DeAnne ready to do it down under
Canadian-American comic DeAnne Smith returns to the Melbourne International Comedy Festival in 2013 with the rather proactively-titled new show, Let’s Do This! Given the title, we had to ask: has the critically-acclaimed comedian taken up a new career in motivational speaking?
“My best friend told me I have two unintentional catch phrases in life: ‘Let’s Do This’ and ‘It’s All Happening.’ The title is a glimpse of me and my show: cheerful and energetic,” Smith told the Star Observer.
“From night to night, I like to get into unique experiences with my audience. In runs of the show in Montreal we’ve done things like had group chants, slow danced to Phil Collins, marched together across the street to a bar.”
The 33-year-old New York native made the move north to Montreal years ago, and has in fact spent her entire adult life living outside the US – before Canada, she had a six-year stint living in Mexico.
“I’m trying really, really hard to keep from making a crack like ‘What can I say, I like beavers and tacos.’ Don’t make me. We’re both better than that.”
Our lips are sealed. As you may have guessed, Smith is gay – and has no qualms about poking fun at her sexuality in the name of a good laugh. In fact, she’s the woman behind the hilarious ‘An Honest Lesbian Relationship’ video that, since being uploaded to YouTube in 2010, has clocked up more than 300,000 views.
A deceptively simple cartoon animation, the video sees two cute characters entering a relationship at stereotypically lesbian warp-speed. In the space of five minutes they’re planning trips to IKEA, setting up a Facebook page for their cat named Juno and foreshadowing an extended, painful break-up. Top YouTube comment at time of writing: “This is 100% my life right now.”
“It was just something I was fooling around with one afternoon, after I discovered the XtraNormal [animation] program. I never expected it to get so many hits,” Smith said.
“For a video without any cats in it, that’s kind of big deal.”
Smith is a frequent visitor to our shores, having appeared in either the Melbourne or Sydney comedy festivals each year since 2008. We even gave her one of her first accolades, with a Time Out Award for Best Newcomer back in ’08.
“Australia is definitely one of the first places that really ‘got’ me, but I think that’s only because I came here so early in my career. I feel like I tricked you all into taking me seriously as a ‘proper’ comedian. Shh… don’t tell the folks in charge of awards and nominations,” she joked.
“I think Canucks and Aussies are both generally friendly, good-humoured folks who live in great countries in which they’re taxed to the eyeballs.”
INFO: DeAnne Smith, Let’s Do This!, March 28-April 21 at Melbourne Town Hall. www.livenation.com.au
