MAA #081: With Caili Christian

Mental As Anyone

Interview with Melbourne Comedian Caili Christian, who is back for round 2 after her first MAA appearance in March 2016. Caili has been keeping busy, performing 4 MICF shows in the past few years, co-establishing the Comedy Women’s Association in Melbourne (see their Facebook page for more info) and running comedy rooms.

We discuss: Creating a comedy space for female-identifying and non-binary people, the #MeToo movement and the more balanced nature of line-ups in recent times, comedy becoming Caili’s world and community, comedians coming from different walks of life and sharing the stage in common, managing anxiety with pacing and relaxation, curbing social media usage for self-care, being mindful of comparisons, adopting the Mum Role and striving to make comedy a better space, encouraging people to avoid punching down and to craft better jokes, reputations vs sense of safety, remembering Eurydice Dixon and the shockwaves through the community, the polarity between men and women’s views on safety, the pain of facing the victim-blaming mentality, the charity Awkward Giraffe, the change in how the media report things, unhealthy gender stereotypes, Triple M’s No Talk Day, enjoying Steph Tisdell and Dave Woodhead on Triple J Breakfast for NAIDOC Week, the seemingly-impossible becoming reality in world politics, Plan It Change 10, lack of funding for mental health, an update on Caili’s super powers, and the brilliant Light the Way Home project to help female, trans, non-binary or other vulnerable performers get a lift home after comedy gigs (you can donate at: https://www.comedyfestival.com.au/lightthewayhome).