the brevity, and the fact that you can do practically anything as long as it’s funny. I’ve always been fascinated with sketch comedy, which is probably why I wrote a Master’s thesis on it. It’s a unique form of storytelling, and one of the conclusions of my thesis was that sketches probably predated most other dramatic forms. The plays of Aristophanes and Plautus were complex advanced forms of storytelling, and it’s quite likely that earlier forms were more slight and simple, like sketches. We know that there were open air markets in ancient Greece, where puppet shows, juggling, and public speaking took place, so it’s not much of a stretch to think that comedic actors performed funny bits for passersby. If you were buying a gourd at the market and you saw a couple actors yelling and slapping each other amusingly, you might stop and chuckle at it, and if someone got kicked in the nuts you might even throw a shekel in their bucket for such brilliant comedy, wouldn’t you?

H: I suppose. What are you implying with all this market metaphor?

MU: Oh, c’mon, cheapskate, throw them a shekel!

H: Now I’m cheap?! How did the idea for Alt.Reality come about, and what’s it like when something you wrote a little while ago gets picked up now?

MU: I went to the Jim Henson Company for a general meeting, and their Creative Director, Alison Smith, took me to a room filled with 66 puppets stuffed into clear bags. She said they wanted to do a web show that makes fun of TV reality shows. I thought that sounded really cool, and I had always wanted to work with Henson, fulfilling a lifelong dream since Sesame Street, my first must-see television comedy at age 4. I thought about it and came up with the title, “Alt-reality,” and pitched a bunch of reality show premises. We shot the entire project over 4 days in a giant green screen cyclorama. Since there was very little budget, I devised a process that avoided building sets, and composited foreground and background elements that were created in photoshop, and multiplied puppets for crowd scenes, etc. It was a brief production and an extensive time-consuming post production that heaped all the work onto one lonely editor, which ended up being me. It took a forever to research the images, and then change colors, shapes and perspective to avoid copyright infringement issues. It took nearly a year for me to finish the project, and then it sat for over two years. Apparently, one of the companies involved, Realplayer I think, went through a regime change and the project just sat there. Finally, most of the episodes were released on the web a few months ago. It was nice to see them after spending so much time working on them. Right after I finished it all I could see were the mistakes, but after a couple years break I could actually sit back and enjoy it.

H: Powerloafing was an online series, do you think the internet has had a positive or negative effect on the state of comedy?

MU: Mostly positive. While it’s cluttered the landscape with a lot of hopelessly amateur stuff, it has also given many talented people a chance to get their work seen by the public unobstructed by networks or executives. Organizing a shoot was a drag before the internet, and it’s improved nearly every aspect of the production process. Now you can send revised scripts, upload rough edits and get instant feedback without anyone even getting putting on their shoes. While I’m glad the crap I did when I was a teenager didn’t make it on the web, I’m so glad we have it now. Therefore, I wholeheartedly vote to not abolish the internet.

H: Who are some of your comedic inspirations?

MU: Wow, that’s hard to narrow down, but I’ll give it a shot. Off the top of my head, and in no particular order: Mad Magazine, Monty Python, Saturday Night Live, Carol Burnett, SCTV, Woody Allen, Richard Pryor, Bob Newart, Jonathan Winters, Flip Wilson, Steve Martin, Peter Sellers, Redd Foxx, Abbott and Costello, Laurel and Hardy, the Marx Brothers, W. C. Fields, Blake Edwards, George Carlin, Albert Brooks, S. J. Perelman, Stephen Leacock, Robert Benchley, Mark Twain, Kurt Vonnegut, Lewis Carroll, Bill Cosby, Charlie Chaplan, Buster Keaton, Danny Kaye, Keith Waterhouse, Warner Brothers Cartoons, Moliere, Steven Wright, Firesign Theater, Jerry Lewis, Lucille Ball, Mae West, The Coen Brothers, Frank Oz, Terry Gilliam, Joseph Heller, Mel Brooks, Carl Reiner, Rob Reiner, Frank Tashlin, Larry David, Don Knotts, Tim Conway, Harold Ramis, Dr. Seuss… Whew! I’ve surely left out many people. These are folks who inspired me as a youngster, but I’m still being inspired every day.

H: What can you tell us about your upcoming pilot?

