Got a call a few days ago from this woman named Sarah Silverman. She was blabbin' something about me making sure I still fit into my ill-fitting polyester cop uniform in the coming months. Apparently, her TV show, The Sarah Silverman Program, has been picked up again for a new season. Hoorah. 10 more episodes coming your way. Not sure of when, but just know they're coming at ya. This news couldn't make me happier. That should have been obvious by the use of "hoorah" earlier in this poorly written paragraph.

somehow i made the cover. not complaining, that's for sure. unfortunately, this magazine is only in select cities, but you can see it online at www.thecomedians.org. or, for the lazies out there, here it is:

........................

........................

Every night, people leave their homes to have a drink, grab a seat in a dimly lit room, and watch someone use only words and gestures to make them forget their problems for a while and laugh. Every month, thecomedians and thecomedians.org take a look at this phenomenon by focusing on those who practice their humorous craft alone on the stage.

It’s a cold, drizzly night and I can’t find Tig Notaro’s home. Mind you, us Los Angelinos consider it appropriate to don the winter regalia of scarves, gloves and Uggs as soon as the temperature dips below 70. I am scanning the residences on a quiet Venice Beach street,making sure I’m on the side with the even numbered addresses.Considering the endless stretch of green across the street, leaving only one side of the street with homes on it, I’m pretty sure I’m on the right track. I finally find her place, approach the dimly lit doorway and soon enough am welcomed in by the crackle.com dubbed“deadpan diva,” herself. I transition from the wet street into her welcoming home, decorated moderately and exuding a cozy feel. Her relaxed demeanor puts me at ease, not unlike her onstage persona, which coupled with her astute wit makes for a successful comedic combination.

Initially assuming Venice was a roller-skater swamped crazytown, she soon discovered its amazing, laid back, small town feel. If you are familiar with her trademark mellow cadence, you will agree this environment suits her perfectly. Notaro has broadcast her offbeat perspective onher own Comedy Central special, as well as NBC’s Last Comic Standingand most recently appeared on The Sarah Silverman Program as Officer Tig, a character she has described as herself with a holster.

Her stand-up act is characterized by an apparent comfort on stage and her ability to pace herself adeptly. “The pregnant pauses are as important to her comedy as the words she uses,” observes LA comic Chris Fairbanks, “she uses silence... I don’t know how to do that.” It seems contradictory, since she appears before her audiences with such ease, and as Tig puts it,“[loves] the awkwardness on stage. I love tension. I love all that comes from the pauses.”
Originally from Mississippi, Tig grew upwith a family she refers to as a collection of “storybook-type characters” (and she means that in the best possible way). A Texas high school dropout, she traveled around the country and moved to Los Angeles. As she put it, “When I got here, I thought – There’s all this stand-up. I’ll finally try out.” That was 11 years ago.

“I think moving around and traveling in general inspired me to have an openness about people. In so many ways, living out in LA, people will say to me, ‘Do you like the people out there? Aren’t the people horrible?’ No, I don’t feel that way because no matter where I’ve gone,I’ve found the same people,” she reflects on her travels around the country, “Usually you’re drawn to the same people.” This open mindedness, which is subtly hinted through her comedy, is perhaps most attributed to a mother she describes as “so live and let live... very carefree,” and certainly influenced her to believe that “you get much more out of people when you don’t challenge them in a right or wrong way.”

Such open mindedness is also apparent when she engages in crowd work. “I do a lot of interaction with the audience. I certainly have [set] jokes that I do. It’s the same [open mindedness],I guess, when I talk to people in the audience... I’m not looking to have a set up so I can knock them down. I really wanna have a dialogue.If they say something weird to me and interrupt my set, usually what they say is unbelievable. I’m not trying to talk to this person to be a jerk.” Conducting what appears more like an open forum rather than a comedy show, Tig is not really offended, so much as curious when people interrupt her onstage, wondering what compels them to say some of the things they do. “I take it as a compliment when people feel they can talk to me onstage. This woman in Orlando raised her hand, literally,and said ‘I thought you were from Mississippi’. I said ‘Well, can’t I move? Yeah, I’m from Mississippi, but you know, you can leave Orlando.’”

