Interview with Faye Treacy

CB: How long have you been gigging in comedy?

FT: A couple of years, although I was clowning for a lot of that, so my current straight stand up set with the tromboning coming up to a year.

CB: How would you describe your comedy?

FT: Unique musical comedy, it’s a frank, silly, raw perspective into my world. Or as my friend put it, ‘Its like a conversation with Faye but all her thoughts are in the right order and she knows what she’s going to say next…’

CB: Which comedians influence your comedy?

FT: I love brutal honesty and silliness in equal measure and I just realized I was naming far too many comedians… So, Louie CK is kinda king at the moment for me. When I was growing up my family had Lee Evans and Billy Connerly on VHS. Billy said rude words, which I thought was awesome (I didn’t understand his jokes so I probably was too young to be watching it, but then my Dad would take me to Chelsea games) but I found Lee Evans physically hilarious and liked his energy. I also always loved good old fashioned humour like Morecambe and Wise and one of my all time favorite sketches is the LSO one with Andre Previn, ‘I’m playing all the right notes, but not necessarily in the right order.’

CB: Did you always want to go into comedy?

FT: I guess but I didn’t know you called it comedy. When I was in the Croydon Youth Orchestra as a kid, they kept a tour book of ‘Fayeisms.’ My childhood best mate is a really good actor and he was always the more confident onstage one whereas I played in the band. Our first school play together, he forgot his lines and masterfully improvised, whereas during the musical number of, ‘What Shall We Do With a Drunken Sailor,’ where I had a trombone solo, I ended up tripping over, as I stood up because I was wearing my Dads suit and I was 11. So yeah, I guess I always did, I realised I enjoyed making people laugh.

CB: How do you go about writing your material?

FT: That’s hard, some of my best jokes or lines just came up in conversation and I write it down. My note books are a mess, I’m not the most organized and I’m dyslexic as hell so sometimes I need help deciphering Faye speech so I sometimes run stuff by Luke Toulson, who’s been an awesome and kind guide to me. He’s a wicked stand-up, and he’s generously given me the time and taught me things like its all about editing, and I do like to waffle… so he’s been very patient when I’m like, “So I got drunk and then I thought this was hilarious!” I like mind maps also and buses, buses help order my thoughts.

CB: Do you gig as a comedy performer full time or is it more of a part-time hobby? If so, do you find that your main job influences your material?

The year I can pay my rent solely through comedy will be an amazing and grateful milestone of an achievement for me. I’ve been gigging as a musician since I was 18 but trying to fund stand-up through trombone playing… I feel like my life is the best joke I could have written. I played a wedding last summer where I recognised the groom from somewhere and it wasn’t until we were playing the first dance, that I’d realised we’d played at his first wedding! He’d booked the exact same band, hilariously romantic.I also supply teach brass in primary and secondary schools and kids are a great source, and I have a regular Nannying gig Tuesday to Friday, and the girls are hilariously bright little feminists. In the past or whenever the music works quiet I do bar work and flyering! This all influences my material I guess!

CB: What do you find the most enjoyable and frustrating parts of the comedy circuit?

FT: I guess finding enough stage time. With an instrument you can practice for hours a day by yourself!

CB: What’s your favourite type of audience to perform to?

FT: Just a crowd who’s up for comedy. In terms of age and gender, I’m not sure. Rowdy crowds can also be a fun challenge.

CB: Have you been heckled a lot since you’ve started gigging? Do you enjoy being heckled? What’s the best heckle you’ve had?

FT: Yes, not necessarily a lot. I don’t always enjoy heckling because I’ve never had ‘you’re shit.’ Its generally sexually aggressive, (I’m aware I walk on stage with a large phallic object) but when I get heckled with ‘Get your Rat/C*** out,’ I think its more of a sad reflection on our society than my job to show how quick and witty I can be with my comeback. I guess the best I had was when I walked on stage and a guy yelled out, ‘I would!’ And I opened with ‘I wouldn’t.’

CB: What advice would you give to new acts thinking of starting out in comedy?

FT: Learn by doing it.