Category Archives: comedy
Directors’ Note on “An Unexpected Variety Show.”
Gary Austin and I in LA 2011.
Meet Liz Skitch: Comedic Gem and All-round Rockstar Human Being
I wouldn’t be about to even embark on this mad adventure were it not for many, MANY different people helping me along the way, not the least of which is this wonderful wacky woman before you, Ms Liz Skitch.
Post-car crash, while I’d been easing my way back onto the stage, Liz really is the one who got me not just back on the comedy horse, but through her generosity, back on a horse that was even bigger, greater and friendlier than the one I’d started with. For Lizzie was the one who urged me to attend – and then hooked it up so that I was invited to perform a few guest spots at – last year’s one and only Adelaide Fringe Festival.
Without her, I wouldn’t have gone. I wouldn’t have been introduced to Sheridan Stewart, the dynamo of awesome who runs Titters (where I’m thrilled to be performing all Fringe this year as well). I also wouldn’t have discovered the fabulous Cabaret Fringe Festival, where Liz urged me to put my show on, in a run that wound up being the Aussie launch of the rough version of “An Unexpected Variety Show”, gave me some lovely reviews and a bit of press to get the ball a-rolling. Indeed, Liz was even the one who encouraged me to think about myself as being part of the cabaret world. I am indebted to her.
I just find this woman incredibly inspiring: I truly hope that I can be like her, to be wide open to sharing opportunities, offering encouragement and finding joy in helping to lift other people up, rather than the alternative (which I have certainly been privy to in my short career) of holding all your cards close to your chest in the fear that one person’s opportunity means one less for you.
Liz, you are a most rocking lady and whatever happens from here I am so grateful for your open, joyous heart and for being a true performing friend. I wouldn’t be here without you!
Huzzah for the generous rockstars in this life. The world would suck buttocks without you.
x
No Sleep Til Adelaide! (Well, okay, maybe three sleeps…but those sleeps shall be HARDCORE!)
Three more sleeps.
I feel like an astronaut about to launch into space, wondering whether he/she’s going to return to triumphant applause, a controversy about whether the ins and outs of the expedition actually occurred and/or possibly their own theme tune.
In reality, what I am undertaking is not nearly as dramatic as all this, but THAT WILL NOT STOP ME PRETENDING IT IS.
Part of the reason it feels so epic to be finally unleashing my show upon several cities in a few short months, is because it’s been so damn long coming. As those of you who’ve been reading along for a while will know, I was all set to present the show at Melbourne Comedy Festival 2010, when a lil thing known as a car accident got in the way.
Fast forward two years and it’s a-happening all over again but this time, nothing is stopping me. Except…well, you know, maybe another car accident…but no! No, not even that! For this is the new and improved post car-crash Jen, one who laughs in the face of obstacles, one who grabs a neck brace and quickly superglues to it feathers, sequins and a bugger-off image of Dolly Parton. I WILL NOT BE STOPPED.
Did I mention I’m on a very good multi-vitamin?
Anyway, at the latest count I am now doing FIFTY-THREE gigs during the Fringe. Every time I freak out I just pretend I’m The Rock.
He’s terrifying, yet motivating.
I think he’d be a great parent.
My Week in Photos (and all Aussie Tix are Now On Sale!)
Poster spotted in Adelaide. It's a-happening!
First things first, as of yesterday morning, tickets are all OFFICIALLY ON SALE for all my upcoming Aussie gigs! Woohoo!
Adelaide Fringe tix here!
Brisbane Powerhouse tix here!
Melbourne International Comedy Festival tix here!
I’m thinking of doing a bit of a competition in each city, offering free double passes to see the show to peeps photographing themselves (or their hands, or their gnome/teddy/figurine of choice) spotted with my posters. Whaddya reckon? A little self-indulgent, yes? Yes? YES. That’s why I kinda love it. I’ve always dreamed of becoming the hunted in a real-life “Where’s Wally?”