Notaro points out that there’s a bug flying around her room and then recounts a less rosy moment with an audience, “I was doing this joke called Wheelchair Becky. (from jokes.com by ComedyCentral - “It’s just so hard for me to accept the fact that Mattel would OK the name of this product to help teach tolerance and open minds. Like, maybe some more dolls are gonna come out, like Black Byron, Chinese Charlie, Faggy Frank, Big ‘Ol Dykey Darlene. These are not Barbie’s friends. She would never hang out with these people. She’s a snob.”) Basically the idea is that Mattel put that out to show that people in wheelchairs are like anyone else. My joke is- well, then just call the doll Becky. Some people got up during the set and walked out. I asked them, ‘Where are you headed?’ and they said ‘Maybe you’ll think twice before you make fun of people.’ One of the woman pointed at somebody she was with and was like, ‘He just got over cancer...’ I was so baffled, so confused. Everybody was baffled! I don’t know where they read in that I was saying, ‘Haha you have cancer.’ Nowhere. I don’t know where it came about. So, they left and started yelling with the owner of the bar, it turned into a brawl and the cops came. I was still on stage this whole time. A fist fight broke out... This is all during my set. I had to stay focused and talk to audience while people were pinning each other down and screaming. And one of the guys that left, the police broke his leg while they were holding him down.”

She expresses more a genuine curiosity about the misunderstanding, rather than insult. It’s the same curious nature and intrigue in human behavior that aides her exploration of people’s mental processes. She discusses one joke in particular where she’s walking along a sidewalk and a man thinks aloud to her, “Ah them a’little titties... Thoughtchoowas a man.” “I’d always wanted to write a joke about how when boring people or crazy people say something to you- that’s what they filter through their mind to say to you; that that needed to be shared. In their head, they’re like ‘I can’t wait to share this’... What are theynot sharing? Is that the interesting stuff? So that concept merged when that guy said that to me on the sidewalk.” With a look of bewilderment she adds, “...and it’s interesting to me when they choose between the two. So when that guy said that, it applied to that concept and that joke totally worked.”

Another thing that sets Tig apart is her effort to steer clear of being vulgar. “It doesn’t mean that I don’t appreciate and enjoy dirty or vulgar humor ‘cause I certainly do! I don’t know [why it’s not my] style. I always think I wouldn’t be a fan of myself. Here and there, you’ll hear me something that’s not like something that grandmother would like to hear – we do have the same grandmother, right?” she asks. And, it’s that sardonic question, a realization born after a beat of her first statement that best exemplifies her unique brand of humor.

Her writing partner and friend Kyle Dunnigan describes Tig as, “The funniest person [he’s] ever met,”adding “I’m very much not alone on this.” She has a history of collaborating with Dunnigan on informal music endeavors as well, which she describes as very ridiculous. “I wanted to be in a band,” she recalls, “and do that whole thing. I thought I was going to be in the Beatles when I was nine. I got my first guitar and I was practicing because I really wanted to be the fifth Beatle and, little did I know,they’d already broken up before I was born... and that John Lennon died the year I got a guitar. So, I had no chance of getting into the Beatles but I still was practicing so hard. But, that did not work out.Then I got into music business working for record labels and got out ofthat and into stand-up. “

Despite hard times on the road,she maintains that she really can’t complain about the experience. Anytime she thinks she’s getting the short end of the stick, or if she’s having a hard time, she immediately pictures herself in a cubicle, working at the bottom level of a corporation. This puts her back on track and gives her the understanding that things are really good.

And they are. There’s the nonstop touring she hopes will never end, her guest spots on sitcoms like The Sarah Silverman Program and most recently playing Rhoda on a new ABC sitcom titled “In the Motherhood,” starring dream team Cheryl Hines and Megan Mullally. She cites the fancy wardrobe as an exciting difference between the two experiences, describing how trying on the nicest, fitted clothes made possible by a major network budget has made her ask herself, “Why do In ot dress in 3 piece suits every day?”

