Comedy Fest Q&A - Jamie Bowen

Comedy Fest Q&A - Jamie Bowen

Comedy Fest Q&A
JAMIE BOWEN

1)Tell us the name of your show
Heart Goes Boom

2)Which came first – the show name or the show content?
Well, my heart went boom, which helped me to think of jokes, which in turn lead me back to being aware that my heart was going boom. So who begat whom?

3)C’mon, be honest….
I experimented in high-school but I never inhaled. Nowadays I inhale. Waste not want not.

4)Any other working titles for the show?
Jamie Bowen’s Guide to Life; or, How Not To Do It.

5)How long – honestly- have you been working on this?
32 years.

6)What’s been the biggest challenge of pulling this show together?
I haven’t written any of this show down. It’s all been developed by trying it out on stage, recording it and then tweaking stuff in my head. So the hard part is remembering all the changes I make but it keeps me on point and on edge – the perfect place to exist as a comic.

7)Who’s your biggest comedy rival – and why?
Every other bald, middle-class, white, heteroflexible male comedian. We are a dime a dozen (except for the heteroflexible part) and it’s hard to make sure you’re sticking out from the pack. Hence the beard et al. Well, that, and laziness.

8)Who’s your biggest comedy friend – and why?
Every person I’ve got on with during the course of 15 years of doing comedy. What a trip and what an incredible bunch of humans.

9)Which show is your must see? Why?
Come to Late Laughs. Those things are always chaos and I’m I get to helm the good ship chaos  for a few nights so I’m looking forward to it.

10)Give us your definition of a great night out during the festival
Laughing until it hurts with people you love and complete strangers. It gives me hope in ‘us’ and hope is important.

11)What goes through your mind, the minute before curtain goes up?
I really hope I don’t set these people on fire through some kind of freak accident and I need to call my Mother more.

12)What about when you’re on stage?
Couldn’t tell you. Depends what’s happening on the night but in all honesty, most of the time it’s a blur. Not through any form of intoxicant, just because I’m in another zone…

13)How easily distracted are you?
This interview has taken me 3 days to complete.

14)Give us your dream comedy line up
Peter Sellers hosts Rowan Atkinson, Eddie Izzard, Monty Python, Bill Bailey, Victor Borge and some open-mic comic who nobody has ever heard and has only gigged twice. Always good to have a handgrenade in there.

15)Just finally, where will you be in 5 years’ time
On stage somewhere in the world, having a laugh. Or dead.  Hopefully the former.

Jamie Bowen performs his show HEART GOES BOOM (AKL 6-10 May & WLG 13 – 17 May) while hosting Wellington’s STAND UP FOR KIDS (WLG 17 May) and LATE LAUGHS all as part of the 2014 NZ International Comedy Festival in cahoots with Old Mout Cider this 24 April – 18 May. For more info visit www.comedyfestival.co.nz