Before making her debut at the Edinburgh Fringe, 2017 Funny Women Awards finalist, Amy Mason, joins Katerina Partolina Schwartz to discuss her show, Free Mason, and her strategy for performing throughout the month.
What would be the elevator pitch for your show, Free Mason?
My show is about me coming out as a lesbian in my late thirties while I was married to a man and trying to find where I fit in the world. It’s a lot about nature and wildlife too.
I think it’s going to be a change of pace from some other shows, it’s quite a thoughtful show and even though in loads of places it’s quite silly, I hope that people will think more about how they relate to the world, both in the natural world and their own place in the world; ways that they fit in or don’t fit. I do genuinely think it will give people something to think about.
As a 42-year old woman with two small children debuting at the Fringe, I hope that this will be a bit inspiring and encourage women (especially older women) to think about the different things that you can do when you’re approaching middle age.
What would you say is your favourite part of the show to perform?
I really like telling the story about the hedgehog at the beginning of the show and it’s kind of an odd way to start because it’s quite low energy. It’s unusual, odd and off-kilter, but I really like seeing audiences when I open with it. I enjoy seeing how engaged they are, particularly as British people love animals.
It’s a long story, but what happened is that I ended up gathering some hedgehogs in my cellar, I talk about how I found them and contacting a wildlife organisation to get one of the hedgehogs wounded legs treated, which became the arc of the show. I realised that a lot of the other material that I had would fit quite neatly into the show. It’s been tough, and a big learning curve as it’s my first show, but I think I’m getting there.
Do you have a particular pre-show ritual that you do before going onstage?
I don’t drink anymore, so I have the opposite of a pre-show ritual, which is not drinking. I used to always have a glass of wine and now I don’t have any, I normally have a Coke or something like that to give myself a little like a boost of energy. I don’t know if this is the same with other comedians, but if something hasn’t gone well in the past or I’ve had a bad show, I will try not to do the same things that I did before and try and do things differently or wear different clothes.
What are you looking forward to about making your debut?
I think just connecting with all the audiences and becoming a better stand-up. Doing the show every day for a month I think is going to be really tough but also going to make me a much better performer. Other than seeing other people’s shows, being there to see lots of comedy is something that I’m extremely excited about.
I did it 11 years ago with a theatre production, and it was very difficult. It’s taken me a long time to go back, I found it quite horrifying. I was quite a lot younger, and I thought that it was going to be a non-stop party. I didn’t know much about the Fringe, but I was like, “Wow, this is going to be so cool, we’re going to be at like a festival all month,” and got really drunk for the first week and then realised, “Oh my God, this it’s really hard doing this.”
It took me quite a long time to realise what I needed to do to keep myself on track and manage my mental health. So, this time I’m not drinking. I’ve got quite a lot of friends going up who I feel really comfortable with, we talk to each other and go for coffee and stuff, and I think I’m going to try and go swimming, stay in and hunker down. Concentrating on the show is going to be the most important thing. Hopefully now, I know what I’m doing a little bit more.
Amy Mason: Free Mason, 31st July – 11th August and 13th – 26th August at 8.00pm, at Pleasance Courtyard (Cellar). Book tickets here.
Photo credit: Lucy Ridges