The characters she plays, however, won’t be as different. “When Sarah had me on her show,she said, ‘Your character is Tig first off. Second, you’re a cop,’” and her role as Rhoda (she can’t say the name without laughing) seems to be treated much the same way. “I love it, it’s flattering that stuff is based on me. I don’t wanna have training or lie to myself or anyone and take myself too seriously. But I enjoy it. I wanna get better so that I’m more prepared and better at it. But I don’t think you’ll ever see me doing anything where I’ll be up for an Oscar or something.”
It isn’t difficult to see why the roles she plays on television aren’t a huge stre- well, aren’t a stretch at all. She’s a well-rounded, naturally humorous character already- quirky without being obnoxious, dry without being boring, mocking but likeable. She’s mastered silence in a way that enables her to milk laughter from a crowd. Sarah Silverman agrees, “She’s funny without even saying a word. She just has that thing and it’s hilarious.”

In 2006, Tig and fellow comedian Martha Kelly began the Crackpot Comedy Tour, an experience she would like to get back on it’s feet. It was “amazing and so much fun, I can’t even explain it. We did backyards, driveways,rooftops, barns, living rooms, basements, garages... People that are fans of your comedy are booking you and you’re going directly to their house and they’re inviting their friends, so you’re kinda hitting your exact target demographic.” On its future she says, “I think the only way I’m gonna do the next one is if we film it. Right now it’s in a limbo stage because Wayne McClammy, who directed “I’m Fucking Matt Damon” was attached to direct it for a pilot or a DVD feature, but after [the success of the “I’m Fucking Matt Damon” video] he blew up inthe comedy world, so we’re kinda waiting for a good time to do that.But we wanna film it.”
“I certainly never had the overnight success story by any stretch of the imagination... I’m not trying too win this town, I’m not trying to be a powerhouse that’s bossing everyone around and owning everything in town,” she comments while shooting invisible bullets from her index fingers as her hands form double guns, “No, I don’t wanna own the Wild West. I just wanna have a good successful career at a gradual climb. I just wanna do a little more, a little better every time.”

Tig can be seen on Showtime’s Live Nude Comedy in early 2009, not being vulgar, and in some lovely three piece suits on ABC’s “In the Motherhood.” She frequently orchestrates and participates in live shows at the Largo Theatre in Los Angeles and then there’s the stand up tours she takes a moment to profess her love to during our interview. “[I’ll be] touring until I die... and I have six months to live... so uh.”

For more on Tig, visit TigNotaro.com.

Annabelle Quezada is a writer from California.

guys,
if you like megan mullally (will & grace) and/or cheryl hines (curb your enthusiasm), then watch their new series on ABC called "in the motherhood." i play "rhoda", cheryl's co-worker. we already shot the pilot episode and they've order 13 total. it premiers march 26 following "dancing with the stars."

the crackpot comedy tour is booking their next tour! if you are not already our myspace friend, please do so now! click on my #1 friend and find out all about us. we will be touring from LA, up to WA, over to the boise area, down thru utah and nevada from august 27-september 11. if you would like us: tig notaro (sarah silverman program), martha kelly (conan o'brian) and their guest steve agee!!!! (sarah silverman program) to do a show in your living room, backyard, basement, mom's house, grandma's nursing home, frat house, jail cell, loft, barn etc, please read our blog about booking us and watch our informative booking video (but ignore the dates from our last tour) and then pick 3 dates that would work best for you and email us back on our crackpot page. if your house/dates fit with our route, you'll be seein our sweet asses soon! if you are not in the area but know someone who is that might want to be our friend and have us, please pass along this info and lead them to our page. please keep in mind it takes a week or so to get the tour in order and confirm your request, so please be patient with us. afterall, we are crackpots. also, sometimes we confirm a date and then email you with a change an hour later or a few days later. sorry in advance. we are crackpots. not to be confused w/crackheads. which reminds me, crackhouses need not apply. thanks and hope to see you soon!

my tiny little name is mentioned by the kong of comedy.
again, it's more exciting for me to see my name in print than my face on tv.
aside from those things, i really like this interview. i'm totally siked about sarah's existence as her friend, but i always marvel over how siked i would have been if she were a comic when i was 15.