So, in between panic attacks, this week has been crammed with littlest’s birthday celebrations…
…a friend’s hens night…
…a much overdue hair overhaul…
Can you see the blue bits? It's a little wilder when it's all out...I thought it might go well with my tutu!
…Valentine’s Day tradition-eschewing in favour of a family picnic at the park…
One of my fave ever kidly pics.
…and the requisite to-do item of “ignoring housework.”
Seriously, I completely freaked out the other night about the state of our house, when my hubby kindly pointed out that if I intend to set the bar so ridiculously high for things-that-must-be-squeezed-into-the-one-lifetime then that’s all well and good, but that perhaps I need to accept that having a house that’s always up to scratch on the tidy front is going to be a casualty. At least until we can afford to bribe my kids adequately hire professional help. Ahhhhh. My innards sigh just thinking about it.
Ah well. At least in my imagination my house is beautiful and blog-worthy all the time. And imagination is more important than knowledge. Einstein said so.
Combatting the Anxiety-Riddled Side Effects of Attempting Wild Feats of Awesome
Find a happy place. Find a happy place.
Today it has happened. A wave of panic has hit the shore of my being, leaving seaweed trails of anxiety that spell out “AGH! Only 10 days til you jet off to Adelaide for the Fringe!” on the eroding sand of the otherwise relatively calm beach of moi.
Did you get that?
If so, ten points.
All is well. All will be well.
But while my to-do list is battling it out with my sense of panic to see “who will be the largest of them all?” I am trying to calm myself with thoughts that even if all hell breaks loose, it will be wonderful memoir fodder. This is what I tell myself every time I get worried. It does work. Mostly.
Then my dear friend Rachel emailed me today saying that she too, was hitting panic stations about her own amazing creative undertaking. I replied to her with what in hindsight, I realise was really the best advice I could probably give myself:
“I have no doubt that anything amazing achieved in human history has involved the fear of shitting oneself.”
I kinda want to frame it.
Adelaide Cabaret Tour Diary Part 2
No real reason to post these here, other than that they're ridiculously adorable. And they've greeted me each morning in the bathroom of my friend Jade's, where I've been staying!
Today we drove out to the Marion Cultural Centre – where, upon spotting the next-door aquatic centre complete with gigantic waterslides, I’ve already determined I’m going to be spending ample time with the kidlets during our upcoming month-long stay for the Fringe Festival – to perform more cabaret for a near-packed theatre of lovelies!
Warming up backstage.
Dolled up and ready for cabar-action!
The audience was delicious – in fact, I believe I might have even told them that; I suspect that the combination of being away from my kidlets and having a nice crowd can turn me into a bit of an overly affectionate mother hen!
Then it was off to Radio 5AA for a lovely chat with Amanda Blair, mother of four and all-round tour-de-force.
Last time we met (when I was in town for last year’s Cabaret Fringe Festival, Amanda tried to convince me to go for baby number four, to which I can only now respond that I have…with said offspring being An Unexpected Variety Show! If you care to, you can listen to the full interview – including me singing “The World’s Greatest Love Song” (an original song from my show) – here.
Tomorrow I am faced with a dilemma: seeing as I am proceeding directly from my final cabaret gig to the airplane back home…
DO I GET CHANGED OR DO I DARE WEAR A TUTU IN ECONOMY?
47 Gigs in One Month: The Adelaide Fringe Adventure Approaches
Working, performing and eating cheese. Pretty much sums up today.
AND…having a mild freak out upon going through my schedule for Adelaide Fringe Festival, which at the moment of me typing this, stands at 47 gigs in three and a bit weeks. FORTY-FREAKING-SEVEN. I think I’m gonna need some sort of protein supplement to get through this. Or at least somebody to hurl Gatorade down my throat at regular intervals.
You’re with me, right? I’ll blog the entire adventure if you’ll occasionally throw me a cyber-cheer when needed. Cos I’ve no doubt I’m gonna collapse in a heap on more than one occasion. But with a bit of requisite cheerleading, I can tell you I’ll bloody well cross that finish line one way or another…and I’ll strive to wear something utterly faboosh while I do.