MU: I like the word “upcoming,” because it implies that it will get made, which I certainly hope is the case. At this point it only exists on paper, but it has gotten me meetings and some notice already. It’s called “Eddy Tripp,” and it’s a bit of a departure for me, in that the characters are realistic and the situations somewhat grounded, which gives license for absurd departures. I’m very proud of it, and I can’t convey to you how much I want to get it made into a series. I have an actor attached as the lead, who has already been in some undeniably great comedies, notably: “Freaks and Geeks,” and “Party Down,” and he is amazing. We’re going to be pitching it together over the next few months around town. Fingers crossed.

H: Do you prefer writing your own things, or writing as part of a staff for a pre-existing show?

MU: I like both. I like doing a job, working on a team, and not having to be in charge. You can focus on the funny stuff and raid the refrigerator without having to deal with the million production and personnel considerations coming at you when you’re running a project. It’s challenging to figure out a vision that is not your own. It expands your own capabilities and makes you aware of different perspectives on what is funny. Every job I’ve had, and every co-writer I’ve worked with has taught me something.

Conversely, it’s great to be the architect of own vision. When your sole purpose is cracking yourself up without any mediation or compromise it’s a free and wonderful feeling. That’s why I’ve done so many projects with my own money, like Powerloafing. Powerloafing ended up being a great show that I did entirely on my own with friends. I eventually sold it and made my money back, and I take pride in saying that I spent my own money on a high-risk internet entertainment project and didn’t lose my ass.

H: Do you have any upcoming shows you’d like to promote? We’ve been talking without ridiculousness for some time now… I like it.

MU: Yes, the show I eventually sell and get on the air, whatever that ends up being. I’ll have to get back to you on that - soon, I hope.

Okay, so, how did I do? Don’t worry, I can take it. I appreciate any feedback, both good and bad that you may have.

H: Well, I think the conceit of our interaction is not pulled off very well. It’s tonally inconsistent, in addition to the logical flaw that I pointed out earlier. You also threw up and left a puddle of vomit without cleaning it up, and it’s starting to smell. Further, I’ve noticed comma splices and run-on sentences, which should be embarrassing for a professional writer like yourself. The fact that I had to correct them for me essentially renders you an infant. Finally, you come off a bit long-winded and pretentious in places, if you don’t mind my saying.

MU: Well, fuck you. If I wanted your opinion I would have asked for it.

H: I’m afraid you did ask for my opinion.

MU: Oh, right, point taken. Seriously though, speak for yourself.

H: But, since you are putting these words in my mouth I can’t really do that, can I? These criticisms must reflect, in some way, your own insecurities about your writing, and if you’re completely honest with yourself you’d have to agree with me, wouldn’t you?

MU: You are blowing my mind.

A message from Lady Garden!

Fri, 04 Nov 2011 10:28:00 +1000

Do you a.) like fun or b.) not like fun? If your answer is a.), then you’ll probably want to head down to one of our comedy nights. Actually you probably already have. You’ve probably pre-booked tickets for all our future gigs, because you’re super cool fun happy love person. If your answer was b.), then we need to talk to you. We’re Lady Garden and we’ve got a couple of things we need to talk out with you. Some issues that need tackling head on.

Issue number one is that we’re doing a gig on Friday the 4^th of November at the Leicester square theatre. The problem here is that the line up is incredible (Phill Jupitus, Isy Suttie, Nick Mohammed, Jonny Sweet and Pappy’s), we’re all really cool and fun and will make you feel good about yourself and your life, and yet you might still be thinking, ‘oh no way mate I’d rather spend my Friday night eating and crying simultaneously and staring into other people’s warm living rooms from a rainy pavement’. Why are you such a dick? Why don’t you just get yourself a little ticket and come on down?

Issue number two is that we’re doing a Christmas gig (I can already hear you screeching your horrible death rattle of joyless humbug pain) on December 20th at the Wilmington Arms. Last year we put on a nativity play with the likes of Pappy’s, The Penny Dreadfuls, Tom Bell, Tom Allen (all the Toms), Ginger and Black and Toby. It was mind-blowing, life altering and perfect. This year we will be better than perfect and twice more fun than infinity ever was or has been. Can you see why not being here will be very bad for your mental health? All your friends will be going, ‘oh my goodness that was the best, I feel like everyone who was there really bonded and they’ll be my friends… actually more like my family, forever and ever. I’ve never felt so much love!’ Whereas your bum skin will slowly be fusing with your piss soaked armchair, in your dark misery-hole of a dwelling. Why are you being such a prick? You need to have a rethink. You need to do something about your sorry little existence while you still can. We can help you.

