What do your parents think of your job?
Jane: My parents are fairly nonplussed. Every time I see my great aunt however, she says “We haven't seen you on TV for a while, Janie” to which I inevitably respond “No-one is as disappointed as I am, Dotty”
Ange: They pretend to be supportive in order to avoid conflict. I suspect it comes from different places though. My dad doesn’t understand why any of it is funny whereas my mum would just like me to sleep more.
What’s the worst thing about being a comedian?
Jane: The crippling self-doubt?
Ange: The abject poverty
I think you are very good at what you do (that’s why I’m asking these questions). What do you think of you?
Jane: I’m hot and cool and awesome NEXT QUESTION
Ange: I think I have a lot of potential
How much do you earn and how much would you like to earn?
Jane: One time my tax agent said “wow you had a good year, I work with a lot of actors and you’ve actually made a living” which was personally THRILLING and also a tragic insight into the financials of jobbing actors. But then you throw in a pandemic and obviously things can shift preeeetty quickly. So I prop myself up with other things like teaching and carpentry stuff (would you believe it) but I also have been lucky to have enough paid work to feel like I’m keeping afloat. Obviously, consistency would be ideal and knowing that you’re going to get through another financial year without becoming homeless but you know beggars can’t be choosers i guess.
Ange: My pay seems to be backsliding as I become more successful, and I’m still not sure how to account for that fact. I would like to never worry about money again so either a life of crime or the collapse of capitalism is probably my best hope.
How important is luck in terms of career success – have you had lucky breaks?
Jane: Yeah der! I mean, I do believe in lucky breaks but more so in the acting world. There are so many random variables that are so outside of your control and I mean you can’t put “runner up for the role of Harry Potter” on your CV, all you see is the one who booked it. And those breaks can be total game-changers. But on the other hand, consistency and hard work always pay off because even if you do then get the “break” you have to be able to back it up. Someone once said to succeed in the “biz” you have to have two of three things; talent, work ethic or looks. I’d like to throw in “rich and/or Nepo Baby” but hey it’s not my saying.
Ange: They’re everything. Meritocracy is a myth. Partly, anyway. You can’t get a lucky break and then be shit. Being good is (mostly) a prerequisite for success, but not a guarantee. I’ve had several lucky breaks. Being in the right green room and making the right person laugh, releasing an AI documentary the week before ChatGPT launched, even my surname, which makes me sound just a tiny bit fancy.
Alan Davies has said that comedians fall into two categories - golfers and self-harmers. The former just get on with life, the latter are tortured artists. Which are you – or do you think you fit into third category?
Jane: Maybe I’m a golfing self-harmer. I do get on with life but also sometimes want to listen to Elliot Smith and weep for my alternate reality self who went to med school and has a house now. But, I’ve never been a “cut your ear off for the art” type person. I don’t believe we have a purpose or one thing we’re put on this earth to do. We’re just silly ADHD kids who learned how to make people laugh and are now just trying to make money off it.
Ange: I’m a reformed self-harmer, aspiring golfer. In last year’s show I dressed in a spider suit and told an hour-long allegory about leaving an abusive partner. That is fucking diagnosable. It’s in the DSM. Look it up. This year though, I just wanna putt that birdie, or whatever it is people without problems do.
Who is your favourite person ever and why – not including family or friends or other comedians?
Jane: David Attenborough. Because it’s David Attenborough.
Ange: I love Joan Didion because she was so precise with language, and clever and glamorous. She had so much shit happen to her, but she was very tough and she left a mark. I would die to see the YouTube compilation of Joan Didion destroying hecklers.
Do you keep your drawers tidy and if not why not? (please think long and hard about this question, it's to settle an argument with my girlfriend. The future of our relationship could depend on your response).
Jane: No, obviously not. My room is kept tidy purely from the cramming into the drawers situation. The drawers provide the hiding place for all the things so the mess goes away. But it’s structured chaos. LIke I know where things are and I also know for example that I have too many pants to fit in the drawers so the half that live in the bottom of my washing basket are actually also serving a purpose. Also, why does this feel like a personal attack?
Ange: No, duh, the drawers are the place to hide the things. Every 2 years I get so upset about something that I tidy my drawers and this is a cry for help, without exception.
Ange Lavoipierre’s ‘Your Mother Chucks Rocks And Shells’ will be at the Underbelly – George Square Gardens – Wee Coo at 4.20pm from 2nd – 27th August (not 14th) for tickets go to www.edfringe.com
Ange Lavoipierre & Jane Watt's ‘Jazz or a Bucket of Blood’ is at the Underbelly – George Square Gardens – Wee Coo at 8.50pm from 2nd – 27th August (not 14th) for tickets go to www.edfringe.com
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