Mental As Anyone

Interview with Melbourne Comedian and Actor Bev Killick, who has been performing for 20 years, having often toughed it out over the years as the only woman on the line-up. Bev has proven her mettle as a Comedian and loves her work. She also does television and film acting work, as well as voiceover work and comedy on cruise ships. Bev is a Mentor to up-and-coming female comedians. Go and catch Bev's 2020 MICF show Don't Tell Tony at the Powder Room on 30 Mar, 6 & 13 Apr.

We discuss: Op-shopping to manage anxiety, the joys of working on cruise ships for a number of years, anxiety and depression and grief, family mental health issues, Bev being a champion advocate and her dislike for stigma, schizophrenia meaning "disorganised mind", the importance of love, understanding and creating safety, fear blocking empathy in people, Bev's story of helping a stranger who needed support, having the time, energy and know-how to help someone experiencing psychosis, sustaining resilience via comedy, craft and upcycling, the unhelpful mix of alcohol and anti-depressants, being mindful of drinking habits, the Ladies of Laughter roadshow, Bev's love of napping and her skill in finding little nooks to nap, lessons about drugs and alcohol, remembering that perfect lives do not exist, the importance of a good social support network, a story of being a first responder, the challenge of finding accommodation with a mental health issue, Bev's super power, and Bev's message to talk about mental health, ask for help and remembering that there are many ways to receive help.

Interview with the wonderful Melbourne Comedian Liza Dezfouli, who is on a mission to challenge ageism and sexism with her comedy. Liza is involved with a theatre ensemble featuring older women, who perform a show called Unhoused, which references some of the cast's genuine experiences of homelessness.

We discuss: The invisibility of older women in society, the experience of long-term depression and techniques to manage it, the importance of reminding herself that the situation always changes, treating mental illness like the flu: give yourself time and space to go to bed, rest and absolve yourself of the responsibility of engaging with the world for a while, the benefits of gardening, the relentless positive images from modern society that falsely imply people's lives are perfect and how this can wear us down, giving her disordered/depressed thoughts a voice by writing them down, challenging and refuting negative thoughts, the importance of finding a way to not be threatened by negative emotions, the power of gratitude, being gentle and kind to yourself, the shame of showing depressed moods and the difficulty of authenticity and showing people all aspects of yourself, the simplicity and power of comedy and laughter, advice Liza received about recalling the intensity of a great belly laugh for healing, being open to alternative therapies, The Happiness Trap by Russ Harris, the notion of dead person's goals, it being okay to be grotty and unproductive at times, Liza's super power, the stages of change model in relation to behaviour, and Liza's message for women to be good to each other and support the sisterhood.

Interview with Melbourne-based Comedian Aurelia St Clair, who started comedy around the time of the 2017 RAW competition, where she reached state level and continued from there. Aurelia also began Improv around end of 2018 (mostly at the Improv Conspiracy Theatre). Aurelia has performed at MICF, and in 2020 has her first solo show called Woke, running from 24 Mar to 5 Apr @ 7.10pm at the Pilgrim Bar.

We discuss: Aurelia's German-Cameroonian background, sharing about her eating disorder on social media, the challenge of eating patterns around Christmas time, negative side effects of eating disorders, tapping into the joy of eating, food being fuel and a way to nourish our bodies, the problems with pro-eating-disorder forums, losing her Mum as a teenager, Aurelia's experience of grief, the culture change of moving from Germany to Bolivia, the lack of diversity in her German hometown, moving again until settling in Australia in 2014, finding herself and the things she enjoys in life, the power of increasing awareness about eating disorders, body-positive messages from the Nutrition Guru & the Chef and the Kitchen Coach, actively limiting exposure to negative messages on social media, self-care practices, the importance of nurturing and growing friendships, Aurelia's super power, the value in setting meaningful goals, and Aurelia's message to trust and confide in your friends.

Interview with Melbourne Comedian Bron Lewis who is relatively new to comedy (she's 6 months in) and loves the story-telling format. Bron started performing at the Moth (a program that hosts live storytelling events in cities around the world) and then transferred over to comedy after receiving encouragement from Moth Host Cal Wilson.