Sarah Silverman: The Kong of Comedy

It's a jungle out there, but comedy's funniest bombshell has finally made it to the top of the Hollywood spire with The Sarah Silverman Program.


Did you take it personally when Jerry Lewis said female comics aren't funny?
It's pathetic that anyone would make a big deal out of that. The guy is a thousand years old.

But do you have to act like one of the guys to fit into the comedy world?
The boys' club is only something I'm aware of when I'm asked about it. In the beginning, you have to prove you're for real—like anybody else. Nobody assumes you're funny. I played a lot of basketball in N.Y.C., and I felt the boys' club more then. I knew I had to make every basket and not fuck up. I'm so queer.

Are you trying to offend as many people as possible on The Sarah Silverman Program?
The misconception is that I'm making fun of people, while it's my character who's clearly the ignoramus. You can call Archie Bunker a racist, but you wouldn't call All in the Family racist. Not that I'm comparing my show to All in the Family—my show is much better. Did you see the episode where I shit my pants? Very cerebral. My point is, if you don't look at the show as a whole, you may get offended. But that's true for everything. In so many ways—politically, socially—we sell ourselves short by not looking at the whole picture. If you look too closely at the TV, all you see are dots.

How do you distinguish between a joke about racism and a joke that's racist?
By not being retarded?

Is a Jew incapable of being anti–Semitic?
Please. No one hates Jews more than Jews.

Do you really think rape is funny?
It's only funny to me because it's fucking awful.

Did your parents encourage your comedy?
Definitely. My family gave me big laughs. As soon as I could talk, my dad taught me a bunch of dirty words. I saw at an early age that I could get positive attention when I said things that were dirty or unexpected.

Is that why you opt for offensive humor?
I'm going for the laugh, wherever it comes from. Beyond that I'm not calculating. I'm not trying to offend people—I'm trying to surprise them. I can watch perfectly written jokes all day and go, "That's funny." But it's the stuff that makes me giggle that I like best.

When do you know you've gone too far?
I use a combination of my own opinion and what I think will get a laugh. By the way, I keep picturing these serious answers juxtaposed with slutty pictures of me…

They're not slutty—they're awesome! So has Comedy Central ever censored your show?
In the AIDS episode, the doctor says, "You do have…no AIDS!" And after that he was going to say to the other guy, "You do have…AIDS!" Comedy Central said, "You can't have someone get AIDS in a joke." As much as I loved how the cadences matched but had severely different outcomes, I couldn't argue with that one.

Did your sense of humor develop as a defense mechanism during childhood?
I grew up in blonde, L.L. Bean New Hampshire. I was dark and hairy, and the kids called me Ape Arms. I was also a bedwetter into my teens, so there was a lot of humiliation. When I was 13 to 16, I went through a dark depression. But I wouldn't trade the pain of my childhood, because it's made me who I am—not just to be funny but to be compassionate. I don't think I could take the pain of watching a child go through that. I can say pretty confidently I won't be having kids of my own. Maybe I'll adopt when I get sick of this freedom.

Why were you so depressed?
I remember the day it started. I was coming home from a camping trip—torture because of the bedwetting—and my mother was there to pick me up. As I walked toward her, a cloud inside me covered the sun. When I tried to explain it, I said, "It feels like homesickness even though I'm home." I also remember the moment the cloud lifted. I was a sophomore, and all of a sudden the sun in my brain or heart came out again, as suddenly as it disappeared three years earlier. Weird.

Did you rebel as a teenager?
There was nothing to rebel against. I was never punished and always did my homework. I was a good girl; I wanted to be liked. Still do to a pathetic degree.

Anything in your personal life that's off–limits?
I tend to hide the real stuff inside absurd circumstances or pull lies out of my ass. I try not to air my parents' dirty laundry. The last thing I'd want to do is hurt them. Maybe not the last thing, but it's in the bottom eight.

Anyone who could use a little making fun of?
Your mother.

Any advice for the young girls in Hollywood?
Kill yourself.

