a day ago
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- Courier-Mail
Stand-up comedian Anisa Nandaula on on trusting your gut
Currently on the road with her debut comedy tour, the Ugandan-Australian comedian and slam poet talks navigating career changes, post-show comedowns plus her current pet peeves.
You were born in Uganda and moved with your family to Rockhampton in regional Queensland at the age of seven. What do you remember of this transition – was it a culture shock?
I vividly remember being so shocked at the bridges in Australia, the perfect roads and the Billabong ice-creams shaped like a heart. I was so in love with this country and thought it was incredible. I think the biggest culture shock would be that I didn't know I was going to be the only black person in my area for the next five years. Rockhampton is quite regional and, at least when I was there, there wasn't much of an African diaspora, it was just my family. It's especially difficult because when you're new to a country, you want to make friends but you're like, 'Ok, do I just get rid of my culture so I can fit in?'
At the height of Covid you quit your 9-to-5 to embark on a career in stand-up. Did this feel like a risk and what gave you the courage to take the leap?
I made the decision to quit poetry and that did not feel like a risk. What felt like a risk was continuing to live my life doing something that didn't exhilarate me, that didn't make my heart race. When I stood up on that stage, I felt reborn. I felt like I had a purpose and this was my calling. The risk would be not to dedicate my life to this forever because I love it.
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Comedy is known for its gruelling schedule, with late nights and the pressure to perform. What self-care practices do you prioritise when the demands can feel like a non-stop hustle?
That's a really tricky question because for me comedy is my therapy, comedy is my safe space. So, comedy itself is my ritual. If I go a night without performing, my mental health starts to spiral. I love being onstage. I remember when I was doing a TV show, you're working these late hours and you're so tired, thinking 'Oh my god, how am I going to perform?' As soon as you get on stage you're like, 'Oh, I love it. This is what I was born to do.'
Is there a come down post-show?
Oh definitely, and I've had to develop rituals for that and the adrenaline spike. To come down and be able to sleep, I need to read a book and drink some tea otherwise I literally won't go to sleep – the adrenaline spike is too high.
You've said 'a lot of stand-ups are very judgmental, irritable people' as these observations make for great comedy. What irritated you recently?
Comedians are the most irritable people on earth. I don't think there's ever a moment where I'm not irritated or slightly annoyed at something. Yesterday I got an Uber home from the airport and it's like, yay, I can afford an Uber from the airport. But also, I'm trapped with this Uber driver who is sharing their political opinions for 40 minutes! And I had headphones in!
We have such a unique way of talking and sense of humour, so I just felt disconnected, I felt like I didn't understand, and had trouble relating and connecting to people. Image: Emma Holland
In a male-dominated space, you've forged a path to become a unique voice in comedy. What advice would you give others looking to pursue a passion?
That feeling in your gut, follow that. I remember when I was doing open mics and no-one would book me, I changed my Facebook to a different name because I'm like, 'I'm going to be really famous one day and I don't want people searching me up.' This was when I was doing sh*tty open mics, but I knew where I was going to be. If you know it in your head, it's going to happen. Keep that dream in your head because it's going to be a reality.
Being the only Black family in Rockhampton, did you find that challenging when at school?
It was really challenging. Even just the Australian way of speaking. We have such a unique way of talking and sense of humour, so I just felt disconnected, I felt like I didn't understand, and had trouble relating and connecting to people. That was super challenging.
You pursued a career as a poet and in 2016, you were crowned Queensland Poetry Slam Champion. What was it about this art form that drew you in?
I loved poetry. I always loved English and used to do public speaking. I very specifically remember my teacher telling me after reading the stories I wrote, 'I could tell you're a better speaker than you are a writer.' I remember that really hurt my feelings because I loved literature. Then I saw this slam poet on YouTube and I was like, 'Ok, my teacher's telling me I'm not a good writer. But whatever this is, I can do this.'
I fell in love with the performing, the being on stage, and just telling your story to people. Image: @anisa_nandaula on Instagram
I fell in love with the performing, the being on stage, and just telling your story to people. Being able to speak - I don't know if that's due to being in Rockhampton or earlier in my childhood when I had trouble connecting and being honest and being myself - but onstage I knew that I could tell my truth and connect with you.
It's fascinating what your teacher said to you, too. So much of stand-up is writing: there's a rhythm and a pace to a joke, and the need for perfect wording. Did that background in poetry lend itself to stand-up?