We discuss: the assuredness that comes with starting comedy in her 30s, becoming unexpectedly pregnant early in her relationship, the Impossible Baby and a second baby following soon after, becoming housebound with anxiety, the impact of post-natal depression and anxiety, the solace of her relationship, becoming addicted to CrossFit, the benefits of ageing and time, the struggle of feeling judged, Bron's immeasurable love for her kids, breaking away from the identity of being "only" a Mum or pregnant person, seeing a psychologist once the girls were at an age where they were settled, taking long service leave from her day job to pursue comedy, changing the lack of diversity in the comedy scene, the advice that you don't have to love situations to survive them, the perils of social media, acting in accordance with your values, being resilient and brave, Bron's super power, newfound respect for her mother, and Bron's messages of appreciating the stability of age and not to sweat the small stuff.

Interview with Bendigo Comedian Luke Morris, who is a returning guest (his first MAA interview was #74 from February 2018). In 2018 Luke was in the RAW competition and performed The Wine Science Show at MICF, and in 2019 he performed the show Love, Sweat and Science. He has also been involved in producing the Bendigo Comedy Festival in October, two years of the Movember Comedy Fundraiser in Bendigo, and the Women of Wit series in Bendigo, which is the only regular all-woman line-up in regional Victoria. In 2020 Luke will be bringing a new and exciting Virtual Reality Comedy experience to Adelaide Fringe and MICF.

We discuss: the importance of valuing his own time, discovering the joys of Netflix, deferring his psychology studies to pursue the VR Comedy project, Luke's revelation that you do not need to keep studying for the sake of the qualification only, positive and negative motivation from having comedy festival deadlines and keeping it all in perspective, appreciating the benefits of comedy on the mental health of audiences, Luke's new podcast called What To Do After You Die which explores the taboo of talking about death, spiders and ticks and ladybugs, Luke's super power and the catharsis of the Love Sweat and Science show, and Luke's message to not listen to other people's negative messages and be selective about advice you take on board.

Interview with Melbourne Comedian Sunanda, who performs stand-up and sketch comedy with characters. Sundanda performed a Melbourne Fringe show (called How Gay Am I?) which she will also bring to 2020's Midsumma festival. Sunanda is third-generation Indian-Thai, she grew up in Bangkok and attended an international school. She studied and worked in the US, then headed back to Bangkok before making the move to Melbourne in mid-2019.

We discuss: managing mental health with comedy, Sunanda finding out accidentally that she was adopted when she was 9, wondering who she could have been and her gratitude for the opportunities she has been afforded, being queer and what this means to Sunanda, friends knowing Sunanda was gay before she did, sexual repression and self-medicating while growing up, the importance of pride, the experience of coming out to her family, the philosophy to treat yourself as you would treat your best friend (ie, be kind to yourself), rolling with the punches, moving internationally (twice!) with help from the Marie Kondo approach, checking negative thought patterns and the importance of communication, the pros and cons of early retirement, Sunanda's super power, practicing gratitude, nature vs nurture, and Sunanda's message to not be afraid of seeking help if you are unwell or just need an outside perspective.

Interview with Melbourne Radio Presenter, DJ, Artist and Comedian Eva Lubulwa. Eva started on radio 2 years ago and found her way onto Triple R (102.7FM). Tune in to hear her show Highly Melanated on Mondays from 10pm to Midnight. Eva also started stand-up comedy this year and performed in 2 shows in Melbourne Fringe: a show with all-African performers called Laughs with Akwasi, and an all-female show called Pick a Dick.

We discuss: Eva's Ugandan-Australian heritage, the challenge of finding appropriate support for mental health issues and the high price we pay for good mental health, having ADD and wanting to manage it without medication, bouts with an eating disorder, expressing her experiences of racism on stage, how racism has affected her in every way, growing up in Canberra, marrying at a young age, travelling from Australia to Europe without flying and the racism she experienced around the world, her healing time living in Brussels, learning about race in retrospect and how she had subconsciously conformed in her childhood, the danger of assimilation, different levels of mental illness, the one decision her husband made that led to Eva's decision to end the marriage, Eva's adopted children and her desire to have Ugandan babies, the notion that some aspects of mental health can be cured by community, the love for her kids helping to manage her mental health, helpful vs unhelpful coping mechanisms, Eva's superpower, the freedom of expanding into our full selves, and Eva's message that healing can come in surprising forms so keep looking for things that make your heart sing and follow them.

