I leaned into a kind of “ditzy” character when I first started performing comedy, and it served me well. I was a girl next door, folk singer-y ditz. As a young woman, the character felt easy and not offensive to the audience. It allowed me a lot of freedom to make mistakes and to behave in an aloof and outlandish manner, because, well, after all, I was just some dumb girl up on stage.
I was able to ride that character for a long time, but eventually, I hit a wall with it. I honestly felt one day like I’d outgrown it, and it was really tricky for me to navigate around that and rebrand. It’s something that’s still kind of in progress. Becoming a mother has been a natural transitioning point, and my character has naturally wisened up in some regards, because that is something that life demands of you, in a sense, when little ones come onto the scene—if you intend to thrive, that is. It really is a sink or swim scenario.
Try to live your old life as it were with new children involved, and you’ll all struggle. Accept that things are changing and advance to a new level in life, and you’ll all grow together. It’s not that I don’t hold onto pieces of my old life, or value them anymore. It’s just that it’s hard to live inside of a character that I really can’t relate to anymore. Maybe I never could, but I was more willing to try then than I am now.
But the question here is, should YOU do a character on stage? And here is my honest answer, which I don’t think you’re going to like:
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