Click here for our interview with Lady Garden.

—————————————————————-

Lady Garden & Friends Residency
When: 9.30pm on Friday 4th November
Where: The Leicester Square Theatre
Nearest Tube: Leicester Square
Tickets: Ł13/Ł15
http://www.leicestersquaretheatre.com/
Some of ‘Britain’s Funniest Women’ (Telegraph), Lady Garden, return with one of the most popular residencies in London, joined by Nick Mohammed, Isy Suttie, Pappy’s, Jonny Sweet and Phil Jupitus.

An Interview with The Awkward Silence..

Thu, 27 Oct 2011 03:23:00 +1000

The Awkward Silence are a comedy sketch duo made up of one part Ralph Jones and one part Vyvyan Almond. When interviewing a comedy sketch duo called The Awkward Silence, the last two thirds of their name don’t exactly promise a great interview. Fortunately that proved to be untrue, as you can read below, where we discuss matters such as their origin as a group, their comedy influences, their first gig…. with hardly any awkward silence at all!

H: Who are The Awkward Silence and how did you start out?

Ralph Jones: ‘The AwkwardSilence’ has been all sorts of different people, so it’s easiest to say who it is at the moment. (It’s Vyvyan and me). In November 2010 I was already writing and performing bits of comedy around the place when I saw Vyvyan onstage as part of The Oxford Revue; I thought he timed a line so beautifully I immediately wanted to perform comedy with or hug him. Four months and lots of furtive discussions in various pubs later, and the journey had begun. We were on our way. We were on the road. We’d made the big leap. What was the question?

H: How is writing distributed amongst The Awkward Silence and do you try to make sure everyone gets equal parts?

Vyvyan Almond: Ralph does it.

RJ: I’ve come to the table with a lot of previously cooked food, so we do re-heat that a bit. Otherwise, yes, I write most of the new sketches at the moment; it’s about as unequal as it can get, which is how we like it.

H: Growing up, which comedians made you want to get into comedy & who out there today makes you want to continue?

VA: I wasn’t very young, but WitTank made me really feel that it would be worth doing.

RJ: I haven’t got enough limbs. (To count the comics I admire, not as a person.) Big influences on me have been Peter Cook, Rowan Atkinson, Monty Python, Ricky Gervais, The Simpsons and Family Guy. There are so many heroes of mine performing on the circuit these days: The Penny Dreadfuls; Sheeps; Tom Bell; Jacob Edwards; WitTank; William Andrews; Thom Nelstrop. They all know exactly what they’re doing, and do it supremely well. Always a joy to watch.

H: What was your first gig like?

RJ: Thanks for asking. In terms of Vyvyan and me, it was smooth. It was our Special Guests gig in March 2011 and nothing exploded; no-one was (seriously) wounded; and our material went down fine, considering we’d met each other less than four months previously. So rather disappointingly, it wasn’t a horror story and it didn’t make the front pages of any major newspapers. We’ve had some bloody weird gigs since then though.

H: How have The Awkward Silence evolved since then?

RJ: We’ve had some bloody weird gigs. And we’ve come to develop much more of a style of our own. We also both decided to age about seven months between March and the present day, which I feel was a good decision. On top of that, we’re tightening material and learning a lot from the other talented sketch groups around us.

H: What elements do you think are essential to a great comedic performance?

VA: A receptive audience, and sensitive timing.

RJ: Big balls (not literally); the confidence to know that you are funny; the willpower to carry on trying to be funny. The worst thing a comedian can be is unsure of their material or of what they’re trying to say.

H: How are you with hecklers? Do you think they can ever help a show? Do you think it’s easier or harder to deal with them in a troupe as opposed to a solo stand-up?

RJ: Bring them on. No, don’t, we really wouldn’t know how to handle them. They would literally ruin the entire gig.

VA: We’ve never had any: sketch comedy just doesn’t seem to call for it. The worst we get is silence and slack applause.

H: Do you think a comic has any other purpose than making their audience laugh?

VA: Anyone could, but it is up to them. Even artists and authors could create pieces without a point, which are purely engaging. Similarly, if they wish, a comic could try to change opinions. But there is no requirement.

RJ: What Vyvyan said.

H: What do you think of the current state of comedy?

VA: Swamped.

