Yawp Mag ISSUE 20: The Festival that Was | Page 34

Melbourne To
to speak English immediately and Paul
worked in the shop that his father bought
after working there for a number of
years. After moving to Melbourne, Van
Kalken successfully applied for a job at
Ansett Airlines and worked there until the
company folded.

When Yawp wanted to get a behind-the-scenes
scoop of all the action and gossip at the comedy
festival, we wondered who we should talk to.
Organisers? Comedians? Techs? Maybe… but
in the end, we thought, who better to ask about all
the goings-on and activities than the man at the
front and centre of town hall: Paul the doorman.
Paul Van Kalken works for Epicure, who are
part of the comedy festival, and have been for
a number of years. He’s been front of house for
twelve years, witnessing the festival grow and
change during that time.
“I’ve seen a hell of a lot”, he smiles humbly,
“it’s not work. It’s a very strange feeling. I’ve
become part of Melbourne, part of the festival,
the comedians and staff come up and say ‘oh
hello Paul, how are you Paul?’ and I’m going, ‘oh
hi Tim!’ just looking at all the posters, trying to
remember names. It’s just great to be part of it”.
Van Kalken was born in Holland and migrated
to Australia when he was a child, settling in
Western Victoria. His father taught the family

Once he was made redundant from
his job at Ansett, he decided to “roll up
[his] sleeves, do something” and started
working at corporate suites at Etihad
Stadium. He was asked to work at
Flemington and then Melbourne Park,
where he helped out with music concerts
with big names like Kylie Minogue,
Rihanna and Pink, which he describes as
“very interesting cultural experiences”.
Van Kalken describes his role as being a
“bit of a troubleshooter out the front” and
helps out wherever he can throughout the
festival. “I make sure the air-conditioning
is on in all the rooms, the lights are
working, any problems, they come to me
and say, ‘hey Paul, can you get a cleaner,
some strange man with a skirt and a
handbag loitering around somewhere’”
and he deals with these issues. (On
a side note, the gentleman described
above is a regular at the town hall and
someone who Paul describes as being
part of the “whole tapestry of life”)