Interview with Melbourne Comedian Lucy Best, who has been performing comedy for 2 years. Lucy was a 2019 RAW finalist and also performed a show this year with Comedian Jaxson Garni. The show is called Keep the Change which is all about embracing change. Lucy is also a writer, artist, photographer, director musician, and an environmental and human rights activist.

We discuss: Lucy's unconventional upbringing, her Dad's appellation and being the daughter of a Lord, experiencing anxiety and depression while growing up, Lucy's positive experiences with medication, counselling and mindfulness, the importance of a good night's sleep and finding the funny, the court jester role in society, where Lucy's thoughts go when she has a bad day, Lucy's marriage breakdown and subsequent transformation, the Writing Is Therapy course at the School of Life, Lucy's conscious decision to move on, the nature of grief and loss, Ducks for Detainees and Lucy's trip to Canberra, the Tarot Card experience and phoenix mythology, the physical and emotional impacts of alcohol, a mother's intuition and knowing her children better than medical professionals, the daily roses and thorns activity, stories behind her kids' names, Lucy' super power, reframing "Lucy Quite Good" to "Lucy Does Her Best", and Lucy's message to embrace change and not be afraid to make change when it is needed.

Interview with the delightful Isabella Valette, who sings, acts, dances, improvises and more! Isabella started out with a degree in Musical Theatre in the UK, performed a sketch show at Edinburgh Fringe and then started writing one-woman shows. Isabella is part of the Melbourne Impro group Impromptunes, who amazingly improvise one-hour musicals. She is also part of The Big HOO-HAA! who perform shorter-form improvised shows. In the past year Isabella has started stand-up comedy, including a show in 2019's MICF and Melbourne Fringe called How Far I'll Go, about her life as a kid's entertainer. And if you're after more podcasts with Isabella, you can catch her on the Impromptunes Podcast and Off with the Fairies.

We discuss: The overlap between Impro and Counselling skills, the impact of capitalism and consumerism on mental health, views on modern romantic consumerism, the philosophy that life is a package of experiences, close family and friend connections, being mindful of comparisons and living up to social milestones, the gift and curse of self-awareness and knowledge that we are going to die, the dangers of mimicking emotional and financial behaviours from the media, the benefits of teaching independent and practical living skills at school, domestic violence and the book See What You Made Me Do by Jess Hill, the higher level of living by appreciating others' success and building each other up by exchanging positive energy, The Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield, Ariana Grande's message that money and fame do not equate to happiness, Keanu Reeves' down-to-earth approach to life, the importance of kindness and simplicity, Isabella's super power, appreciation for the unconditional love and support from her parents, Isabella's love of Queer Eye, the importance of spreading kindness, and Isabella's message that you can change the game by changing what you value.

Interview with Nikki Viveca who has been a performer for many years, and moved into improv about 6 years ago, then officially began stand-up comedy with a solo show in 2016. She is also well-versed in acting, burlesque and other arts. Nikki has recently completed a season of her show Wasp Movie (to great success!) at Melbourne Fringe. Nikki has some exciting new shows coming up, including Cake Bride which is a look at marriage from a queer perspective, and ACEtravaganza which is a variety act show with asexual artists at Midsumma Festival.

We discuss: Coming out as asexual in her first comedy show (Asexual Healing), representing 2 letters in the LGBTQIA alphabet, becoming a comedy critic to justify her comedy habit, gaining insight into other people's brains via comedy, the Wasp Situation and Nikki's emotional responses, reflections on the difficulty of coming out as transsexual, exploring the varied definitions of asexuality and what it means to Nikki, admiration of the Spice Girls, Nikki's super power, the sad ending to the wasp story, and Nikki's message about the importance of authenticity and humans taking a lesson from wasps about sticking together in solidarity through tough times.