RJ: I think it’s a great shame ‘conventional’ stand-up - Russell Howard, Michael McIntyre, Peter Kay - is held in such high regard, but if it wasn’t, perhaps people like Stewart Lee wouldn’t be able to do the wonderful comedy they do as a counterpart to that swampage. It’s very easy to slag off other comics, but it’s not worth it; everyone’s good at different aspects of comedy, and you have to concentrate on what you enjoy. That is along the same lines as some brilliant advice Matthew Crosby of Pappy’s once gave me; he said you should never be pissed off if others are doing things faster than you are - focus on improving your own work. And, to pile on more advice from more comedians, Simon Munnery said that “It’s not a race it’s a dance”, which is a delightful way of phrasing it. Watch comedy and enjoy it, but never think that it’s a ‘them’ and an ‘us’ business. …Hopefully that’s what he meant.

H: Are there any projects on the horizon that you would like to promote/shed some light on?

RJ: We’re developing a comedy detective series for the radio, which we aim to have written by Christmas 2011; our Special Guests night continues monthly at The Wilmington Arms and always has a ridiculous swathe of talent on display; and we pop up at other people’s London nights. Please do see theawkwardsilence.co.uk for all gig information. Bye-bye then, bye-bye.

VA: Good-night.

An Interview with Claudia O'Doherty

Thu, 27 Oct 2011 02:49:00 +1000

Today we have an interview with Claudia O’ Doherty, a very funny (which is important in her line of work) stand up comedian who uses her background in drama to create wonderfully silly, surreal scenarios to great effect. Her last show; Monster of the Deep 3D, performed to sold-out crowds (and mass critical praise) at both the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and the Brisbane Comedy Festival. Here we talk about, amongst other things, her new show; What is Soil Erosion?, as well as her title as a “comedian thespian”, her writing process and more!

The Humourdor: You’ve been called a “comedic thespian”, do you think this is accurate? Is it an image you want to cultivate?

Claudia O’Doherty: It’s a really cool image, right? I think it’s just what people say because I’m not doing standup or sketches. I’m not sure if it is accurate, because I’m not really acting, I’m just trying to be funny. I tend to do that by being a slightly more ridiculous version of myself and saying a mixture of true and made up things, usually with an unflattering outfit on. Maybe it’s completely accurate.

H: You’ve won both Best Newcomer, and Best Comedy at the Melbourne Comedy Festival, is critical praise important to you?

CO’D: It can’t be important, because you can’t control whether or not people give you prizes and nice reviews. It’s great when you get cash though. I LOVE THAT. Also, it may make me sound like a jerk to point this out, but I won Best Comedy at the Melbourne Fringe, not Comedy Festival.

H:Your comedy is very factually-based, why choose this method of delivery?

CO’D: I don’t know. I like talking about things I’m interested in onstage, so the ocean, space, Jack the Ripper, etc… and often facts about those things are a good place for ridiculous things to start.

H: What’s your writing process like?

CO’D: When I’m writing a show, I do this: Procrastinate for a month. Panic. Write for two hours in the morning for about two months. Go to magic shops and bargain stores in the afternoons. Go clubbing in the evenings. It is very psychologically fraught, but nowhere near as terrible as a proper job.

H: For those of us who missed you in Edinburgh/Melbourne this year, could you tell us about your show: “What is Soil Erosion?”

CO’D: Very boring. That show is the one I did at the Edinburgh festival. The idea is that I want to make a TV series about soil erosion called ‘What is Soil Erosion?’. No one will put it on TV because it’s boring and stupid, so I’ve decided to do a staged demonstration of the whole series in an hour. It’s very silly and there are lasers.

H: Are there any upcoming shows or ventures you want to promote?

CO’D: I’m doing ‘What is Soil Erosion?’ from the 18th-30th of October (BOOK TICKETS HERE: http://bit.ly/qq3tZp) at the Belvoir St Theatre in Sydney, Australia. Come to those please.

H: If you could be asked any question by an interviewer, what would it be?

CO’D: Can you fit your whole fist in your mouth?

<Your response to the above question>?

CO’D:: Yes.

An Interview with DeAnne Smith.

Mon, 03 Oct 2011 03:16:49 +1000

Yes, we should have posted this during the Fringe, but thank your god that we didn’t, for now we don’t just have an interview with the very funny, up and coming comedian Deanne Smith; we have an interview with the very funny up and coming comedian- who also made the top ten list of best jokes at the fringe (“My friend died doing what he loved … Heroin”), as voted for by viewers of UK TV channel Dave (who presumably had to miss an episode of Top Gear in order to do so), Deanne Smith!The Humourdor: When did you realise you were funny enough to be a comedian?

