Comedy Fest Questionnaire: Jamaine Ross

Comedy Fest Questionnaire: Jamaine Ross

1) Tell us what your show is called this year?

The Medium Rare Comedy Showcase

2)  Why?Last year, Nicole Steven, Stephen Witt & myself were all finalists in the Raw Comedy Quest (which I won, but I’m not bragging, no big deal, whatever). So this year we decided to show how far we’ve come since then. Because we’re definitely not Raw anymore, but a perfectly cooked Medium Rare. And Gabriel Page is doing the show with us as well because he sometimes eats steak.

3) Can you give us a few hints as to what broadly your festival show is about?It’s a line up show where we each get to showcase our unique styles. Gabriel’s musical comedy, Stephen’s slightly skewed view on the world, Nicole’s outbursts and impressions, and my imaginative stories and observations. There’s a lot of variety so if you don’t like one of us (probably Gabriel), don’t worry, there’s 3 others that you’ll love.

4) How much time have you spent crafting the show over the past 12 months since the end of the last festival?This show is basically a culmination of all the material we’ve been working on for the past year. Which in comedian time is the past month.

5) The comedy festival is turning 21 this year – it’s a big age 21 – what are your memories of being 21? Or if you’re not old enough yet, you lucky person, what are your hopes for being 21?

When I was 21, I moved from my hometown of Christchurch to Wellington. Well, I attempted to, but overshot it and ended up in Masterton working in a sawmill.

6) The Comedy festival is one big party and catch up for a month - is there anyone you’re looking forward to seeing over here either socially or on stage?The Wayans Brothers. I remember when I was a kid, I used to stay up late on Friday nights to watch In Living Color, hoping the Dirty Dozens sketch would be on cos it had the best ‘Yo Mama’ jokes. I used to try and make up my own ones but they were terrible. “Yo mama so stupid she sometimes wears t-shirts as pants.” Actually, that’s genius. Don’t be surprised if you hear me say that in our show.

7) What’s the comedy scene like at the moment who do you rate and why?I’m going to be honest, I didn’t really watch local stand-up before I started doing it. So it’s hard for me to compare it to previous times but the quality seems pretty high across the board. One of my favourite comics is Nick Rado. I just love his energy and how much fun he has on stage. Plus he organises gigs so if I’m nice to him then he’ll give me some.

8)  What’s the best piece of audience interaction you’ve had?This guy heckled me a couple of times so I decided to challenge him to a fight in the parking lot. It was real gangsta until I told him to meet me by my mum’s lime green Suzuki Swift.

9) What’s the most memorable part of performing for you within the last 12 months?As a result of winning the Raw Comedy Quest last year (not bragging, no big deal, whatever) I got to perform at the Last Laughs at Skycity Theatre alongside all the Billy T & Fred Dagg nominees. I was on before Rhys Darby so just before I went on he was backstage pacing nervously and running through his stuff and I was like, “He’s just like me. Except a million times better.”

10) When we say New Zealand International Comedy Festival to you, what’s the first thing you think of?The laughing man logo. Such a cute little face. Just wanna punch it. Lovingly.

11) How would you persuade people to come and see your show?It’s fun, cheap, plus you’ll be able to tell people that you saw us before we were famous. Wait until we’re famous to say that obviously. Don’t just leave the show and tell random people on the street because that’ll be weird.