Mental As Anyone

This week's interview is with the delightful and dynamic musical comedy duo Colin Craig and Alia Vryens​, otherwise known as Pick Up, which they describe as Kylie Minogue's Tinder account meets Freddie Mercury's Grindr account. Catch them performing at Perth Fringe and MICF in 2018!!

We discuss: Their background in theatre and learning the ropes of the comedy community, Colin and Alia's experiences with mental health issues, the Rocky analogy and finding your own way to measure success, job titles in the Arts and how we self-identify, the Fail Faster mantra and the First Pancake Theory, ways to manage mental health, views on medication, support from the Arts community, issues with body image and being our own worst critics, Alia and Colin's super powers, how to accept compliments, and their messages to recognise your achievements and efforts, and remember that emotions and bad experiences don't last forever so ride them out.

Interview with Comic Book Producer Maarten Bouw. One of many comics he (together with his twin brother) has produced over the past 5 years is called Shtick, which is about a Comedian who tells an offensive joke and then goes on a mental health journey while dealing with the fallout. For more info on Maarten's comics and how to get your hands on them, check out the Facebook page: Drawn Out Dad Productions.

We discuss: Maarten's experience of anxiety, not sweating the small stuff, locus of control and looking at the bigger picture, how Maarten started producing comic books, making changes for better life balance, anxiety flare ups, the benefits of seeing health professionals, anxiety feeding itself, mindfulness to assist with comfort eating, listing a few of our favourite podcasts, dealing with grief, Maarten's super power, and Maarten's message that only you can make the changes to get where you want to be in life, so set yourself small goals to make it happen. And make succotash: it is delicious.

Interview with the industrious and insightful Jade Fitzgerald, who is a Comedian from Albury. Jade started her comedy career in 2016 and has since competed in RAW and performed a Fringe show called The Three Step Program. Jade also runs a room in Albury called Off the Rails.

We discuss: The organic country comedy scene emerging in Albury, the high suicide rates in rural and regional areas, working with high-risk youth, having a wonderful behind-the-scenes husband, men experiencing post-natal depression, accessing mental health services in the country, The Healthy Mind Platter (www.mindplatter.com), the benefits of sleep diaries and charting, vacuum and rally noise, supporting gay marriage (recorded before the Yes outcome), views on being gay in the country, minorities in the AFL, Jade's super power, university options and the low average wage of country areas, gendered thinking and body autonomy, family genetics, and Jade's message to reach out and seek help if you need it.

Interview with the awesome and inspiring Jess Cochran, who has always had a talent for humor, but officially started performing comedy at the end of 2016. Jess was invited to participate in a comedy workshop organised by the University of Melbourne, MICF and Women with Disability Victoria, which was delivered by the wonderful Nelly Thomas. Jess recently performed her set at a gig for the Disability Rights Commission.

We discuss: having an eating disorder and other health issues from a young age, lack of accessibility to mental health services for those with physical disabilities, Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS), eating disorders and perfectionism, dealing with reputations and rumours in high school, being in 15 bands at once, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome in her final years of school, being competitive and not saying No, perfectionism and burn out, the importance of pacing, taking the career path you want via the back doors, perspectives on Nursing from both sides of the bed, easing into the workforce, some massive life traumas, the Divine Divas of Sunbury, the accessibility challenges of being in a wheelchair, the blessings of being able to drive and live independently, the importance of pacing, being an Olave, making the most of what she has, raising awareness so people don't suffer in silence, Jess' super power, and Jess' messages to not be afraid of speaking up, and to keep fighting on.

Interview with the friendly and humble Ben Stevenson, who is a Darwin Comedian originally hailing from Melbourne. Ben has been performing comedy since 2011, and currently co-hosts breakfast radio in Darwin on Hot 100FM. Ben was kind enough to share some experiences and stories related to mental health while on a recent visit to Melbourne.

We discuss: The close knit comedy scene in Darwin, Ben's take on managing anxiety, the man in the gorilla suit, Imposter Syndrome and being happy with who you are, the Australian drinking culture, switching off from work and social media, the concept of confirmation bias, working on sitting with and accepting compliments, neuroplasticity, the self-care tip from Lamb of God, Ben's super power, and Ben's message that there are more people willing to help you than you may think.

Interview with Andrew Goodone, who has been a Comic for 36 years and has done "pretty much everything" in the comedy world. For the past 10 years he has been doing some amazing work with teenagers at risk, by engaging and collaborating with them to make short comedy films. To date, Andrew has made a whopping 151 short films. Check out some of his work by searching for the Robinvale Comedy Project on YouTube. Andrew also did a TED Talk last year, called Zen and the Art of Making Comedy, which you can view on YouTube.

We discuss: starting the interview immediately to get the gold, comedy films as a form of therapy, stories from Monash Secondary College, addressing the high youth suicide rate in Robinvale, importance of being open and non-judgmental, family suicides, family mental health, Sue-Ann Post and the auto-biographical comedy style, the anti-suicide comedy project in Robinvale, the sacrifice sometimes involved when being a support person for friends, being seen as the villain when doing the right thing, the lack of funding for mental health services, self-care via comedy, Andrew's super power, and his message to try not to bottle things up, and even though it may be tough or trying at times, be supportive to those around you.

Interview with the open and affable Comedian Jack Thompson, who has been performing comedy for about 18 months, and moved down from Brisbane in June 2017 to be involved in the Melbourne comedy scene.

We discuss: The universality of mental health issues, the disease aspect of addiction, depression after high school, the experience of Schoolies, issues with alcohol, social anxiety, his experience of therapy, escaping boredom, the influence of the bad kid who lived down the street, detox medication, finding what's important in life, the Marijuana Anonymous joke, his experience of AA, Jack's super powers, and Jack's message to talk to people if you are worrying about the future.

Bonus Episode which is a live recording of It's Ok to not be Ok! hosted by Rae Bonney, on Radio 94.1FM 3WBC. Rae very kindly invited me on her show as a guest, after appearing as an MAA guest on episode 61.

We discuss: mental health in Comedians and Entertainers, why and how the podcast began, some of the more memorable moments from MAA, communication skills, and why I thank Peaches. Please enjoy.

Interview with the humble and humorous Ari Shaker, who has been doing comedy for about 2 years, and can be found performing a few times a week at various venues around Melbourne like the Comic's Lounge and Guerilla in Hawthorn.

We discuss: Ari's experience of anxiety, the Headspace app and the benefits of meditation, riding out the bad emotions with the good, road raging, taking mental health days, Ari's secret beach, phone addictions and social media superficiality, love and hate of technology, Ari's video game addiction as a kid, Ari's joke development process, using mindful meditation to facilitate sleep, dealing with performance anxiety, feedback delivery in comedy, the "gleaming depression" of performing, Ari's super powers (and testing them out!), pet therapy, choosing to switch off from the news, and Ari's messages to meditate, put your phone down, don't pretend to be something you're not, and do right to the people around you.

Interview with Peter Jones, who has been performing comedy for almost 5 years. Peter runs some of Melbourne's great comedy rooms (including Lido Comedy, Dirty Secrets, and Club Voltaire) and he also recently started writing for The Project.

We discuss: the honesty, depth and openness of conversations with Comedians, the differences when communicating during high school years, convincing mum to let him watch the Simpsons back in the day, elements of friendships, being picked as a fake by the audience, the influence of being a Pastor's son and being known as Sitcom Dad, the transition from shyness to performing comedy, appreciating the friend who tells you the stark truth, putting Peter's super powers to the test, and Peter's message to talk if you have issues because other people have most likely been through it too and they will not judge you.