Have you ever entertained the troops in Iraq?
No, because I'm a huge pussy.

Besides our questions, what pisses you off?
I get a serious visceral reaction to snapping gum. It causes full–blown panic.

When it's all said and done, how much of your stage persona is the real Sarah Silverman? In real life I'm Catholic. And Mexican. Other than that, what you see is what you get.

Who are your favorite comedians today?
Paul F. Tompkins, Todd Glass, Tig Notaro, and my balls.

hi. this is tig. just wanted to say that i'm going to have to ask for your hand in cyber friendship before we can get to communicating. just wanting to avoid some trouble that i've run into w/random messages from random people on myspace over the past month. if this makes no sense to you, sorry. if it does make sense to you, then HOOORAY!
see ya.

it is with an enormously heavy heart that i inform you of my old friend brett clawson's accident the night of his birthday 1/17. he has been in a coma since and then the horrible news today being that there is no brain activity registering in the results of his ekg. i have known brett since the early days of my career. he and i were managed by the same "company." the company (dave carlow, a one-man show) represented me, brett and dwight slade-that's it. a small, tight operation out of st. louis. brett was an immensly talented comedian and i'm just devistated by this news today, along with everyone else that knows him, i'm certain. a kind, kind, HILARIOUS young comic i worked with numerous times over the years. if you knew brett, or even if you didn't, and have ANY interest, please send a donation their way. if you go to www.myspace.com/brettclawson, you can contact his friend "carrie" (she's all over his comment section) who is organizing a benefit to help his family deal with the medical bills surrounding this tragedy. thanks.

my second time to be in the new york times. the first was when i found hal linden's (barney miller) wallet in a cab in nyc on christmas day about 7 years ago and returned it not knowing who he was. the title of the article was "taxi blues turn rosey." not sure if it's rosey or rosie. anyway, THIS article is just about as important/having to do with me as the last one. but in any event, it's my name in the new york times. why it's so fun to see my name in print, is beyond my ability to understand. i guess it's the same reason it's more exciting to see me on tv than in person.

Questions for Sarah Silverman

Funny Girl

Interview By DEBORAH SOLOMON
Published: January 21, 2007

Q: The opening credits of your new television sitcom, "The Sarah Silverman Program," include a scenic glimpse of a cemetery plot, as your voice explains that your parents are both deceased. Is that actually true?
No. They're both pretty retired.

How do they feel about being knocked off in your show, which makes its debut on Comedy Central on Feb. 1?
They're fine with it. It was a way to bring a little bit of pathos to a self-centered character. It's like Mr. Rogers said, There isn't anyone you couldn't love if you knew their whole story, and I figured if I added dead parents ..

Even so, the show's protagonist, who is named Sarah Silverman, is not exactly Mr. Rogers's type. A model of political incorrectness, she becomes enraged when she is forced to watch a commercial for a humanitarian-aid group. Whom is she based on?
I would describe her as ignorant and arrogant. The character is a lot of myself and a lot of my mother.

Much like Sacha Baron Cohen, you specialize in a kind of shock comedy that seems designed to give offense. What do you think of him?
"Borat" was the most retarded yet most important movie I've seen in many years.

In the documentary "The Aristocrats," you set a new record for outrageousness by claiming, with a straight face, "Joe Franklin raped me," referring to the elderly television host. I heard that he threatened to sue you.
I'm pretty sure he wasn't really mad. I think he was just milking the extra publicity.

Do you see your work as social commentary?
I don't see it as anything. I try not to look at it. Deconstruction is a comedy killer.

How are things going with your comedic other, Jimmy Kimmel?
Excellently! All my friends are comics, but I don't know that you would know them .. Mark Cohen, Doug Benson, Todd Glass, Todd Barry.

Why don't you have any female friends?
Tig Notaro, she's a woman. She's probably one of my best friends. She's a comedian.

Tell us about your childhood in Bedford, N.H., where you were the youngest of four daughters. Isn't your oldest sister a rabbi?
She got into it on her own, after grad school, even. We grew up in a place with very few Jews. I didn't look like the other kids. I had hairy legs, hairy arms, hair everywhere. I looked like a little monkey.

