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Comedian Martha Kelly has been featured on Comedy Central’s Premium Blend and Late Night with Conan O’Brien, and in 2000 she won the Funniest Person in Austin contest. This revered comedian talked to That Other Paper about her love affair with comedy and her upcoming performances in the Alamo Drafthouse’s Master Pancake Theater, where she’ll be using her wit to analyze the subtle nuances and historical importance of Pretty Woman.
That Other Paper When did you first realize you were funny?
Martha Kelly I don’t know if I’ve had the realization that I’m funny. I realized I loved attention somewhere around fifth grade, and that’s when I started trying to make my friends laugh all the time.
TOP And when did you start to think you might be able to make a career out of it?
MK I guess after the first time I did it when the owner of the club told me I was funny and should keep doing it. I thought that the following week I’d probably get discovered by the booker of the Tonight Show and then within a month or two I’d have my own sitcom. Then I bombed horribly the next week and didn’t do it again for a year. Hooray for Hollywood.
TOP Is there any particular place you look to for inspiration when writing comedy? For instance, do you just notice things in everyday life that make you laugh?
MK I think that most of the jokes I write are inspired by terrible experiences I’ve had. If something makes me really angry or sad or afraid, then at some point it also ends up making me laugh. Then it may go on to make an audience angry or sad or afraid.
TOP What has your experience with Comedy Central been like?
MK Pretty great. I met a really good friend during the course of being in Comedy Central’s Laugh Riots contest. I drank a lot of free booze on Comedy Central’s dime at the after parties for the Laugh Riots and Premium Blend. I got to go to Montreal because of the Laugh Riots, and that was a pure delight. Anytime a stranger says “Hey I’ve seen you on TV” it’s because they saw me on Comedy Central. They re-run old Premium Blends ad infinitum, and that’s great exposure for a comic.
TOP What was it like the first time you performed in front of people?
MK The first time I did it was terrifying and thrilling. My heart was pounding so hard that I really thought the audience could see my shirt vibrating. And my legs were shaking. I interrupted my “routine” to say “I feel like I’m having a heart attack.” My three minutes ended up going really well, and I felt the best I’d ever felt in my whole life. That was before I discovered how much I loved beer.
TOP How did you get hooked on comedy?
MK When it goes well it feels like a combination of falling in love, winning a race, and getting high and/or drunk. That last part may be due to the fact that I often was high and/or drunk on stage. Stand-up is a great way to connect with people without having to make eye contact or risk real intimacy. It’s one of my favorite things to do and watch, and I love other comics. It’s impossible not to get hooked on it. It’s like trying not to get hooked on heroin, minus the vomiting.
TOP Do you have any creative outlets besides comedy?
MK No. I have creative outlets besides stand-up, but they are all comedy related. I sing and/or dance when I’m alone sometimes — that’s an outlet, but it’s not creative. At least not the way I do it.
TOP What projects are you currently working on?
MK I’m working with my friend Tom Sharpe on a fake soap opera called Lake Charles Lake for the Comedy Death Ray page on Super Deluxe. It should be online in late May or early June.
TOP Do have a set of people who you bounce your latest routines off… routinely?
MK No, it’s harder for me to tell one person a joke than to try it in front of an audience. I try all my new stuff at open mics. “All my new stuff” has been one joke since Thanksgiving.
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