That’s a promise.
x
The Kindness of Strangers (or “The WHY Of Performing/Writing/Show Pony-ing”)
Somebody sent me a snippet of their journal page after seeing the show at Melbourne Fringe. This made my freaking week!
I want to share with you a couple of encounters with strangers that have really rocked my world of late.
The first of these was at Woodford Folk Festival. There I was, popping my head in backstage at The Mystery Bus to double check what time my gig was that day. The greenroom was empty except for one woman. I smiled at her and said something like “Hey! I’m just looking for the schedule!”
She smiled back and pointed me towards it, then said “Hey, I just wanted to tell you I saw your show at the Powerhouse.”
“Oh!” I said.
“I hadn’t been out in ages, I just saw something about your show and decided ‘RIGHT! I’m going to see that!’ without knowing anything about it.”
She went on to tell me that the show had been really timely for her as her family had just experienced a major tragedy…she continued and as she spoke, we both got tears in our eyes.
I walked away from that moment feeling so emotional but within that spectrum of emotion was real happiness and indeed, joy: to have the show connecting with somebody I’ve never met, in a way that makes us feel like we’ve shared something real. Such a rocking moment.
The second two encounters happened via email; I won’t mention names or details here, they are certainly not my stories to share, but both were from people who have not seen my show at all, but one had connected with me via my blog and the other through cabaret.
Both people shared with me such deeply personal stories of loss in their family lives; I cried both times. I cannot even begin to express how moved I feel that complete strangers have honoured me by sharing their deep pain in that way. What a gift.
One finished their email to me with this: “Your openness to share stories prompts people to share back…I think this is your calling – to share to have people share back and heal.”
Wow.
Blown away. So timely too as I have been giving a lot of thought over the past six months to the “why” of what I do: blogging, performing, especially the stuff where I share pretty damn excruciatingly personal stuff…neither are for purely altruistic reasons – I’m as self-indulgent and narcissistic as they come – but I have really clarified that I do want to create work that’s more than just a nice way to pass the time.
I want it to connect. To make an impact. And, if I’m honest – and I won’t pretend this isn’t hugely affected by having been made painfully aware of the reality of death from a very early age in life – because I want to leave behind some sort of legacy. Even if it’s small. Even if that’s just in terms of having connected with somebody else in a way that stays with them longer than I do.
But hey, no pressure, right?! 
Why I am Particularly Stoked About This Year’s Oscar Nominees…
My director, mentor and friend, Gary Austin.
I was absolutely delighted to discover this evening that 5 (count em, FIVE) Oscar nominees this year are “Groundlings!” To the uninitiated, this is the affectionate – or so I am led to believe! – term given to alumni of The Groundlings Theatre in LA.
Why was I so chuffed at this turn of events, you ask?
Well because the man who founded The Groundlings Theatre was none other than the director of “An Unexpected Variety Show” as well as one of my favourite people in the entire world, Gary Austin. Thus I feel suitably entitled to get up on my little high horse and feel just a little bit attached to these particular folks of jawsome. GO GO GO! (You can read more about my time with Gary and friends in LA last year over here.)
The nominees are:
Melissa McCarthy – Best Supporting Actress – “Bridesmaids”
Annie Mumolo and Kristen Wiig – Screenplay – “Bridesmaids”
Nat Faxon and Jim Rash – Screenplay – “The Descendants”
Gary was quick to point out on his Facebook page that:
Not receiving a nomination but certainly deserving of one is long time Gary Austin Workshops alumnus Paul Feig – Director – “Bridesmaids.”
SQUEE!!!
I will be cracking out the big guns for this year’s Oscars, PLAINLY! You know…brushing my hair, eating the nicer brand of chocolate…I MAY even splash out on a $12 chardonnay. Somebody stop me!
