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Mental As Anyone

A podcast to promote and raise awareness of mental health issues in comedians and entertainers by exploring views on mental health (from personal experience, or observations of peers and loved ones, or society in general).
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Now displaying: February, 2016
Feb 27, 2016

Interview with Chris Asher, who has been on the Melbourne comedy scene for about 6 months.  He has performed at Open Mic nights, the Comic’s Lounge, The Brunswick Hotel, and also at Roast Battles which are on Sunday evenings at the Town Hall Hotel in North Melbourne.

We discuss: Chris’ self-deprecating comedy style, enjoying the exploration of performing comedy, thoughts on RAW, self-analysis of Chris’ recent performance, the perils of reading your phone right before you perform, aiming to be comfortable on stage, a bit about The Podcast Formerly Known As, not being able to hold grudges, struggling with pressure from himself and others in a past job, reaching a point of burn out, a revelation while motorbike riding, the holiday escape after quitting, over-sleeping vs depression, the lesson of needing to be more aware of work-life balance, the emotional hangover from that period, the transition to self-employment and issues with motivation, the issue of not liking what you do, philosophy of eating the frog first, defining a “good job”, doing what you love so it doesn’t feel like work, counselling with puppies and kitties, the Cat Café in Melbourne, the new MAA segment called What Is Your Super Power?, Shae and Chris’ super powers, the power of self-belief, the law of attraction and goal-setting, the magic of the computer desktop background technique, Steffi’s magic Myki card, the importance of talking to people, the message that no one judges you as much as you think they are going to OR as much as you judge yourself (and most people just want to be supportive), and the power of venting.

As mentioned in this podcast, check out www.thepodcastformerlyknownas.com, and www.catcafemelbourne.com.

Feb 6, 2016

Interview with Justin Fleming, who has been in comedy for three years (his anniversary was last Tuesday!).  However Justin does not do things by halves, and he has worked extremely hard to gain a lot of experience in his three years.  Justin runs the workshops for young comedians on a Tuesday at the Comic’s Lounge, as well as Monday nights at the Lounge, and has introduced Roast Battles to Australia.  Round #2 of the Roastbattle Downunder is TONIGHT (Sunday, 7 February) and Shae from MAA will be in attendance!

We discuss: Justin’s background of being in a heavy metal band for 20 years and how it gave him stage/acting experience which set him up for comedy, Justin’s comedy style, growing up in Springvale, the point of the Roast Battles (ie, to use wit and insults in a fun way, not to take the jokes personally), his experience of anti-depressants when he was 17 (which didn’t agree with him), Justin’s breakdown which resulted in a hospital visit, how he came across Kundalini Yoga and meditation, doing a Vapashna meditation retreat (which meant silence for 10 days), reflecting on how everything comes and goes (including emotions), being on a more spiritual path, having high expectations of himself, Landmark courses, “wrangling” the comedy audience, philosophy on performing, the mental health issues of J’s parents, Justin and his brother facing identity issues, the Brotherhood of the heavy metal community, his views on the cliques and bullying in Melbourne comedy, Roasting and how it will help comedians to rapidly improve their craft, Justin’s view that life isn’t always smooth sailing and that contrast makes life good, the message that it’s OK to ask for help, learning how to stop playing the victim via YouTube, negative thinking and J’s vivid dreams, difficulty practicing gratitude, therapeutic experiences with mushrooms and understanding himself more profoundly, floatation tanks, the double edge of being on his own, how he obtained a medicinal card in LA, creativity with and without weed, breaking down the clique barriers and constructive criticism.

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