This doesn't sound like a description of an idyllic childhood.
I wouldn't want to do it again. I had a lot of depression as a kid.

During adolescence, you mean?
From 13 to 16. I didn't go to school for months. It was so awful. I didn't know how to express what it was. I remember trying to explain it to my stepdad and saying, "I feel like that terrible homesick feeling, but I'm home."

Were you treated at the time for depression?
I had very bad experiences with doctors. I got sent to a psychiatrist who put me on Xanax when I was 13. I went back for my next visit, and he had killed himself.

That's a pretty good story, but is it true?
I swear to God. I had to wait for the rest of the hour for my mom to pick me up.

You eventually wound up at New York University, where you dropped out after a year to work in comedy clubs.
I didn't really drop out. I just didn't go back.

Do you wish your new show were appearing on HBO, if only because Comedy Central bleeps out the swear words?
No, I spent two years developing shows at HBO, right before this. I wrote two pilots with Larry Charles. Neither of them was even shot. They're so good too.

And then you were rescued by Comedy Central.
Yes, I'm one of those lucky people who's attracted to people who like me.

Tig, yes a different name she even admits, was hysterical and has a deadpan delivery that would make David Duchovney jealous. She had to switch up her material for the second night, since much of the crowd was comprised of repeat attendees from the night before, but she kept it fresh, funny and laugh out loud fun. Lawless asked Tig to do the show because of their past history.

"Tig, is an old friend who used to work for my husband, and she was the world's worst secretary but he refused to fire her because she was so amusing," explains Lawless. "Then she went on to be a very successful stand up comedienne. We love her and I asked her if she would come out and do the gig and she did it for the cost of a plane ticket. I had to thank her so much because she brought a special feel to the evening."

Austin welcomes a crackpot
by Eric Seufert | 29 Nov 2006

The Crackpot Comedy Tour, a traveling showcase of Los Angeles-based comedians Tig Notaro, Martha Kelly and Kjell Bjorgen, has performed exclusively in living rooms and backyards since launching on November 9th. That Other Paper sat down with Tig and Martha after their November 15th show at an East Side house party to talk about their experiences on the road.

That Other Paper: You guys had an amazing show tonight. It was really good. This question is for Martha.

Tig Notaro: I'll answer.

TOP: Either of you can answer, really. Which venue was more forgiving .. The Late Late Show or this guy's backyard?

Martha Kelly: More forgiving, like, if you messed up is nicer? Is that what you mean?

TOP: Or which provided more snacks.

Martha: The Late Late Show gave me three bottles of vodka, but I couldn't drink them because I'm sober. This party, I got hugged by several cute little delinquents, and that's much better than vodka that I can't drink.

TOP: They're both kind of off-limits, though, right?

Martha: Not.. says who? I'm just kidding. I'm very desperate for attention.

TOP: Which has been your favorite city to perform at?

Martha: What has been our favorite city to perform in? For me, Austin, definitely. Although I loved the other people we met in Colorado .. but definitely, Austin. What about Tigger?

Tig: I thought Detroit went well. Detroit was good. It was amazing.

TOP: You guys haven't been to Detroit.

Martha: Where else have we gone?

Tig: Ok, honestly? Detroit.

TOP: What about it? Name one specific thing about Detroit that made it enjoyable.

Tig: We didn't go.

TOP: Yeah, I knew it. I knew that.

Tig: That was the best part.

Martha: The best part was that we didn't have to go there.

Tig: But I have to say that each has been amazing. Like the first night, we were in Denver like in this huge open loft that was just packed. We had a film projector and showed short films, and we had a local comedian, Ben Kronberg, that was just awesome. So we did our short films and we did our set and they had DJs and a lot of snacks and it was just amazing. We were there until like five in the morning. And when I say we, I mean everyone but Martha.

Martha: I left right after the show.

Tig: And then the next show was in a little mountain town west of Boulder. They flyered their little mountain town. It was in the little living room of a straw-bale home on the side of 10 acres on a mountain.

