Kirsty Webeck‘s meteoric rise is not hard to understand.
It is the result of 18 months of hard work and discipline. Her prolific writing is matched by a stage presence that is second-to-none. Her warm and approachable content is enhanced by her friendly, no-nonsense style: no-one is humiliated or downsized. Everyone is included.
From her first comedy performance in 2013 to a full-time career as a touring comedian, Webeck has written and performed five full-length shows. According to Webeck, she had always wanted to be a comedian since she was young but she kept putting it off for various reasons.
“In early 2013, I’d just come out of a relationship and I woke up one morning and thought, ‘the time’s now Webeck,’ because I always think in the third person and call myself by my surname. That was the beginning of a whirlwind 18 months of writing jokes, touring and moving onto becoming a full-time comedian.”
Sold Out Audience
Hoping For The Best is stand-up comedy of the highest order, instantly relatable and jaw-hurtingly funny. This year, the production debuted at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival to sold out audiences and critical acclaim. It has been hugely successful, but what is it all about?
“’Hoping For The Best’ is a trip down memory lane through all the dubious jobs I held while I was in school. It’s a tribute to mothers – Mrs. Webeck gets a number of mentions for her tireless efforts to get me and my sisters part time jobs. It’s also just a silly analysis of some of the ridiculous things I’ve done, for example, I taught English in Taiwan. I have a lisp. Now 1 in 5 Taiwanese teenagers speak English with lisps.
I want audiences to laugh knowingly and think about things they haven’t thought of for ages. I want more people to shout out during my set, ‘I worked there too, IT SUCKED!’”
When it comes to gathering ideas for her shows, Kirsty jots notes down as she goes and develops them later.
“Ideas usually come to me while I’m doing things like walking or staring into space at the gym pretending that I’m about to destroy a kettlebell. The notes section on my phone makes me look unstable and hopefully my voice recordings never fall into the wrong hands.
To develop ideas, I turn on my voice recorder and just talk about something for as long as I can, then I play it back and pull out the bits that are funny or have potential and then work from there. Over time, I join all of the bits together, put it on a stage and let the audience decide for me.”
Being part of the LGBTIQ community has also influenced Kirsty’s experience within comedy.
“The LGBTIQ community is SO supportive. From print publications to Joy 94.9 to actual LGBTIQ members of the public who come to my shows, I couldn’t imagine more support.
Also, my appearance and sexuality influence my experience of the world and my comedy is about how I see things, so there’s always going to be an undercurrent there. I’m not a gay comedian, I’m a comedian who happens to be gay, but that identity will always come through on stage and will always influence the relationship between me and the audience. I mean, I’m not exactly flying under the radar.”
Kirsty Webeck is well on the way to becoming a household name. Her Midwinta season at The Butterfly Club is an excellent opportunity to understand why this is the case.
