Shay Mace
Josh Pickar’s unlikely journey from spending seven years fighting the death penalty in the US through to arriving in clown school in France will take centre stage in his debut Edinburgh Festival Fringe stand-up hour Getting Off next month. Josh looks to take the audience through an absurd comedy about the American death penalty, the institutions that run it, and how one lapdance took it down. We caught up with him for a pixelated pint to find out more.
You can catch Josh Pickar: Getting Off at Snug Bar at Assembly Roxy on August 5th – 30th (not the 17th) from 19:40 (60mins). Tickets are available through the EdFringe Online Box Office.
Shay: Hi Josh! Your upcoming clown show explores the seven years you spent fighting against the death penalty in the US – tell us about that journey, what you’ve been up to since, and how you found the funny in such a dense and charged topic.
Josh: Hi Shay! That’s right, I spent several years representing people on death row and now am doing a comedy show about it. Makes perfect sense!
My first job out of law school was at a big firm in New York, where I worked on some pro bono death penalty cases. It was my first introduction to capital work and I loved it. I then became a federal public defender and worked on death cases across the country, along with some regular criminal appeals. I left that job last fall and have spent most of the past year in clown school at École Philippe Gaulier outside of Paris. Death row to clown school was not on my bingo card.
From the outside, the death penalty might not seem like obvious comedy material. But the system is absurd. Put ordinary people inside of something that absurd and there is plenty to laugh at.
Shay: Tell us about your process for putting together this hour – what do you do to get yourself motivated and what challenges have you found with this material?
Josh: I’ve wanted to do a show about the death penalty for years. It’s a topic I care about deeply, and also one where I’ve found so much humor, which is probably a strange thing to hear.
The hardest part has been tone. The material is dark by default, so the challenge has been figuring out how to make it feel alive and funny without either flattening it or making it feel disrespectful. Most of the testing has happened in New York, and I learned pretty quickly which jokes worked and which ones made the room uncomfortable. Motivation really hasn’t been the issue. The good news is that I’m very ADHD so when something grabs me, I can disappear into it completely.
Shay: Tell us about your comedy icons – who are they, and how have they influenced your work?
Josh: I’ve always loved irreverent female comedians. When I was growing up, there were so few openly gay comics and I saw myself most in women like Kathy Griffin, Joan Rivers, and Sarah Silverman. I also worshipped early-2000s SNL, especially Kristen Wiig and Maya Rudolph. And 30 Rock is my favorite sitcom.
What I take from all of them is the permission to be specific and fully yourself rather than generally palatable. They commit completely to the bit and they’re never afraid of being odd or sharp. Sarah Silverman and Joan Rivers also made me realize that self-deprecation can let you talk about difficult topics when it’s wielded well. And Kristen Wiig and Maya Rudolph taught me how much you can do with body and voice. I try to bring some of that physicality to my own work.
Shay: Do you have any pre-show rituals?
Josh: I’m not overly particular. The main thing is I try to get myself in the mindset of laughing. Watching someone have fun on stage is exciting. If I’m ready to laugh and have a good time, then the audience is more likely to. I try to watch some funny videos on YouTube or remember funny things that happened to me recently.
Shay: What do you do when you’re faced with writer’s block?
Josh: I usually stop trying to force it and go for a walk. The second I try to muscle my way through a joke, it tends to disappear. If I can get out of my own head, usually by taking a walk with my dog Tuck, the punchline shows up when I’m least expecting it.
Shay: Has/will the show be performed anywhere ahead of EdFringe?
Josh: I performed the show in front of other students at clown school in France, and I did it in London in June. I’m also doing a final work in progress in New York on June 28 at Caveat! It’s constantly evolving which is what keeps it fun for me!
Shay: With EdFringe now just around the corner, what are you most excited for?
Josh: I’m most excited about getting to make a room full of strangers laugh about something most people would rather not think about. The death penalty is the kind of topic that can shut down a dinner party in seven seconds, so it’s fun to see what happens when you bring a crowd together and let the absurdity of the system do some of the work. For me, the real joy is watching something that sounds scary become unexpectedly human.
Shay: Given the themes of Binge Fringe, if your show was a beverage of any kind (alcoholic, non-alcoholic – be as creative as you like!), what would it be and why?
Josh: Ice cold diet Dr. Pepper in a can with a straw. Crisp, refreshing, a little random, won’t stain your teeth.
A reminder, you can catch Josh Pickar: Getting Off at Snug Bar at Assembly Roxy on August 5th – 30th (not the 17th) from 19:40 (60mins). Tickets are available through the EdFringe Online Box Office.
Image Credit: Steve Ullathorne