DeAnne Smith: I made people laugh the first time I did an open mic, despite the fact that I forgot most of my jokes and just ended up rambling. From that moment, I was hooked.

H: You’ve won/been nominated for some pretty big awards, is critical praise important to you?

DS: Yes. Attention and approval is key to me feeling like my life has meaning. Please, world, more validation! The hole in my soul is so great! Let’s fill it together!

H: You’re quite a regular on the festival circuit, how do festivals compare with club gigs? Do you prefer one or the other?

DS: I love both, which I guess is lucky. I love the challenge of performing club gigs, trying to win over a bunch of folks who have no idea who I am and who may not even be down with my particular style of comedy. And I love being able to really stretch out and be myself over an hour in a festival show.

H: How do you go about collecting material for a festival show?

DS: I have a magical pony called Rainbow that visits me once a year with joke ideas tied to his mane. (Alternate answer: I have no idea, which is why starting a new festival show is always a terrifying prospect.)

H: What’s your writing process like?

DS: It’s filled with tiny notebooks, walks around the block, self-doubt, and occasional pep talks.

H: You’re quite popular internationally, do you find that your comedy translates well overseas?

DS: So far it’s been really great. I’m eager to see how I go over in the UK. Wait a minute…do you guys have, like, politics and emotions and relationships and stuff over there? ‘Cause if not, you might not “get” me.

H: You seem to have quite strong ties with Montreal, your hometown, what with being voted best comedian there and hosting comedy shows. Do you have a soft spot for it?

DS: I didn’t grow up in Montreal, but I started comedy here so I consider it my comedy hometown. And yes, I love it. It’s a wonderful place! It’s great to live in the city where the Just for Laughs Comedy Festival happens every year, and where there are a bunch of cool little theatres in which to run shows. Plus, there’s a laid-back style of life, European architecture, delicious food, multilingual citizens, and just enough of that French disdain to keep one humble.

H: You’ve appeared on TV and radio quite a bit, is that something you’d like to do more in the future?

DS: Definitely!

H: Can you tell us about your upcoming Edinburgh show?

DS: For my first show in Edinburgh, I’m bring a “best of” show called “DeAnne Smith: The Best DeAnne Smith DeAnne Smith Can Be.” (I’m pretty proud of how I’ve jammed my name three times in the title.) It’s my usual fun, energetic, semi-intellectual style of stand up, mixed in with a few catchy ukulele tunes. I hit on topics like anxiety, ignorance, relationships, and mortality. I’ll actually be finalizing my set list on the plane on the way over, so I’m still not 100% sure what I’ll throw into it. It might change a bit from night to night. But I do know that it will be great, and that you should come see it!

An Interview with Stefan Golaszewski

Fri, 30 Sep 2011 01:06:08 +1000

Today we have an interview with Stefan Golaszewski who, amongst other things, was the Cambridge Footlights President from 2002-2003, part of the insanely good comedy sketch group Cowards (along with Tim Key, Tom Basden & Lloyd Woolf), and writer/creator of the BBC Three series Him & Her. As a director, he won the if.comedy Best Newcomer Award with Tom Basden for Won’t Say Anything in 2007 and again in 2009 with Jonny Sweet for “Mostly About Arthur”. Interview below.

The Humourdor: Why did you want to get into comedy? Was it something you’ve always wanted to do?

Stefan Golaszewski: I think I sort of fell into it. I did quite a lot of comedy things at university and, since I’ve never been any good at any proper job I’ve ever had, I thought it might be worth giving it a go.

H: What is the status of the sketch troupe, Cowards? Do you think you’ll collaborate together any time soon?

SG: If someone wanted to let us have another go at a TV show, we’d do that. But no one does.

H: Where does the inspiration for your work come from?

SG: That thing we all do where we pretend we’re not insecure and fallible.

H:What is your writing process like?

SG: Monday to Friday, 9.30 to 5. I write a first draft quickly and rewrite it endlessly. When I can’t do anything more to it, I’ll not look at it for a few weeks and get on with something else. When I return to it, I’m always stunned and embarrassed by how appalling it is.

H: Do you think comedy is something that should be cerebral, that people should pick apart, or can it just be a bunch of silliness that people laugh at? What sort of comedy do you prefer?

