Photo credit: Natalie Brasington
If you’re unfamiliar with Maria Bamford’s comedy then get ready for a crash course!
A native of Duluth, Minn., Maria has been performing standup comedy since the early ’90s, crafting a surreal style of routine that tackles issues like depression and mental illness from a self-deprecating point of view. Her comedy act incorporates various impersonations of character archetypes, which creates a highly entertaining performance. Her routine is packed with hilarious misdirection and conversational material. Her show wonderfully blends humor with a mental stimulus that spectators can take to heart, to mind and to funny bone.
When Milwaukee Comedy’s Steve Breese got the opportunity to talk with Maria about comedy and her upcoming appearance in Milwaukee, well, it was a very exciting moment in the office. Here is Steve’s account:
Photo credit: Susan Malian
Maria is an amazingly nice person who spoke to me on the phone from a service provider called Credo Moblie (a progressive phone service part donates part of its revenue to a social movement – that’s pretty rad!).
I was greeted with a friendly and loving “Hello” from Maria as she referenced the beautiful and sunny LA weather (while I was sitting in cold, grey Wisconsin getting bitten by ants on my butt because I sat on an abandon chip). Our conversation was fairly causal as we discussed the Midwest comedy scene – as she puts it “a lot less stressful” from the bigger comedy cities like New York and LA. This will be, as far as her memory can recall, the first time she will be playing Milwaukee.
Although, she is familiar with the city through a comedy cohort and friend – Jackie Kashian, who is a South Milwaukee native. Jackie Kashian was recently in town for a show at Turner Hall as well. Kashian is one of Maria’s usual tour companions, but since she was just in town, Maria decided to look for opening acts for her Midwest shows in a less than ordinary way – reaching out through Twitter and Facebook posts to local and regional performers. (See post here.).
Maria mentioned:
“It’d be so much fun to see new comics you haven’t seen. It was a little overwhelming. There’s so many comedians that are good. Usually what will happen will be that I am suggested an act, and for the most part it’s men. I wanted to give the ladies a chance.”
These fortunate comedians will be Rebecca O’Neil and Rana May.
Maria is often referred to as “a comedian’s comedian” because she has a very unique style of comedy that pushes down personal barriers with a very honest and uncanny delivery. The label only means comedians and aspiring comedians really, really admire her performance abilities and talent.
Maria’s comedy is powerful and hysterical. Audiences who love comedy will appreciate her comedy performance and remain raving fans for eternity. Her comedy combines exaggerating personal experiences and relationships. Many of her fans have remarked on Maria’s ability to help them understand or cope with personal difficulties living with or knowing someone with issues such as anxiety, depression and other mental health issues. Maria’s comedy has the triumphant ability to make audiences feel splendid about life. And that’s what’s really attractive about her career.
When I asked her about the importance of bringing a comedian’s personal life onto the stage, she said:
“It’s all so personal, even your doing some wild character it’s gonna be personal – there’s going to be some element of yourself, I would think…It’s always frightening to go up to do standup and having the fear of not knowing if this is going to go okay or is it at all entertaining to people. I guess I like that part of entertainment – you just don’t know what’s going to happen. It is kind of, it’s kind of being yourself. It’s not the kind of love you get from your family and friends – who will love you if you’re just lying there for eight months. It’s conditional – the love of an audience.”
The audience is a huge part of comedy, really of all forms of entertainment, because it’s the only way entertainers will receive feedback on their development. Comedians desire the attention and support of the audience, however, a comedian must also develop in their personal life as well as on stage in order to grow as a performer and as an individual. Maria acknowledged that keeping an active life is important so a person can maintain a decent and manageable life:
“For the first ten years I had jobs. Full-time or temping jobs that really helped me have some sort of community and stability…living below the poverty line is only so funny. It’s fun to talk about, in retrospect. It also takes the pressure off the creative thing because it’s like if the show didn’t go well, then people at work will be relatively friendly.”
She mentioned that looking back at her life she notices that comedy can really take away from a comedian’s social life. But now having one, she sees how awesome it can be while still making headway in a career she enjoys.
She jokingly said:
“Even if it meant you’ll be a better comic if you didn’t have as many friends…well, maybe who cares? Maybe it’s better to have friends and family than being the greatest comedian in the world and so lonely because even if all of your dreams come true, if you have nobody to celebrate it with, it’s not as fun.“
Even though Maria may not be one of the most well-known household comedic names, she is definitely one of the most respected and talented performers working today. YOU can check see here in Milwaukee on April Fools Day (Wednesday, April 1) at Turner Hall or see her tour schedule here.
We’ll list just a few of her accomplishments in this paragraph bursting full of her recognitions in the entertainment business. Maria Bamford may be recognized as one of the alternative comedian performers from The Comedians Of Comedy Tour and documentary with Patton Oswalt, Zach Galifianakis, Brian Posehn and Eugene Mirman in 2004. She’s been featured in magazines such as GQ and The New Yorker. Her performance credits consist of performances at festivals like Just For Laughs, Gilda’s Laughfest, The New York Comedy Festival, and Moontower; in addition to appearances on Comedy Central Presents and Late Night Shows like Conan and The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. Maria has appeared on television shows including Kroll Show, Benched, Louie, and Arrested Development. She has reccurring voiceover roles on Cartoon Network’s Adventure Time and Netflix’s BoJack Horseman. She also developed a number of web series that incorporate her personal life such as her cult hit series ‘The Maria Bamford Show’ in addition to her other projects titled “Ask My Mom” and “The Program”. She currently has something in development with Netflix and will make an appearance in the upcoming documentary titled From Nothing, Something. You can also check out her comedy albums—her most recent album release Ask Me About My New God and her current special titled The Special Special Special can be found on her website.
I asked Maria if she had ever pulled any pranks to celebrate the April day of foolery.
“Oh man, I’m not so much a prank person. I don’t think I’ve ever pulled a prank on anybody. If I did, it would be a surprise party. It would be a very binge prank. It wouldn’t be any horrifying prank involving a pie in the face.”
Maria Bamford – Turner Hall, April 1 – 8 p.m. (Doors at 7)
You can find your Tickets on the Pabst Theater website. Maria Bamford will have comedians Rebecca O’Neil and Rana May accompany her on the Milwaukee Stage. Check out their twitter accounts and become fans! You won’t want to miss this magical night of laughter from one of the most powerful comedic voices in the industry.