Alison Bice in The Wizard of Bice
Interview with Alison Bice
Tell me about The Wizard of Bice.
‘The Wizard of Bice’ is a dark, quirky, modern version of ‘The Wizard of Oz.’ My character is a version of myself and takes the piss out of new, egostistical comics. Like Dorothy, I feel unappreciated at home, get hit on the head and find myself in the land of “Bice” (a gameshow) where I meet a Scarecrow, Tinman, Lion, Wicked Witch, Good Witch and the Wizard which are all animations played by other comics. It’s a very fun show!
You received a prestigious Moosehead Award to help produce this show. What kind of practical impact does the support of this award have?
Firstly – it saves me a shit load of money! The publicity is great. The media takes more of an interest in your show when it is associated with the word “Award”, especially for someone like me who is an unknown. Also having a producer organising all your admin/publicity saves a lot of valuable time which you need to work on the production of the show.
One of the benefits of receiving a Moosehead is being given a director to work with. In your case it was Damian Callinan. How did you find the experience of working with Damian? As a young performer how important is it to have the experience of someone like Damian around?
Damian is amazing! He is a great physical performer so he has been able to teach me some comedic acting skills. Originally when I wrote the script there was a lot more multimedia in the show. Damian greatly assisted with stripping back some of the filmed footage and showing me a way to perform the scenes theatrically.
Without the knowledge and experience of old farts like Damian (you can tell him I said that) in the industry; us young, sexy, beautiful, charming comics would probably take a lot longer to develop in to good comedians. It always helps to have a mentor. Not one of those “My jokes are about as funny as a cart full of over ripe, bruised avocadoes but I’ll tell you how to do comedy anyway” kind of mentors.
This show seems to depart from your previous staple of stand up, incorporating theatre and multimedia into the show. What prompted this move?
I came up with the concept first and couldn’t really fit the idea in to ‘stand up’ show. ‘The Wizard of Oz’ is a very narrative story and needs the other characters in it. It’s important to try out different performance styles so you continually learn new skills. I wanted to try incorporating a bit of acting and singing in to my comedy. Also, I have my whole life ahead of me to do a straight stand up show which is a VERY hard task to do.
Your press release promises “special guest comics” taking part in the animation sequences. Can you tell us some of the people we might expect to encounter?
Nope! It’s a surprise! But I can tell you, you will have seen/heard them all on the radio and tv.
This is your third appearance in the Melbourne Comedy Festival but it is your first full-length solo show. Is this a daunting task? Have lessons learnt from previous experiences been valuable in this process?
First solo show is absolutely a daunting task. I’m excited and scared. Being a part of the comedy festival for the past two years has given me an insight as to what is involved with putting on a show. Last year I learnt that when being introduced to Arj Barker you shouldn’t stare at him blankly for 10 seconds and then say, “I need to go to the toilet to do a wee.” He will think you’re weird.
For booking details check Alison Bice in The Wizard of Bice