Edinburgh Fringe Q&A: Maeve Press

This is the first time you've brought a show to Edinburgh – is performing at the Fringe something you've always wanted to do?

Yes! I have always been a distant admirer, it's so incredible that there is a place where artists from all walks of life creating all different types of performance art can come together. Also who wouldn't want to perform at THE Fringe, plus I’ve never been to Scotland and I really want to meet a highland cow, that played a massive part in my decision to go.

What can audiences expect from your show Failure Confetti?

You can expect comedy BAM storytelling BAM, a show about the universal feeling of breaking out of the boxes society puts us in and fighting the system through stories about things like the time I was almost a cheerleader. It's an entertaining show! Or how about feeling like you've been given multiple choice options for your life and where you belong but none of them really feel right so, as Stevie Nicks puts it, you gotta go your own way, it's a comedy show! AND AND a big fun surprise ending BAM (imagine confetti flying everywhere).

You were the youngest comedian ever to perform at Boston's Women in Comedy Festival. What was that experience like and when did you first realise you'd like to become a comedian?

The experience was equal parts amazing and horrifying. I had only performed at NYC clubs and bars before. It was the first festival I ever did and I got to do some really cool shows. My favorite was a show called My Diary hosted by Lindsay Ames. I was asked to bring my actual diary and read from it and then riff off of it. This was the first time I ever really did storytelling comedy. The concept clearly was that comedians would be reading these excerpts from their childhood diaries and the most traumatizing time of their lives, and in retrospect, it would be so funny. The thing for me was that I was in middle school, right smack in the most traumatizing time of my life. I was reading stuff I had written like three weeks earlier! It was actually great. It was so cool to tell stories that didn't always need to be “funny” but in allowing the audience to sit in the discomfort of pain or sadness or uncertainty. You together find the comedy and it's such a satisfying feeling to guide an audience through a multi-emotional story where they feel comfortable to listen and feel all the feels and end on big good laugh. I also was booked on a show there opening for a clown show for children, during which I learned that my comedy is NOT for children. I was dark, even as a kid.

You've starred in indie films, one with comedy legend Maria Bamford. Which comedians do you admire the most?

Yes. I love doing films. I hope to do many more! And, I mean Maria Bamford really is a legend and I got to act with her twice! First was on a show called Everything's Gonna Be Okay, created by also legend Josh Thomas and then the short film Too Many Buddhas where she played my mom. I co-wrote the short with C. Fraser Press (my mom, I call her mom, she’s so cool). Once between takes Maria told me she was working on a new joke and asked if I wanted to hear it. Of course I said yes. Do you know the movie Being John Malkovich? For me this was like I was in that movie, but in Maria Bamford’s head instead of John Malkovich. Great movie by the way. Saw it when I was seven. My mom really is so cool. Anyway, what I love about Maria is that she is so comfortable in the weirdness of funny. Sometimes people are really funny because they are so relatable. But Maria is not always relatable, instead she is a character you just are fascinated to watch and go into her world. Being Maria Bamford! Coming to theaters soon! But besides Maria I will always say Tig Notaro because I feel like if I keep saying it one day maybe she will also play my mom! My parents collected old comedy albums so I grew up listening to Goerge Carlin and Lenny Bruce as well as comics like Dick Gregory. They held a mirror up to society in such an intelligent way. Then there are these iconic comics from really the beginning of stand-up like Jean Carroll, if you loved Marvelous Mrs Maisel you will LOVE Jean Caroll. She is not talked about as much as she deserves in terms of her contribution to women in comedy. Also Moms Mabley, if you don't know her look her up, and then also watch the legendary Wanda Sykes play her in Mrs Maisel. And also Carol Burnett, Gilda Radner and Lily Tomlin who are huge inspirations for me. Gilda Radner in the SNL sketch Stupid people is still one of my favorite things that show has ever produced.

What shows are you most looking forward to seeing during August?

I really just love Taskmaster, its my favorite show and every year I fall in love with a new set of comedians, so anyone who was on Taskmaster, like Sophie Duker, Rose Matafeo, Fern Brady, Melanie Bracewell (New Zealand Taskmaster – I really am a big fan of this franchise). If they have a show, I will be in the audience very excited! And of course Josh Thomas (who was on Australia's Taskmaster! Yay Josh!) has his show Let's Tidy Up. I saw it in New York, but I will go see it again at the Fringe even though he suggested that I go to a pub with him instead. Also I love musicals. Musicals are the best and I want to see a lot of musicals. I saw Stomp with my grandma for my ninth birthday and it was amazing. My dream was to grow up and be cast in Stomp. All I wanted for my birthday was buckets to bang on. I’m saying all of this because Stomp started at the Fringe in 1991 at the Assembly Rooms. I'm going to be at Assembly George Square (Studio Four) and I may or may not be playing buckets. I'm not, but who knows what I will do on that stage!