Kirkman tries to stay fresh as competition grows
Comic wants to try a ‘one-woman-show style’ for next Netflix special
Comedian Jen Kirkman has a solid excuse when it comes to avoiding tiring social events and post-show hangouts.
She needs to rest her voice. The Los Angeles-based performer and New York Times bestselling author has been suffering with voice issues for a few years. She has undergone every test available and now she can say she has the issue under control thanks to self-control.
“Now, I have a really regimented life that I live when I am on tour, which is kind of cool,” said Kirkman over the phone from New York recently. “The answer to everything is no. ‘No I can’t hang out after. No I can’t have a drink. No I can’t do this, no, no, no, no,’ which is great. I just go into my zone.
“I was invited to a party the other night and I walked in and I was, ‘Nope, gotta go,’ it was just too loud. I would have had to scream over music and to me that’s not worth it,” said Kirkman. “So for me almost losing my voice really scared me, so I never feel bad about missing out on anything. I’d rather miss a party than risk my voice.
“It’s awesome, I will always have this excuse.”
Kirkman and her well-rested voice will be in Vancouver on Saturday for the All New Material, Girl tour at the Rio Theatre.
A funny nod to Madonna, the title of the new tour is an ad for literally new material. Kirkman wants fans to know what she is taking on the road isn’t just recycled content from her two Netflix specials.
“An audience might be fine with it once, but you don’t want to train them into thinking you are going to do the same stuff,” said Kirkman, a former writer and roundtable regular on Chelsea Lately and host of I Seem Fun; The Diary of Jen Kirkman Podcast. “If you do it right by the time you have your first Netflix special you have a couple years of material.”
If you have looked at Netflix in the last little while you’ll have noticed that there is a plethora of comedy specials in the streamer’s catalogue. There are close to 200 titles in Netflix’s standup category.
That wealth of funny is great for viewers, but how is it for the comedians?
“There are so many comics on Netflix, so you want it to be different from everybody,” said Kirkman about planning a new special. “So what I am thinking about for my next one, which wouldn’t be for a little while, is I want to approach it, more one-woman-show style.”
Kirkman points toward Colin Quinn and his theatrical style shows like Long Story Short or The New York Story.
“I want to do more like that,” said Kirkman. “I just want to do his material.”
Kirkman admits that an increase in comics can be concerning, but she says the landscape, for now, has room for all the funny people.
“It’s not like everyone in the world is watching the same comics,” said Kirkman. “It’s good, but I always worry because I’m a comic. ‘When is this going to be taken away? When will I have to go back to one of my old jobs? What about the younger people coming up behind me? Everyone is going to like them better.’ These are just thoughts that rattle through one’s brain.”
Part and parcel of this packed entertainment world is a strong social media presence. That in itself can be both a blessing and a curse, as Kirkman has discovered.
Last year in August she posted the obviously sarcastic: “I LIKE that Hillary has murdered a lot of people,” on her Twitter account. The line was in response to antiClinton extremists who believe the couple had murdered close to 50 political foes over the years.
Of course it took only minutes for the misogynistic morons to hit the Twittersphere with threats of rape and murder. Kirkman managed the situation by turning off her notifications.
While some Twitter twits were obviously the homegrown, knuckle-dragging type, the extent of the backlash was so that Kirkman discovered her joke was much bigger than her.
“I ran into problems during the election, but then I found out it wasn’t real people,” said Kirkman. “I know I sound insane, but I was a target of paid Russian trolls.”
Paid Russian trolls, that seems kind of weirdly cool.
“I think so,” said Kirkman, laughing.
“But I don’t think they knew who I was. It’s just if you tweet enough about certain things, they search the words and see you have followers.”
Trolls (or as they should be called racists and misogynists) aside, Twitter is today’s DIY publicity machine. Kirkman embraces the trend and is constantly encouraging fans to take her picture, tweet that they’re at her shows — basically just cyber-talk about her.
“Other people are my best publicists,” said Kirkman, who creates the playlist before the show and in real time asks the audience if they’re liking it.
“One of my favourite things that has happened on Twitter is someone tweeting, ‘I want to go to your show, but I don’t have anyone to go with,’ and I’ll re-tweet them and all these people pile on and say things like: ‘I go to comedy all the time alone,’ ” said Kirkman. “It’s really cool. Look at the world coming together.
“This is so strange, but Twitter gives me hope. I love to go on Twitter and see people coming together and marching and fighting this and let’s donate here.”
A self-professed lover of “liberal porn,” Kirkman looks to online forums and conversations to help her curb her current Trump induced jitters.
“I get hope from strangers and people talking about how scared they are. There is just something so comforting knowing you are not alone,” said Kirkman. “We might not have seen the darkest times yet, but I am optimistic. I don’t know where I get that from and it could be stupid, but I am fine with being stupid if that is what it really is.”