First published in Onya Magazine, on April 13th, 2011.
Welcome to Melbourne, Sean. How does it feel to be performing at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival?
I am very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very excited to be performing in this festival. VERY excited. VERY VERY excited. I’m having trouble truly expressing how excited I am so let’s just say that I’m really excited!
How did you break into comedy? Was it something you worked towards, or did you just fall into it?
As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to do something larger than life with my life. When I was a young pipsqueak, I thought I wanted to be a rock star, but I couldn’t play any instruments and while I do have a beautiful singing voice (fuck no I don’t!), I am completely tone deaf, so I’d just scream all the time. As a slightly older pipsqueak, I thought I wanted to be a movie star, but I hate talking about myself and I’m not beautiful, so there’s that. The one thing I could always do was make people laugh and I love doing that. So, when I was a 22 year old pipsqueak, I started doing stand up and never looked back.
You’re quite active on Twitter. What is it about the social networking site that you enjoy?
Seeing how seriously people take Twitter. It’s fucking ridiculous! It’s Twitter! It’s 140 characters of thought that you put out there for people to read when they have nothing better to do, or at least that’s what it should be. No, it’s a religion. People worship Twitter. There are people who’ve become Twitter celebrities. TWITTER! No one should give a flying fuck about twitter. But seriously, follow me on Twitter: @mrseanpatton
You recently made your TV debut on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. Did you enjoy the television experience? Do you hope to do more TV in future?
I did. It was great. Sure, you have to boil your whole essence into 4 and a half minutes of clean material that millions of people see for a second or two while they’re flipping through channels looking for something to fall asleep to, but it’s a really cool thing to have under your belt. If you can make those people stop flipping through channels, watch your set, laugh at it before they zonk out and wake up the next day a little happier thus causing them to be a bit more productive at work, then maybe one day our economy will climb out of the shitter and you can feel good about contributing to that. I hope to do a lot more TV. I plan on it.
You live in New York. What’s that like?
New York is amazing. It’s a sensory overload every day. It’s so full of culture! There’s so many different cuisines and so much music and theatre and art and comedy and booze and homeless people and stupid rich arseholes shopping for things they don’t need and crazy people and dickhead cops and drunk college kids pissing in the street and bipolar weather and landlords that charge you an insulting amount of rent. And pizza! Best pizza in da world!
Is this your first time in Australia?
It is! Hopefully not my last.
What are your thoughts on Australia? Can you make any observations on Australia or Australian culture?
You’ll have to come to a show and see me perform to hear my thoughts on Australia. See you then!
Sean Patton is currently performing in Headliners at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. For show times and more information, please click here. To visit his website, please click here.
SANDI SIEGER. 