I asked Karin Muiznieks about her new show World War Wonderful.
Tell us about World War Wonderful.
I got the idea after reading The Shock Doctrine by Naomi Klein which is all about America’s involvement in engineering war. I thought it would be fun to mix that up with the light-hearted music of The Andrews Sisters era. The result is an original musical about a fictional trio called The Wonderful Sisters who sing and dance and are completely adorable but actually have some influence over what’s going on in World War Four.
I grew up listening to The Andrew Sisters and Judy Garland, but most of generations X or Y would be largely unfamiliar with such artists. Will this be an impediment to enjoyment of your show?
Not at all! I’m very aware that The Andrews Sisters aren’t making a comeback anytime soon. The show uses them more as a symbol of that girl-next-door innocence that Hollywood was pushing in the 40’s, which balances great against the machine guns and conspiracies that were going on at the time. If you haven’t heard The Andrews Sisters music we do a good job imitating their style although the songs are all originals (and a lot more explicit than anything that would’ve been out at the time!) but we paint their era in pretty broad strokes. Everything about The Wonderful Sisters gets explained in the show so you won’t need to jump on YouTube to get the backstory. The show is more focussed on the sisters as siblings and how they manipulate each other and the world.
Can audiences expect the full USO experience?
The Wonderful Sisters perform to an audience full of “marines” on the front line, so once you walk through the door you’ve been enlisted into the army. It’s all focussed around one central plot but there are plenty of songs, dances, film clips, stories and character sketches to provide the variety you’d expect in a USO show. And if Bob Hope feels like coming down to do a five minute spot I won’t say no. The show focusses critically on war too, which USO shows don’t because they’re funded by the government. So it’s a little bit of a comment on wartime entertainment, which is a very noble thing but if put into the wrong hands could be used for evil.
You’re fairly new to comedy and yet the presence you have created with your work make you seem like a veteran. Do you feel this way or do you still feel like a newcomer?
Ha ha ha! Yeah, I am pretty new really. I did my first stand up spot on November 1 2006. The thing is, I’ve been performing onstage since I was 8 so I didn’t really have to face the whole conquering nerves process that a lot of comics go though. I mean, I was always terrified that the jokes would flop but being onstage alone with a mic didn’t faze me. I didn’t choke when the material didn’t work. I really found my angle when I started writing my own songs, then all of a sudden comedy just made sense and I’ve ended up writing 8 successful musical comedy shows since my first gig. World War Wonderful is the second ensemble cabaret show I’ve written – the first was Give My Regards To Broady which ran for 6 nights in last year’s Comedy Festival and was quoted on MixFM as “the best show in the festival”. Woot!
I suppose I’ve made an impact because not many people in Australia write original comedy musicals, and if they do they’re usually based on factual events. Sammy J is the only other person I know who does whimsical or allegorical musicals and his style’s very different to mine, we’ve both cornered our markets.
You’ve got to have a really high turnover to make a living out of comedy. Are you living off your work as comic/actress?
My standard answer to that question is “I make enough money to live at home with my parents.” It’s kinda like the wet season. When I perform a show the money appears, when I’m writing one I live by sucking nutrients out of dusty bits of cloth and praying for rain. I got a day-job this year for the first time (singing to the under 5’s) but my next step is to start touring with finished shows while writing a new one. Trouble is, for that plan to work you need money to begin with. Hence the day job.
For those, including this writer, who have never seen you perform, how would you describe your work?
I’m a very positive person and my work reflects that. In the first few cabarets I was almost blindingly sunny but I’ve been toning that down lately with darker shows like Hells Cabaret and World War Wonderful. Give My Regards To Broady was a story of finding happiness in spite of almost certain failure and WWW is even darker than that; trying to do the right thing in spite of government conspiracy, murder and war.
I was trained in Musical Theatre boot camp so my guts always bring me back to the glamour of that genre. I like to create big stage spectacles for the audience so the show is visually pleasing as well as comical. There are colourful sets and costumes, live musicians and professional level dance routines to go with the jokes. In WWW the darker the comedy gets the flashier the songs get so there’s always something delightful to watch.
Also, I’m super funny.
Thanks to Karin Muiznieks
For bookings go to the Comedy Festival website