For Impact, out university magazine, I recently did an interview with U.S. comedy duo The Pyjama Men which I thought I'd share...
*The highest selling act to ever
play at The Soho Theatre in London, a 2010 sell-out run in London and a TV
project in development…it’s no secret that comedy duo The Pyjama Men, a.k.a Shenoah Allen and Mark Chavez from
Albuquerque, New Mexico, are in hot demand. So I was extremely lucky to bag an
interview with them…
Did you find it easy breaking onto the comedy circuit?
The
main thing is to just keep showing up and doing your comedy wherever you can. I
wouldn’t say it’s easy, but if you do the effin’ work, something will come of
it. Some people make glass eyes and get super into the glass eye business. We
didn’t go that route, but we work just as hard as those glass eye barons and it’s
going well.
What was the motivating push that convinced you to do it?
We gave
up everything else to do this and when doing something ridiculous is all you
got, you really
want it to work out.
Where do you get show ideas and influences from?
There
were plenty of comedy films we liked growing up, like Airplane, Top Secret, Naked Gun… But in a way we were lucky
because we grew up in the small desert city of Albuquerque in New Mexico. There
was no scene, no one to set an example and so we just did what we thought was
funny or interesting and because of that we were able to make our own style…for
better or worse!
You’ve toured America, Canada, the Edinburgh Fringe…how
do you choose your destinations?
We go
where the work is I guess. In the same way zombies go where the brains are.
Doing Edinburgh afforded us a lot of opportunities to do things internationally
(and to get drunk). It can all be traced back there, really.
Do you adapt your shows a lot to suit the different
audiences in different countries and do you find that reactions and reception
differ greatly from country to country?
No,
because we’re not topical. Our stuff is more about characters and how weird
humans are – picking up on idiosyncrasies or exploring relationships. We look
for ways to tie our bits together through strange narratives, but it’s not
specific to any one place or country.
Who is the best audience and who is your ideal audience?
Jee…I
guess the best audiences are the un-jaded ones; being too cool to laugh is the
saddest thing that can happen to a person.
How long does it typically take you to write a show?
We work
for about six weeks before we open a show that is just a sort of skeleton and
then we improvise within the structure in front of an audience. So it’s hard to
say because a lot of the writing happens on stage and we keep that process
going until we close the show.
Do you have someone to edit or help write your material?
No, it’s
just us. We’re a small operation.
Which one of you is funnier…and why?
I’m
funnier because I have a secret weapon – Mark writes my jokes.
Any tips for aspiring comedians?
Do your
own thing. Trying to fit into a mould gets you nowhere. Take it from us. Ever
heard of us? No? Okay well, do what ever you think will work.
Oh and have you ever performed in nighties?
No,
you idiot, we’re the Pajama Men.
On that note…thanks guys!
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