The Indigenous Artist Magazine Issue 2 - May 2017 | Page 5

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apart from ‘Why Not.’ I had loose rules but mostly nothing was off-limits. So when some drinking buddies dared me to do Stand-Up Comedy, off the cuff, in a bar that didn’t do comedy, didn’t have a microphone and was full of 10 stoney-face regulars just enjoying a Thursday night at the pub… Well, I said ‘Why Not?!’

This single act changed my life forever.

That night, standing in the corner of a random pub, telling stories and chatting with the audience – I fell in love with comedy. There is an opportunity to create passing little happy connections with strangers, to invite them into your brain for a moment, allow them to see the world from your perspective for a moment and therefore reflect on their own.

I came back and did a few open-mic nights and figured I might actually be not-terrible at comedy and I had well and truly caught the bug. I was told to

enter the Deadly Funny Competition (for

Indigenous acts to try comedy) and I won the National Title in 2014 on my 8th

ever gig It was an amazing experience and I was excited beyond belief to

succumb to the comedy bug. But, as ever, my mental health had started to decline and I found myself struggling to grapple with the self-doubt and self-sabotage that followed me. So, on a whim, I made a decision to move to Edinburgh, Scotland. I figured that I could have a new start and explore comedy without

any

By Steph Tisdll