Tell us about your show. Why should we go and see it?
You should go see my show because I am very hard on myself and I wouldn’t even graze the stage with my ugly ass pinky toe if I didn’t KNOW that you were going to be fully entertained the entire time. This show lets me flex a lot of different skills in one show. It’s a hybrid of stand-up, storytelling, musical improv, immersive theater, character work, and big dumb comedy. The premise is that I just found out that my real dad is Poseidon, the mythological sea king. My whole time I thought I was a weirdo who smelled her boob sweat in public but in reality… I am a demi-goddess. So now, at this show, I introduce my audience to a three-stop process that will release their own repressed magic and at the end of the show I plan to relinquish my human side forever and go ‘full-Goddess.’ It’s a very feel-good experience, it has a lot of hard fought wisdom from my own life but it’s delivered with a lot of goofy pizazz.
What are your hopes and dreams for the Fringe?.
If we’re talking hopes and dreams, then here is my fantasy: the show gets great press and immediately sells out every show. The five-star reviews roll in and everyone’s like, whoah – we have to see this underground cult phenomenon! Then I win some kinda “best of” award, and a sassy UK agent is like, “‘Allo Kay-tee. Would you loike to be a panelist on a quirky UK television show?” And I say, yes, and you can pay me in scones. And she says “Not a problem, love,” and then a dump truck of scones rolls into the theater and dumps hundreds of scones on me, and I swim in a pool of clotted cream and use the scones as floaties, and I’m finally at peace.
What makes you laugh?
I love when people nail reality, when comedy is brutally honest, to the embarrassment of the comedian, and we all cover our faces because we empathize and it brings everyone together and sets us all just a teensy bit more free. The second thing I love is characters who are very well-meaning but dumb. Michael Scott from the office is a great example.
What three words best describe your performance style – and why.
Electric, caring, and sparkly. Electric because I have a big commanding energy. This is how my friends describe my performance style. Kiki says I blow people’s hair back. Caring because I hate unkind comedy. I want to connect wit my audience and take care of them, I want them to leave feeling happier. And sparkly because I could do this show as Katy Berry and just wear jeans and a t-shirt. But instead I am a goddess in sequins with a wig and makeup and stilettos. Why not? Give me colour, give me bubbles, give me fun! Phyllis Diller did it and she’s the OG.
How will your audience think/feel differently after an hour in your company?
I hope that at least one person has a ‘holy shit, that’s me’ moment. During the show, I talk about how I spent years belittling and shrinking myself for other people. I was looking for love and approval by ignoring my own instincts. Man, it was not worth it. The best thing I ever did was stop listening to other people’s opinions. If one person sees my show and it’s that little push over the edge they needed to dump a crappy partner, or take a big career leap, or wear something they didn’t think they were hot enough to wear, that would make me very happy indeed.
What kind of shows – apart from your own – are you looking forward to seeing at the Edinburgh Fringe?
I see a lot of comedy and Broadway type musicals throughout the year, so when I come to the Fringe, I wanna see weird shit. Interpretive dance, immersive stuff, I bought a ticket to see Temp where I will be the only audience member. I want to see circus acts and maybe some shadow puppetry. Also a few of my friends are debuting shows here this year so I’m excited to support them! Specifically Lane Kwederis, Tim Murray, and Chris Grace.
The cost of living is a big issue this year – will it make this Fringe more challenging?
Yes absolutely. I live in New York City, which is already a financial succubbus, preying on the dreams of theater artists. It’s nearly impossible to save money there. It bleeds me dry. Now I have to expose the other side of my neck to Edinburgh. But I hope my rent money is at least sending a beautiful Scottish family to Majorca for the summer, because y’all deserve it for sharing your city with us. I had to do a fundraiser for this, which is still going (if anyone’s interested), and asking people for money is so uncomfortable. If I need a life saving procedure between now and the end of Fringe, I’m totally screwed. Everyone is gonna let me die. I DO IT FOR THE ART.
What do you predict will emerge as the big themes of this year.
I think people want to laugh. Covid is more or less past us. The election (in the US) is on the horizon. I think we are in a tiny doldrum where people are gonna want to have as much fun as possible before the next major crisis hits in 2.5 seconds. Or maybe we’ll all talk about global warming and cannibalizing billionaires as we burn to death. I think that’s also top of mind these days. It’ll be a coin toss.
Who is your showbiz idol and why.
Molly Shannon. She was the first example I saw of a woman not prioritizing her beauty or looks but instead going hard for the laugh. Her characters were deeply weird, but you could tell they came from a real place. Her character Mary Katherine Gallagher made out with trees and sniffed her armpits and was way too excired about auditioning for things. That was exactly me as a kid. In fact, I made out with a poster of Johnathan Taylor Thomas so hard his lips turned white because I sucked the ink off. I was teased really badly as a kid, but I would make my friends laugh so hard at sleepovers they’d piss their pants. Molly Shannon taught me to go hard for the laugh, get weird, be true. And when I felt terribly alone in the world, I would watch her and she was the lighthouse guiding me to my people.
What is your idea of a perfect Fringe moment?
I’m drenched in sweat from an incredible, sold-out show. A sweet family just took a photo with me and it will be on their refrigerator for years to come. A delightful billionaire sends me a payment for ten thousand dollars because he loved the show that much and thinks we all deserve ample pay for our work. I sit on the sidewalk, and dig into a big order of fish and chips that I’ve drowned in ketchup, mayo, and malt vinegar. Then my friends roll up and say they have an extra ticket to some weird operatic dance circus puppet show, so I go! The show is life changing. We leave, stunned, our worlds turned upside down. We go to the pub and smoke cigarettes and drink pints, processing, laughing, loving life, until I drag my ass home to wash my face, hydrate, and get a rejuvenating 10 hours of sleep.
Diamond Goddess Crystal Pussy
14:10
Just the Tonic Mash House
Until 27 August
