So, Paul, tell us about your new show.
Well, it's gonna be starring me, Paul Salamone, and Rey – Rey Melara, and Alan Glen – it'll be a show involving sketches, improvisations, stand-up, and music. Every other Saturday, all through fall. Starting this Saturday, and going on till December.
What's it going to be about? Is it supernatural?
Well, I don't wanna give too much away, you know – I can't spoil it. But there'll be three writers involved, too. There'll be all these different styles, like, political stuff, and straight sketches, pure improv – and we're going to have the weirder, more out-there stuff from SIN. We're gonna have literary characters, stranger characters – I think it's gonna be totally cool.
It sounds like a lot of fun – has it been a lot of fun working on it?
Yeah, it's been great. Alan and Rey, they're the two funniest guys I've met in Berlin. And you know, like we're all different ages? Alan is 40, I'm 32, Rey's just 27 – so we're all bringing a whole load of different influences to the show. And, Alan's from Canada, I'm an American, Rey's a Latin American – so it's gonna be a pretty international show too --it won't be totally American or anything like that.
How did you guys meet each other, then?
I met them at Laugh Olympics, the Berlin English-language comedy improvisation group. I was totally scared of them – well, maybe not scared, but definitely intimidated. I was so intimidated, at the thought of working with them – they're such good actors, such great impressionists. When Laugh Olympics asked me to actually do a show with them – I was surprised. Well, not surprised, more like honoured.
What got you into improv in the first place?
You know what got me into performing? I was living in Colorado, with my brother, in a strip mall.
The Supernaturals comedy troupe: Honduran performer Rey Melara(L), American writer and performer Paul Salamone (C), actor and musician Alan Glen from Canada (R)
In a strip mall? Erm, what is that? It sounds a bit worrying.
It's nothing to do with stripping, actually. It's like this road – every American town has one – just a long stretch of road, full of Walmarts and car dealerships and stuff.
Oh. Like out in the suburbs, yeah? Like where they have Toom and stuff? No houses.
Well, there are houses, but there's no parks, no cafes, no clubs, no bars. There's literally nothing to do. So me and my friends, we used to go to this karaoke bar. We'd go there two, three times a week, just to perform. And I dunno, I just got addicted to being on stage. Then I went to an improv school. And I kind of fell in love with improv.
What made you fall in love with improv?
I like the danger of it, the freedom, the excitement. And it's easier for me, to be honest I'm not trained as an actor, you know. I'm no good at memorizing stuff.
And then what made you come to Berlin? The question every ex-pat has to answer seventy times a day.....
Well, my house burnt down one day. No, literally, that's what happened. I was living with my girlfriend -- we had a business together -- and then one day, the whole house burnt down. Our home was gone, livelihood, everything. And in the months that followed, we just fought and fought and fought.
Was it arson?
No! The girls upstairs forgot to put the candles out after a dinner party.
Oh. Okay, but what made you decide to come here? What made you go, 'Oh, my house has burnt down, better move to Berlin!'?
Well, I was reading this book about having a four-hour work week. It's a pretty famous book actually. And the guy who wrote it, he's just working four hours per week, and the rest of the time he's travelling. And he spent loads of time in Berlin. And I guess maybe it was just that. But after my house burnt down, I was just strangely compelled to learn German.
You were strangely compelled to learn German? Maybe you were having some kind of nervous breakdown?
Well, my grandfather was of German descent. He spoke German, you know. Well, he could speak German. His mother had been born in Germany. I guess it's the Czech Republic now. But you know, there was that, and plus being a graphic designer, Germany had always had a strong influence on my life. Bauhaus, Kandinsky....and plus I'd heard the rents were cheap.
So then you moved to Berlin and...
Well, I just said to myself: 'F*ck being a businessman, I am gonna be an artist.' I didn't even care what -- writer, performer, fashion designer.
You're exaggerating, right?
No, I didn't know what I wanted to do. And then I got here and I spent the first six months drinking and playing Battlestar Galactica. Then I helped found the Berlin Bear, a literary magazine. That was great, although it meant spending even more time in front of the computer – and then I found the Laugh Olympics guys.
And what made you decide to do these shows – The Supernaturals and, of course, Comedy in SIN?
Well, I felt constrained by the format of comedy improv -- so I started going solo with poetry and spoken word things – and then I did Lady Gaby's night, and talked the owner of SIN into letting us put a comedy night on there. Once a month, me and Rey. I love it. I see it as a showcase of new stand-up. I really love doing it. I like getting people on stage -- I like breaking new artists in.
What kind of person wants to be a comedian, Paul?
A pretty sad person. I remember when I started doing stand-up. It was when this girl dumped me and moved to Texas.
How good do you think you are at stand-up? Do you still have stuff to learn?
You know, to be really good at stand-up, you have to be doing open-mikes four, five, six times a week. That's what you see comedians doing in America. The same stuff, the same material, four, five, six times a week. But I also think you have to be willing to take risks. I like it when people are willing to take risks – and totally fail. I mean, I totally fail a lot. I've bombed a lot. But that's the thing with comedy – you've got to bomb a lot. You've got to bomb and bomb and bomb and bomb. You have to bomb so much so that you develop really, really thick skin. So you don't care anymore. I'm not there yet.
