The people who were learning from me tended to be more commercial performers who were gonna rip off the salient idea to do it in a way that will sell, but they weren't going for the music.
Hollywood studio executives don't recognize the value of female performers as much as male performers.
There's no getting around it: Writing is hard, while working with young performers is nearly always a joy.
That raw connection between the two performers is something you can't fully plan. You just go with it and get lost in that moment and feed off of each other.
Recording sessions were stimulating to photograph, because everything was in motion: the subject, the musicians, the technicians and the photographer. You needed fast reflexes to keep up with moving targets, and sensitivity and skill to get the pictures while keeping out of the performers' eyeline so as not to break their concentration.
I think that standup has always been an acquired taste and there was always only a handful of performers that were really inspired.
It doesn't matter where we're from, we all have to stick together and help each other out as performers and as human beings.
I'm slightly obsessed with drag queens and performers. Their quips and their one-liners, their style, their singing... I find it fascinating. And thoroughly entertaining. I'd love to play one.
It always gave me the creeps when I saw performers who desperately wanted the audience to like them. That's not what I'm about.
I can't think of a better bonding experience than to be able to sit on stage and to watch your fellow performers perform on stage every night.
The development of the comedy club industry destroyed the uniqueness and intimacy of the profession but it also created jobs for comics and bred some great performers.
Some writers are more natural public performers than others; personally I find it quite strange giving interviews. But everyone has parts of their job that they like more than others. You can't complain if you get to do what you love doing most of the time, can you?
I like performers who I know are for real. You can tell, man, there's an intensity about their stuff. You can tell right away they're real people, ya know?
