P L AY > J O N AT H A N
UNO: HOW DID YOU GET INTO STAND-UP COMEDY? Jonathan: I originally got into comedy because I don’t like being afraid of things; I was terrified of public speaking and I wanted to overcome it. I absolutely dreaded giving presentations at uni but I knew I’d need to continue to give them, so I figured I should try to get over it. I really liked watching stand-up comedy and I thought it would be a great way to overcome my fear. The first time I went to an open mic, I was too afraid to go up. There was a lottery set-up where they’d randomly pick the performers’ names, and I remember being terrified they’d pick mine. Eventually, I went up and performed an objectively terrible set, had a huge adrenaline rush and felt like I had to keep doing it until I felt comfortable on stage. I started to like it and got better, so I stuck with it. WHAT’S YOUR DAY JOB? WILL THAT CHANGE NOW YOU’RE WORLDFAMOUS IN MT MAUNGANUI? I moved to New Zealand [from the US] with a position as a post-doctoral research fellow in chemistry at the University of Otago and the MacDiarmid Institute, but that recently ended. I also do some science communication stuff on Radio New Zealand and a fledgling podcast. I’m currently looking for jobs, but in the meantime I’m giving comedy my all and have some shows lined up around the South Island. I’m definitely using my [Best New Act win at the Mount Comedy Festival] in
FA L CO N E R
My comical romance We chew the fat with the Mount Comedy Festival’s Best New Act, Jonathan Falconer, and find out how he fell in love with stand-up. I NTE RVI E W J E N N Y R U D D / PH OTOS S U PPLI E D
all of my promotional stuff and I’m trying not to let the new-found fame go to my head, which is pretty easy considering my show coming up in four days time hasn’t sold a single ticket yet. YOU LIVE IN DUNEDIN. HOW DID YOU FIND OUT ABOUT THE MOUNT COMEDY FESTIVAL? I’m in a New Zealand comedy Facebook group, where I saw the hilarious and absolutely delightful Brendhan Lovegrove post about the competition. I knew my job would be ending around
then, so I figured it was the perfect time to give it a shot. It’s also not hard to convince me to come to a place as beautiful as Mt Maunganui. HOW DID YOU PREPARE FOR IT? I had a set planned from all my old material, but also tried to study the crowd to see which types of jokes were working, so I could modify my set if needed. I also tried to pay attention to things comics mentioned before me on stage, so I could use a similar premise as an opener.
“ I ’ M D E F I N I T E LY U S I N G M Y [ B E S T N E W A C T WIN] IN ALL OF MY PROMOTIONAL STUFF AND I’M TRYING NOT TO LET THE N EW- FOU N D FAM E GO TO MY H E AD.”
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