Benkharakh.com

By Ben Kharakh

Dana Gould will be performing at the Gotham Comedy club in NYC on March 8th. In this interview, he discusses writing, his one-man show, and his pre and post show rituals.

How does it feel to perform in New York after being away for seven years?
Well, I performed in New York last month when I came to town to do Conan. But since then, well, I just can't believe what Bloomberg's done to the joint.

How long will you be in town?
I get in town on the 7th, and if I haven't "made it" by the 8th, I'm outta here.

How will you keep busy during your plane ride over?
I have a great way to stay busy on long flights, it involves a velvet pillow and a Dust Buster set on reverse. But boy, do you get stares!

Is terrorism something that you fear? Is that something that you need to worry about living near LA?
Did you know that Wyoming gets a huge chunk of Homeland Security money? It's not because of Dick Cheney, either. Apparantly, there's this big jihad on caribou that nobody talks about.

What's your favorite form of transportation in NYC and why?
Running away. Why should NY be any different?

Is there anything that you'd like to do while in NY outside of perform?
When in NY I always love to visit Posteritati. There's no joke here. I collect old movie posters and that place is great. I'll be funny on the next question, though. You'll see.

Do you plan on recording a DVD or CD in the future?
Yes. This year. See? I told you I'd be funny again.

How about a one-man show?
I did a one-man show waaaaay back in 1992. Performing that thing eight shows a week was harder than any of the events depicted within the show itself. If I do another one-man show, it will tell the story of how hard the first one-man show was.

What was the first one-man show about?
My first one-man show was called Insomnia, and it was a story of how, in my late twenties, I became a total basket case, cross-cut with stories from my adolescence that explained how I got that way. Funny. Sad. Oprah-worthy. Yawn.

Also, what did you perform in Edinburgh when you went and what was that experience like?
The first time I went to Edinburgh I just did stand up and it was a blast. The next time I performed Insomnia. See: Yawn.

Do you have any tips for deal with rejection? What were some of your tactics?
Rod serling is one of my heroes. When he started writing, he collected enough rejection slips to wallpaper his office. They just spurred him on.

As for rejection from women, I don't think I should give advice there. I've collected enough restraining orders to wallpaper Rod Serling's old office.

Do you have any tips for dealing with stage fright? What were some of your tactics?
I've never had stage fright. I have off-stage fright. My solution was to get on stage.

How often do you write and how do you prepare for the act of writing?
If I'm awake, I'm usually writing or putting off writing. Usually the latter. Some writer was being interviewed on the radio once, it might have been Jonathan Franzen , but I'm not sure, and he said, "Most writing is sitting around in yesterday's pants, not writing." Bullseye.

Do you have any rituals before you go onstage or after you get off?
I have both pre and post show rituals. They both involve my kidneys. Glad you asked?