Martha: We almost drove off the side of the mountain on the way to the show.

Tig: So, uh, you know, all of them have been amazing is my point. And then getting here with all of the college kids and the fact that they have a stage built. I thought they were going to be way more heckle-y.

Martha: They were just heckle-y enough.

Tig: And heckle-y is a new term. We just started it.


Martha: Next question.

Tig: What else brings you here?

TOP: So what is the perfect crowd, then? For this tour, for you guys right now on the Crackpot Tour, what is the perfect crowd?

Martha: To me, this was the perfect crowd.

TOP: Really? So you like the one guy in the back that's heckling because everyone gets a shot to make fun of him?

Martha: A good Texas crowd is my favorite crowd in the whole world. I'm a little loopy about Texas and Austin in particular.

Tig: Yeah.

Martha: They're very enthusiastic and very nice, but at the same time they're a little rowdy. That makes it more fun because you don't know what's going to happen. You might get your ass kicked, and that's always fun.

Tig: Well, we almost got our asses kicked last night. We stayed at this guy's house who literally went crazy while we were staying there and almost murdered us, so it's not really as fun as it sounds.

Martha: I didn't stay there. That's probably why I think it's fun.

Tig: Yeah.

Martha: I wouldn't have been up for that.

TOP: But the crowd, though .. you like the heckler, like the one heckler?

Tig: I like talking to the crowd. That's one of my favorite things, talking to the crowd.

Martha: I'd love to get out and continue talking to the crowd.

TOP: What has the tour allowed you to experience outside of the comedy show? What have you guys done apart from doing standup?

Tig: Well, apparently they went to a petting zoo. I had to go to a conference, but while I was gone I guess they all went to a petting zoo? A drive-through petting zoo?

Martha: We went to a wild animal park and there were no roofs on the tigers cages. This was in Oklahoma. And a lemur was loose, and I saw it and told the park people. They didn't even know. I took a lot of credit for that.

Tig: Were they like, ..What is a lemur?..

Martha: Yeah, they were like, ..I didn't even know we had lemurs... They just all came running in a big herd. I felt like we were being stampeded by the actual staff of the park rather than the animals .. that were poorly caged, to be honest with you. They could have broken free at any moment.

Tig: Well, the lemur did. Or was he trying to get into the zoo? He was trying to get caged.


Martha: He came from somewhere else. He heard about it and came over. I ran back to the van and left Ruby and Kjell to just kind of fend for themselves.

Tig: You were trying to combine words there. To Feld.

Martha: Ruby and Kjell?

Tig: Ruby and Kjell to feld. To fend for themselves. I saw what you were doing. You wanted to really wrap up this interview quickly so you thought you'd start combining words.

TOP: Don't shortchange me.

Martha: I don't want to shortchange you. I'm just not a very cooperative person.

TOP: What's your number one venue .. what would you dream of playing?

Tig: The number one venue, what would I dream of playing..

Tig begins to swat at my head

TOP: Is this an improv?

Tig: No, there's a bug flying at your head. I mean, I guess, if I'm trying to hit the bug above your head in an improvisational way.

TOP: Did you learn that at Second City?

Tig: So the ideal venue. I would like to be a theater comedian. That sounds like fun. I would love to be a theater comedian. I would love to walk out into a theater. And be a comedian.

Martha: I think a theater is an ideal venue. If you got to the point in your career where you could fill a small theater with people who came just to see you, that would be the best thing in the whole world.

Tig: Except if you filled a large theater with people who were there just to see you.

Martha: Even better.

Tig: Yeah, see? You have to dream beyond your means.

Martha: It's hard when you're always telling me how to dream.

Tig: Well, go to sleep.

Martha: It gets rough. It gets really rough. There has been tension on this tour.

Tig: About dreams.

Martha: We've had some real, real tension. Not Real World, MTV tension, but real tension.

Tig: Yeah. Not like, ..Let's fake it,.. but like me and Martha in the darkness of no one else looking, and we're having it out.

Martha: Yeah. Hurt feelings? There's a little of that going on. But it seems fine now.

Tig: It's not.