AudioCrowd-work, Carlin and … kazoos? Paula Poundstone shares some thoughts about the world right now

Comedy royalty will be coming through Ohio when Paula Poundstone appears at the Mimi Ohio Theatre in Cleveland’s Playhouse Square on Saturday, February 22nd (tickets here).

The absolute master of interacting with an audience, Poundstone is a comedian, an author, a commentator, a podcaster and a regular panelist on NPR’s “Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me.”

The Buckeye Flame spoke with Poundstone about her legendary crowd-work, the importance of comedy in the world right now and how we might be able to find collective action with…kazoos.

To listen, click play directly below or read our (edited for length and clarity) conversation beneath the audio link.

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Paula Poundstone, in looking at the tumult in the world right now, where are you finding the funny?

It’s tough. I mean, we’re in a pickle. I did a show the other night in California with 1200 people there. And before I went, I was trying to organize my thoughts, which is more than I often do quite frankly. But I had been listening to my music and I heard Pete Seeger singing, “We Shall Overcome.”

And so at about the maybe nine-tenths period of the show, I said to the audience, “I want you to leave here tonight with two things that you can carry in your pocket during these difficult times. The first is that I was just listening to Pete Seeger and I think we should sing, ‘We Shall Overcome.'”

So I started to sing, and the whole crowd joined in. And when we finished, there was big applause. And then I said, “Here’s this second thing I want you to carry in your pocket. And it’s this: when I exercise—which I call doing my improvements—and I lay down on the floor on my back, and I raise my legs so that my knees are kind of over my head, the backs of my knees look like barn owl faces. And I think somehow in the nexus of those two things, that’s how we’re going to get through.”

Let’s just get this part out of the way so that I feel more comfortable and possibly you feel more uncomfortable. How much does it creep you out that I—as an 8 or 9 year old—was in my kitchen in New Jersey doing every single word to [Poundstone’s 1990 comedy special] “Cats, Cops, and Stuff“? Every single word. How much does that creep you out?

I’m very flattered. It’s carrying on for another generation. When I was even a little bit older than that—I was probably about the junior high—I could do every word of “Class Clown,” the George Carlin album. So I know that that’s high praise. Thank you.

There are so many clips that go viral these days of comics doing crowd-work. You obviously are the master of crowd work. Was there a first moment that you remember of, “Oh, I’m going to interact with the people in front of me. And gosh, that went well!”

When I started out in Boston in ’79, stand-up comedy was having a renaissance. On the open mic nights, the clubs would be packed, and every comic lined up to go on. And the premise of the open mic would mean that anybody that wants to can get up and do five minutes.

People were very touchy about the five minute limit because everyone wanted to get on. If you went over your five, people really would get mad at you. And I would spend my whole week memorizing the script I had literally typed out for myself. And then I would go on and I would get nervous and forget the script, and then I was forced to go, “Hey, where are you from? What do you do for a living?” That’s why I started doing it: because I couldn’t remember anything.

And I would chastise myself and and think, “Oh my god, that was terrible.” And people would be mad at me because I generally did go over the five minutes.

But I used to take notes after every set. And one night, it dawned on me that the funniest part of the night was when I was just talking to people. So I started to purposely put in scaffolding so that I always had somewhere to go back to, sort of making a framework so that jumping off and swimming back were part of the night. And it works out good.

I think it works better than good. In other news, I read it a 2013 interview that you did with a magazine where they called you one of the “best known asexuals in the world.” As Ohio’s LGBTQ+ newsroom, we have received feedback that we have not done enough to center asexual voices. Help us.

Oh my gosh, I never even think about it.

People are often curious for whatever their odd reason is about my sexuality, but I really think about it almost not at all. Especially when my kids were little, I used to always wonder, “How does anyone have a partner?” I don’t go to bed, I pass out. That I would have to go into my bedroom and have an activity with someone was just upsetting to me.

If you got to check a box about what you would like your sexuality to be, I would certainly still go with asexual.

Another topic that comes up a lot here in Ohio, unfortunately, is about book bans. You have a years-long association championing the American Library Association. Talk a little bit about how you even wrap your mind around book bans in this day and age.

There have been book bans before, and they’re often at the center of Fascism. It’s not a coincidence that the two things go hand-in-hand and it’s not a new thing.

I was writing a joke about the current book ban, and I thought, “I’m not even sure what exactly they’re banning other than anything that referred to sexuality.” So I looked it up and found a list of the books that were banned and the reason they were banned. And I found on that list: Charlotte’s Web. And the reason they said it was banned was because God didn’t make animals talk. Well, as I often say to the audience, I recall there was a bush that was a bit chatty there for a while!

It’s mind blowing. I don’t really know what the answer is. I don’t think it’s just marching. Honestly, I think [the answer] might have something to do with kazoos. I think everyone should have a kazoo in their pocket. All of the resistance. And that we should walk around playing them. And we should play, “We Shall Overcome.” And it should jettison right in to “Hit the Road, Jack.” I think there has to be some sort of humor involved in the protest. Because that’s a good way of shedding light on the nonsense that’s being spewed from the other side.

You’re coming here to Ohio. What is the importance of escapism right now for folks? How important is it that folks get out there and have a night away from the isanity that we are all seeing all day long?

Refueling is very important. It’s important for your mental health. It’s important for your energy. It’s important to store it like a goddamn squirrel for whatever we have coming up. It’s important so that you can really blow that kazoo.

It’s funny because audiences actually come up and thank me for coming, which is sort of a silly idea because, guess what?, I get paid. And I would do it anyways because it’s the greatest job in the world and it’s really an honor and so much fun to be with an audience. It fuels me.

This experience of being a part of an audience — watching a play, or a movie, or a concert or a dance show, it doesn’t matter what it is — as an audience member, you’re a part of this collective of humanity. And when you have the same response as the people around you, there’s something that reinforces the fact that you’re a human being. When you go and you watch something as an audience member and you hear all these people responding to it the same way —whether it’s with laughter or surprise or fear or anger — all these people responding the same way, you go, “Oh my gosh, I do belong!”

So I think people should go out. Would I love it if everyone came out to see my show? I really would. But if it’s not mine, it should be somebody else’s. It’s good for you. 🔥

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IGNITE ACTION

• Paula Poundstone will be appearing at the Mimi Ohio Theatre in Cleveland’s Playhouse Square on Saturday, February 22nd. For tickets, go here.