SG: I’m not interested in comedy that’s so pleased with how apparently clever it is it forgets to be funny. Nor am I interested in comedy that’s so dull and inhuman it could’ve been written by a pig. I like things that say something to me about what it’s like to be a person. And I like things that make my brain fizz with thoughts I’ve never had.

H: Is comedy Art?

SG: Yes. And, as with all Art, some of it’s good and some of it isn’t.

H: Which do you prefer/find most satisfying: writing or performing? Why?

SG: Writing Him & Her, being on set every day and going through the editing process, being part of a team making a thing from scratch and covering all aspects of it, is an incredible thing to be allowed to do. It’s completely fulfilling. Every day I feel extremely lucky, waiting for someone to tell me it’s been a mistake and I’m not allowed to do it anymore. Performing’s fun in a different, more petty way, but it comes with a mass of fear, peril and insecurity that I can’t be doing with.

H: With Cowards, you were a performer, but you seem to gradually be moving more on more behind the camera? Why is that?

SG: I prefer the life I get when I’m writing. I get to see my girlfriend in the evenings and I don’t have to talk to anyone.

H: Where did the idea for Him & Her stem from? Did the finished product accurately reflect what you originally had in mind?

SG: I wrote the first version of the script ages ago and no one liked it till I met Kenton Allen (the producer). I wanted to make something that was truthful, warm and funny, about what people are actually like and not what people on telly are like, a sort of contemporary version of a 70s sitcom. Kenton and Richard Laxton (the director) were invaluable in guiding me towards the realisation of this. So yes, it’s what I wanted it to be, only better because of them.

H: If you were starting out today as a writer, how would you go about getting started? It can look impossibly difficult from an outside perspective?

SG: I’d write loads and try and find out what your thing is. (This can take decades.) Then find an outlet for your writing that isn’t just a script - do something live or make a little video of it - so people (agents, producers, whoever) can see what you mean without having to guess. It’s also important to be prepared to waste a lot of time, effort and money.

H: Are there any upcoming projects that you’d like to promote/shed some light on?

SG: The first series of Him & Her is currently being repeated on BBC1, Wednesdays at 11.15pm. The second series will start on BBC3 towards the end of the year.

Finally, a Good Interview with Carl Donnelly.

Sun, 25 Sep 2011 00:37:57 +1000

Carl Donnelly is a regular on the London comedy circuit, which makes sense what with him being a brilliant stand up comedian, residing in London. Starting his comedy career all the way back in 2004 (so maybe not that long ago), Carl has been gradually making a name for himself amongst audiences and comedians alike, and is no doubt on ‘comics to watch’ list’s across the land (or, in this case, across internet blogs). Here we talk about such things as Hecklers, Ideology in comedy, the process of writing material and more!

The Humourdor: At what point did you realise you were funny enough to be a comedian? Was it an easy decision to start doing gigs?

Carl Donnelly: I think I was always a bit funny and weird growing up but at no point did I ever think there was a career option in it. Being a comedian didn’t even cross my mind until I found myself in a job I had no interest in with no formal qualifications. I needed something to give me direction and was lucky enough to go to a stand-up gig at the Banana Cabaret in South London where I witnessed just how amazing stand-up is. It still took me about 18 months before I built up the courage to do it and the rest is history!

H: What’s your writing process like? How do you decide when to test material and where to put it?

CD: I do most of my writing onstage in the sense that if I think something is funny or something happens to me that I think could be material, I just say it at my next gig. If it works then I write it down and it becomes something I may use again. After that it is simply a case of saying it until it tightens up and becomes a well rounded piece of material. I suppose this is the big difference between ‘writer comedians’ and ‘performer comedians’. A person who is a writer comedian will agonise over the wording of a joke before ever saying it out loud where as a performer comedian, I say it out loud before I have even thought up a start, middle and end?

H: How do you deal with hecklers or bombing?

CD: Hecklers are rubbish 99% of the time so tend to be more simple to deal with than most people realise. I don’t have any pre-planned heckle put-downs as prefer to react to each individual one in the moment. The 1% of the time I receive a good heckle, I congratulate them. Bombing is a very different all together. Luckily, the longer you do comedy, the fewer and farther between bad gigs get. The downside to that is you can forget sometimes just how bad they feel. I died at a gig not long ago for thirty minutes and it was so bad it became funny! I started laughing halfway through stories because I could tell they weren’t going to laugh at the end so I was basically telling totally futile bits of material! I imagine it is like when a football team is 5-0 down at half time but still have to play the second half. You can see half of them are already thinking about what they are going to have for their tea!

