“Trust me,” says Denise Scott. “There is humour in everything.” Denise Scott is talking about her mother’s succumbing to Alzheimer’s and her eventual death, a story she tells in her new show Mother Bare. “It was a bit tricky to find it. But a graveside event can provide its own bit of comedy.” The comedian affectionately known as Scotty has made a show about her life as a mother for this year’s Comedy Festival. “It goes from birth to empty nest syndrome,” she explains. “The challenge was to make it fresh. Some of the stories are old, from when my kids were little, when I first started doing stand-up. I had to freshen up old stories, make them into a whole show. And it’s 90 minutes, so there’s an extra half an hour. But I really needed enough time to say everything.” She’s departing from her usual style with this show too: “I’ve made it more theatrical than usual. I actually went to a voice workshop and did exercises. I needed to, talking for 90 minutes, and there’s a song.”
Scott says she has been more nervous about presenting this show than any other in her long career. “I did a special anti-anxiety yoga class, I was so anxious. I put so much into the writing. I wanted it to be a show beyond the festival. I put a lot of work into it. I got myself a writing studio at the Abbotsford Convent and worked there for a few months. As much as I enjoyed sitting in the nun’s cell writing, I knew I had to go out late at night to comedy rooms and try each bit out. It was excruciating but it’s a better way to get a show ready. If it didn’t work I was fucked.” Fortunately, Scott’s hard work paid off. “I did it in Adelaide and it went terrifically; I got a great response. It got a good workout. I got to find out the things that weren’t working.” Scott is particularly excited to be performing at The Arts Centre in the Fairfax Theatre. “It’s so wonderful,” she says. “I get to see everyone. I love it; it’s beautiful.”
Given that Mother Bare is all about Scott’s own life, how does her family feel about being made fun of in such a public way? “They’re used to it,” she says. “I’ve always done it. Every story is based on truth; I don’t have to make them up. The more I tell them, the more I embellish them and the more fictional it all becomes, there’s a loss of that personal quality.”
What does Scott think makes her funny? “My face still moves,” she answers. “I’ve got a moving face. Honesty helps. I’m an honest person who enjoys taking a good hard look at myself. I don’t quite know what it is. People expect sweet and there’s quite a bit of rudeness. Does she have any advice for those wanting to try stand-up themselves? “Persevere. And develop a thick skin. Especially the female comics. You need a really thick skin. I hated failing, it really sent me into a spiral of depression. I wanted to hide away.” How on earth did Scott overcome this sort of reaction to get back on stage? “I couldn’t do anything else! Of course, it’s part of the job. You have to fail in public. You get up and learn, you keep going. Sheer grit; I wasn’t going to let it beat me. I can’t believe I’ve lasted this long.”
BY LIZA DEZFOULI
Venue: The Arts Centre, Fairfax Studio, 100 St Kilda Rd, CBD
Dates: Currently playing until April 20
Times: 7pm (Sunday 6pm)
Tickets: $30-$44.50