You're 100 per cent correct, without a doubt. With stand-up, your job is essentially to be a writer. All you do is write. You write 90 per cent of the day, and perform 10 per cent of the time. I think because I'm so used to manuscripts and writing for eight hours a day, the art form isn't easy but the act of writing is because I'm so used to it.
Can you remember that first stand-up show that you did?
Yes! I was actually watching a video of it last night because I'd sent it to a friend and it was atrocious. There were three people in the audience, one of them was my best friend who was just laughing. And the other two were two men who were crazy drunk and they loved it, so I don't know what the average person would have thought.
How did you approach that career transition, though? Did you have any mental tools or strategies?
I'm an incredibly methodical person. When you start out in stand-up, you don't know anything. I had a mentor and he essentially set goals for me. The first goal was to write down three minutes worth of jokes. Ok, I did that. The next goal was to test it out, so we made a list of clubs and I tried to get into those open mics. Next, I tried to get into comedy clubs which took two years. That was a foundational level where I needed a mentor because I didn't know anything - I didn't know the world or who to talk to, or the etiquette. Then after that, I just had methodical goals all throughout. Even now, I write a list of goals and at the end of the year, I check what I didn't achieve and what I could do better.
You found fame on TikTok as clips of your stand-up started going viral. How do you protect your mental peace on platforms where everyone has an opinion and will share it in the comments?
I'm very honest with where I'm at emotionally. When I started, I wasn't honest and I'd read all these comments. You have to respond because it drives your engagement and helps it go more viral. So, I'd be responding to trolls, saying, 'I'm ok, I'm ok' and then I have a mental breakdown because the things are so horrible. Now, I'm conscious about where I'm at. If I sense that my resilience is maybe at six, then I'm not going to use Facebook and that's a decision that I've made because I'm honest that I don't have the resilience for it. I'll read TikTok because young people aren't as mean as old people though - and the same as Instagram. But it's about where my resilience is at. If it's a 10, I'll clap back. If it's not, I'll leave it.
How do you balance sharing so much of yourself online and maintaining some level of privacy?
It's so difficult. Before I post a video, I'm always scared. My heart is always racing, but I just keep doing it. I looked up my Instagram because it tells you how many posts you've made and it said 464. I thought, 'I've been brave 464 times, that means I can continue doing it.' It's just the practice of bravery.
You've performed slam poetry at the Sydney Opera House and faced a live audience filming Channel 10's Thank God You're Here. Do you have any pre-show rituals before taking to the stage?
I'm terrified. Any time I get onstage, I'm scared. I used to get really bad diarrhoea because I was just so nervous. So now my ritual is firstly I go over what I'm performing. It doesn't matter if I've said it six million times, I need to go over my routine. Then, I need to dance for ten minutes because if I get my energy up I know the show is going to go well because I'm happy. The third thing I do is something I learned from my therapist. If I want to feel confident, intelligent, smart, relaxed, I think of memories in my head and times I've felt that way, and then I touch my finger so now that's locked in. Before I get onstage, I tap into memories of feeling that way and instantly that emotion will be with me on stage.
Anisa Nandaula's debut Australian comedy tour, 'You Can't Say That'. Image: Emma Holland
Can you explain how that works?
Whatever feeling you want to have - if you want to feel brave, you close your eyes and think about a time you felt brave. You keep that memory and attach it to something you can do physically that no-one can tell you're doing it. So, maybe you're touching your ear or rubbing your arm. When you do this thing, it's accessing this memory.
Your debut Australian comedy tour is called 'You Can't Say That.' What inspired the title?
What inspired the name was that every time I do a comedy show or perform, people in the audience are looking at each other and I get people going, 'You can't say that!' And I'm like, 'Well, why not?' These are the interesting conversations to have. The best conversations are when you're gossiping with your friends and looking around. That's what I find interesting.
In drawing on your own experience as a Black woman growing up in Australia, your comedy draws on themes of race, identity, and social issues. Why do you think humour is effective in starting these conversations?
One of the major differences between poetry and comedy is that in poetry, people can listen and you don't really know if they've understood what you're saying. But for someone to laugh at a joke, they have to understand. That understanding is what triggers the laughter. When people laugh, that's a thousand people in a room who have all understood what you've just said. You're sharing your personal experiences, things you've been through. For people to then understand, that's empathy, that's connection - all things that are happening against their will because a joke happens and no-one chooses to laugh, I'm making you laugh.
Originally published as Stand-up comedian Anisa Nandaula on on trusting your gut