H: What do you think of comedy as an industry? What do you think the future holds?

CD: I think the comedy industry more than any other type of art/entertainment has the best success to nice person ratio. It is very rare that a massively successful comedian is a total wanker. I think it must be because the early years of travelling around doing rubbish gigs for no money dissolve any overbearing ego that could have been under the surface! As an industry, it is still in a boom period which is great as there has never been more opportunities for comedians to build an audience (what with all the current TV and radio shows that showcase comics). Hopefully the future will see it continue to boom but there is obviously the possibility of the bubble bursting in which case we will all get drug habits and go on the dole!

H: Do you think comedy should have a message or ideology behind it?

CD: I think the vast majority of comedy does have a message or ideology to it but some are given more credit than others. I’ve watched comedians pepper their sets with material that suggested certain political & religious viewpoints but i haven’t really learned anything I didn’t already know, whereas I’ve watched people talk seemingly about very trivial things and have come away understanding their world view much more and have taken something away. At the risk of sounding pretentious, I think to deliver a message with stand-up it has to come from a place of honesty rather than an attempt at telling people what to think. I’ve never tried to deliver any meaningful message with my stand-up but think by the end of my shows, people have got to know me and have a rough idea of my view on the world.

H: How consciously do you shape a style for yourself, and how much is just natural?

CD: As with my writing process, my style was very much something I allowed to just happen onstage. My brain is going a million miles an hour onstage thinking up the funnies so I don’t have time to worry about how I am speaking or standing. That does lead to me sometimes mumbling and standing in very strange positions which luckily can end up being quite funny in itself. I was in Melbourne earlier in the year and was on a high stage talking to a person in the front row. Mid-conversation I became aware I was crouching down with my elbows on my knees. What was interesting was that the audience by that point were so used to my weird stances, they hardly noticed. It was only when I pointed it out did they laugh!

H: Do you prefer festivals or club gigs? How do the two differ?

CD: If we are talking music festival gigs then I think they have the ability to be amazing but can also be car crashes. I once played the Camp Bestival comedy tent and clashed with Florence and the Machine on the main stage. Needless to say, she was more popular with the festival goers and I ended up playing to about 80 kids who were challenging me to do forward rolls onstage. Needless to say I complied! With that in mind, I would say I prefer club gigs. Of course there are festivals such as Edinburgh where you get a completely different experience in that you are doing your own show for a month which is amazing. Doing full length shows is nice because unlike a club, the audience are there just for you so will invest a bit more faith in you. I always feel a bit more free to let loose and mess around in a solo show as have total control over the tone of the room. In a club, the MC or previous acts can set a tone that you have to match or attempt to change in your 20 minutes!

H: How has comedy changed since you started? Is there anything crucial you’ve learned?

CD: More people start out now with the knowledge that stand-up is a viable career option. When I started (even though it was only 6 years ago), I had no idea it could be a a proper career as there was still very little stand up on television and very few comedy courses etc. The boom started soon after my early attempts at stand-up (I am not taking credit for it but the evidence suggests my first gig was a big bang moment!!) so I was just starting doing comedy because I wanted to try it! Now, people can’t help but start out with the an idea of the possibilities that lie in front of them! In terms of lessons I have learnt, I think the biggest one is to always remember just how lucky I am to be a stand-up. If I ever have tough gigs or get a dodgy review, I remind myself that they are the rare negatives in what is a pretty sweet existence!

H: The internet figures pretty largely into comedians’ careers nowadays, do you think this is a positive or negative?

CD: The internet is a huge positive in my opinion. Blogs, Podcasts and youtube has given comedians a lot more avenues to release material than were available to previous generations. You only have to look at the success of someone like Bo Burnham to realise the power of the internet. His youtube videos were the first things he ever released and now he is a huge worldwide star (and a very good comic). Another recommendation for people to check out would be the blogs of Steve Cumberland on youtube. It’s an example of someone creating a character online that is totally believable as well as hilarious.

H: Can you tell us about your upcoming Edinburgh show?

CD: It is called ‘Carl Donnelly 3: Carl Donnelier!’ and is a selection of funny stories that I have deemed funny enough to tell strangers! I don’t really like telling people too much before the show so all I will say is that it is my funniest show yet and people should come along!

*Once again, we missed the Edinburgh deadline to post this, but fear not as Carl is currently on tour!