In the lead-up to Sad Mag’s epic comedy night, Laugh/Cry, on March 16th, we are celebrating our comic line-up with a series of interviews with Vancouver’s most notable, potable comedians.
Get it while it’s hot! Sad Mag’s Jackie Hoffart interviews Rachel Burns!
Who are you?
friend. daughter. ex step-sister. sleeper. common-law spouse.
How did you get involved with sadmag’s laugh/cry event?
A text message came from my friend and I said yes.
If the comedy of Rachel Burns was a basket at whole foods, what would be inside?
I’d say there would be some comfort foods – maybe a chickpea curry; something that will make you feel secure and also full but not stuffed. Definitely an item with incongruent packaging, like tofu with a penguin on the outside. A dented eggplant that you kind of feel sorry for, but not enough to send it back. Something you’ll never actually use but you bought impulsively, like a giant bag of organic pine nuts. Dried beans that you’ll never get around to soaking—even though you promised your naturopath you would do it, over and over again.
Why did you start doing stand-up?
I needed a new avenue to explore feelings of extreme anxiety and failure? With unrelenting elation mixed in, for good measure.
What kinds of things make one show good or another show bad?
Some shows are definitely setup to be more fun than others. But… the tricky thing about being in some sort of post-apocalyptic hellscape (aka sports bar in the suburbs) is that you still might have fun on stage. There is something about a guy in a UFC tshirt saying I was funny that means something to me. And there’s something to be said for learning to not make assumptions about who your audience is. That said, any show with a private bathroom and a fruit basket is nice. (It happened once.)
Have you ever tried improv?
Yes! I tried improv and it was really hard. I learned that it’s completely different to premeditate and rely on just yourself (as with standup) than have someone gently encourage you to be a cactus (as with improv). I have a huge fear of letting people down—even inanimate objects. (When the House of Clogs near my apartment closed, I felt sad / somewhat responsible. If only I had liked clogs more!) So I have a lot of respect for people who can do that; jump in and trust and be physical and participate.
How do your comedy chops help you most in everyday life?
It helps make life a bit more tolerable? Recently I had a somewhat terrifying experience climbing a volcano, and the only thing that kept me going was thinking of how I could make fun of it later. It’s channeling that moment where you cry in front of a 14 year old and decide that it’s all “experience” for “comedy” that can help justify your inept social interaction.
If money weren’t an issue, what would you do with your time?
I’d probably live part-time in an ashram, spend lots of time with my 7 new dogs, fly to somewhere sunny every week, I don’t know. Lots of eavesdropping at fancy mom restaurant lunches for screenplays I’d never complete?
In all honesty, removing all excuses to not be working harder towards my dreams sounds stressful; I’d probably watch a lot of Wheel and become comfortably rubenesque. I’d like to spend time administrating the dreams of others—that seems like a worthy and less risky pursuit.
Favourite semi-recent tweet:
I AM LIVING PAYCHECK TO PAYCHECK AND ALL OF MY MONEY GOES TO BALLOON GRAMS – paul f tompkins
Sad Mag also enjoys Rachel’s twitterfeed, like, a lot. @analog_r
I love the burns!