How hard do you think it is to perform to Germans?
It's not so hard. Younger Germans, they get it, generally, I think. They're not so bad.
What do you think of German comedy?
Oh, my German's not good enough to say, really. I've seen some good stuff at Kookaburra though, I really have. But, generally, my German's not good enough to say.
Okay, finally. What's the best thing about living in Germany?
The quality of life!
And the worst?
Oh, all the rules I don't know about, all the forms I don't know I'm not filling out properly...and the language is hard for me. I just don't have the time to learn German. But you know. I really can't complain.
Well, Herr Salamone, as they say in Spiegel, wir bedanken uns bei Ihnen ganz herzlich für dieses Gespräch!
The Supernaturals are a new comedy troupe comprised of Honduran performer Rey Melara, American writer and performer Paul Salamone, and actor and musician Alan Glen from Canada. The show combines an unusual mix of improv, sketch, stand-up, music, video, and audience interaction, along with subtle narrative threads designed to bring the audience back again and again. With influences as diverse as vaudeville, slapstick, comic books, SCTV, telenovelas, science fiction, Dada, and life on the road as a touring musician, the Supernaturals deliver a truly unique experience with a distinct Berlin flair.
You can see Paul and The Supernaturals every other Saturday throughout autumn: September 5 and 9.
UPCOMING SHOW DATES:
(all at Kookaburra Comedy Club at 11:30pm unless otherwise noted)
September 5
September 19
October 3
October 17
October 31 (Halloween!)
November 7
November 21
December 5
December 19
KOOKABURRA COMEDY CLUB
Schönhauser Allee 184
10119 Berlin
E-Mail: info@comedyclub.de
Kartenreservierung: 030 / 48 62 31 86
THINGS TO DO THIS SEPTEMBER:
Reading at East of Eden Bookshop
featuring Gordon Carrega with a series of short readings interspersed with live music. There is no entry fee, but the hat is diligently passed...Gordon Carrega has published poems and prose in various American literary journals. His writing tends to appear whimsical, at times absurd, but the tales have a startling emotional impact.
Tuesday 8th September, East of Eden Bookshop, 9pm, Schreinerstrasse 10, 10247 Berlin Friedrichshain, U-Bahnhof Samariterstr. U5
The Anti-Slam
Just like a normal slam, except that, brilliantly, the worst poet wins. Hurrah! Poets include Sergio Garau, Sebastian 23,Wolf HogeKamp, Niti, Moon, Dara Drea O'Neill and Mirabelle J. Half in English, half in German. I performed at the last one, and I can honestly say I've never had that much fun in my life before – without breaking a few laws, I mean.
16th September, SIN Club, 9pm, Schönleinstr. 6, U-Bhf Schönleinstr. Kreuzberg
Banged Up N Mashed
We are ber-yer-fucking back. Jacinta Nandi and Ben Knight – joined by Niti and other Very Special Guests – will be back, and they promise to be funnier than watching an execution while you're stoned on heroin. Followed by Music from Max & Spence.
18th September, Primitiv Bar, 10 pm, Simon-Dach-Str 28, 12053 Berlin, Friedrichshain
Wednesdays at Kaffee Burger
Yep, it's us again. Jacinta Nandi & Ben Knight will be joined by a host of comedic special guests, not all of them with mental health disorders. Be there or be thoroughly ashamed of yourself for the rest of your life, you silly boy!
23rd September, Kaffee Burger, Torstr. 58, U-Bhf Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz, Mitte
Soetic Social Club
The Soetic Social Club congregates on the last Thursday of every month inside Dot Club’s Lounge. ‘Soetic’ is a term for songs that are derived from poetry, which by definition alone, generates an inspired night of poetry/music and creates a unique brand of poetic music event. Each month, the Soetic Social Club challenges the city's top musicians and singers to create songs based off classical and modern poetic texts.
Each SSC event, commences with a professional pianist, progresses into 4 music collaborations fashioned by performance poets who have selected their own musical counterparts, then transitions into segments where musicians and performers unveil pieces they’ve created for the ‘Soetic Music Challenge.’ Following the challenge, performers are encouraged to participate in a short jam session before the SSC guest DJ spins eclectic tunes for the remainder of the night.
24th September, Dot Club, Falckensteinstr. 47, U-Bhf Schlesisches Tor, Kreuzberg
Noel Coward’s “Fallen Angels”
Desperate Housewives in London - Julia and Jane, the fallen angels, youngish married women, best friends and bored with their husbands, spend the day working themselves up into a drunken state of excitement in anticipation of their long-lost lover’s return.
8 pm, English Theatre Berlin, F40, Fidicinstr 40, 10965 Berlin (Kreuzberg), U6 Platz der Luftbrücke, Buses: M19 & 104
AND DON'T FORGET, KIDS:
Read my blog on www.exberliner.com/blogs/amok
And follow me on twitter on http://twitter.com/AmokMama
Text size
Jacinta Nandi aka Candi Girl catches up with comedian and spoken-word performer Paul Salamone whose new show is “a step-up from everything else I've ever done.”
Twitter
LinkedIn
Facebook
Flickr
0
