Sunday Diva/Three From The Hip: Kathleen Madigan

Sunday Diva / Three From The Hip:

 Kathleen Madigan

In my own personal big gay church, there is a wing dedicated to the Ladies Of Comedy. Theses are the gals who made us laugh and, on occasion, brought a tear to our eyes. They are visionaries, capturing aspects of the human condition while holding up a mirror to the world. Their characters, style, and phrases have helped form our daily vernacular in ways we are not even always aware of - but that is the power of comedy and the magic these ladies all possess. Breaking ground while breaking all the rules?

One such comic seer?

Kathleen Madigan

Whether poking fun at her Irish Catholic background, her parents and siblings or some aspect of modern culture, Madigan is the best storyteller you'd ever want to buy a drink. 

And you will. You will want to buy this lady a drink. 

She's casually funny... with a gift with a yarn that's been honed on the road, 250 days a year, for over 30 years. 

She's been on The Tonight Show an amazing 25 times! Ten of those when it was Carson.

She'll be the first to tell you - she'll do a favor for a friend - like appear on Seinfeld's Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee - but otherwise? All she wants to do is tell a joke. 

It's that simplicity in aim, that focus which has made her one of the best comics around. 

She doesn't cotton much when it comes to awards, but she's won them: the American Comedy Award for Best Female Comedian and the Phyllis Diller Award in the same category.

In her spare time she goes on tour for the USO to Iraq and Afghanistan, helping out her best pal, Lewis Black over at Comedy Central and recording her popular podcast: Madigan's Pubcast.

She toys with the idea of retirement... but for our funny bone's sake, let's hope she never does.
 
The gospel according to her?

Well, here are three from the hip, dropping from her lips. 

The Topic? Comedy

"You have to be comfortable with organized chaos. I do really well in organized chaos because it keeps my attention. It’s activity-based versus with my one sister, safety would be her number one thing. She wants to be organized, safe, nothing unpredictable. That’s her idea of happiness. Mine is I like it to be very unpredictable. I’d like it to be chaotic, but I want to know I have control over it. I’ve always been like this, even when I was a kid. I think my parents would say that too. Like, my one sister, every night before school, she had her uniform set out, her things set out, everything was perfectly organized, neat. My side of the room looked like it had been looted! So I just think I’m meant for the road."

"I got into this line of work so I didn’t have to work during the day time"

"Given a chance, I wouldn't work except every once in awhile and then give the money (assuming I had a huge stash) to poor people."

"There's some comics who say there's never anything off limits, and I guess that's true, but I try to shy away from stuff that I know was painful for a lot of people. Like they don't need to be reminded of that at a comedy show. You can't go a comedy show to escape."

"...performing is not an escape for me, and also nothing in my real life affects my performances. Work is work. I don't however, work if something in my personal life is more important or needs more of my attention which probably is why things don't affect my work. I wait until I'm ready and try not to push the issue."

"People entertain me more than I entertain them."

"I don't really write jokes. I wait for stuff to happen in life and then I tell it on stage."

"I never have goals or dreams. My sister says it's pathetic and lazy, but I had a goal: to tell jokes to pay the bills and not have to live in a trailer. So, I think I'm living my fantasy. I don't have another."

"I reached my goal, I'm doing my goal. I don't understand why I'm supposed to have another goal. I don't know who started that crap. Not that there's anything wrong with having a sitcom or any of that, I'm just a bigger fan of the people that go [onstage], just because I feel that I relate to that more. There's nothing more fun than telling jokes in front of live people to me."

"I didn’t start doing open mics to become an actor on a sitcom or on a television commercial. Those things never crossed my mind. For a few of us, working and telling jokes was our main goal. I didn’t have any more goals. Can’t you even have a goal, reach it and enjoy it? Our society is driven by Type-A lunatics who say you have to set more goals. Well maybe they do, but we all don’t. Have a seat, grab a drink and enjoy the fact that you made it to the goal. Maybe that’s the Irish in me, talking tough."

"I just want to tell jokes. There’s not many of us where that’s all we want to do."

Stand Up - Kathleen Madigan

Things That Scare Adults - Kathleen Madigan

An American Idiot In Paris / This Is Not Happening

Kathleen Madigan

And one last parting shot...

"As long as there’s a mic and the spotlight works, I’m good to go. I’ve reached that point in my career, I don’t have to fight anymore. I’m happy where I am."