Steele Saunders – Falling Up
Steele Saunders chats to Annette Slattery in the lead up to his debut show at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, “Falling Up”.
The title and promotional image for your show are obviously deliberately reminiscent of the Michael Douglas film “Falling Down”. Can audiences expect a similarity between the two or does the reference have a different nature?
The theme behind it is that Michael Douglas’s character grabbed a shot gun to deal with his frustrations with the world while I grabbed a microphone and we both think Egg McMuffins should definitely be available in the PM. The show has very little to do with the actual movie apart from that really. It’s more a poster concept than a show concept. People have really enjoyed seeing me with my shirt tucked in though, particularly my parents.
This is your first appearance at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. What prompted you to take the plunge this year?
I’d built up a set list that I’m proud of and I figured doing the Festival would be the best way to lift it to the next level. I’m really looking forward to taking my time with the material without the pressure of a red light at the back of the room. I was offered a really good timeslot at Fad Gallery which is in a really central location, if they had confidence in me doing it so should I.
How are you finding the experience?
High pressure, but exciting. On one hand your honing the material, this is the grand final of sorts, you’re showing the result of slogging it out most nights of the week all year. Then you have the promo side, hoping people take a chance on a debut performer.
You also present your own comedy room “Oh Snap!!!” which has featured Jimeoin and Arj Barker amongst others. How does watching experienced comedians perform affect your approach your own work?
I remember Arj did a bit about the team names in the AFL grand final it was totally fresh and it killed, he came at it from a totally new way it was hilarious. There’s always a new take on a topic, I have been listening to a Seinfeld bootleg of his new stuff and it’s just filled with “ah why didn’t I think of that” stuff… very inspiring. Both those guys (Arj and Jimeoin) were super cool.
Who are you looking forward to seeing at this year’s festival?
Patton Oswalt without doubt. I’ve seen him a few times in the States and he just owns. His style was a big influence for me getting into stand up so it’s a thrill in itself to be in the same Festival as him. In fact when I found out he was coming I freaked out and stayed up to like 4am working on the show… that would have been hilarious if it wasn’t me.
Tell us what punters can expect from Falling Up?
They can expect someone who’s very happy to see them and who will be busting his ass to give them their moneys worth. Expect me to be even happier if said punter is rocking a faux-hawk… it will be on!
Steele will be performing at Fad Gallery from the 20th March to the 12th April. For booking details click here