The comedian and her dad recreate a childhood photo and talk about early days in India, agoraphobia and swapping banking for comedy Born in New Delhi in 1969, Sindhu Vee spent her childhood in India and the Philippines, before throwing herself into aca…
Continue ReadingThe standup comedian is used to writing for public performance, but her remarkable book Little Weirds was written as private consolationJenny Slate is sitting in the middle of a storm. She’s safe inside, somewhere on a Massachusetts peninsula, and it’s…
Continue ReadingPerforming at the festival can be a taxing experience. Objectively Funny has created a peer support network that turns attention offstageIt’s lunchtime in Edinburgh’s Old Town and I’ve swapped comedy for something more serious. On stage, psychotherapis…
Continue ReadingOnce the domain of aspiring performers, improv courses are increasingly being attended by students experiencing mental health problems
“Your heart’s beating faster, you feel all these eyes on you, your body reacts with panic.” No, it’s not the discarded first line of Eminem’s Lose Yourself, but Alex MacLaren’s description of how his students feel in work meetings, job interviews or even the pub. MacLaren teaches improvisational comedy at the Spontaneity Shop in London. At first, its courses attracted performers. Now, he estimates half his students are seeking help with anxiety or confidence.
It’s a trend noted by other improv teachers. In Manchester, Brainne Edge runs workshops as head of ComedySportz UK. In the past five years she’s seen the proportion of non-performers attending her courses rise to around 75%.
It teaches you to have a better link between your brain and your mouth
Continue ReadingThe initial scenes of the pilot episode of I’m Dying Up Here – Showtime’s new dramedy set in early 1970s Los Angeles about the toils of emerging stars in the local standup comedy scene – are a con job. The audience is hijacked by cameras in love with a beautiful, brooding-but-brilliant comic, Clay Appuzzo, on […]
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