a day in the lift of susan provan, oh dear fuckling god
http://www.theage.com.au/news/comedy...697097059.html Daniel Ziffer spent a night on the town following Susan Provan, the woman in charge.
A NIGHT on the town with Melbourne International Comedy Festival director Susan Provan is like travelling with a combination of Jedi knight and comic swami.
Wide-smiling ticket gatherers gently open curtains mid-show to allow her quiet entry, and afterwards comedians gravitate towards her, pulling the 12-year veteran of the job into conversation as she passes.
"The socialising comes after the festival," she said on Thursday night, heading to the next of more than 40 shows she has seen so far.
On stage Anthony Morgan is unleashing his
Sackful of Bullfrogs on a warm crowd in a hotel bar. Provan, who has slipped in after running late from a meeting, laughs softly as Morgan describes how he has deviated from his "normally disciplined" shows.
The notoriously rambling, former hard-living comic first met Provan when they worked together in a Fitzroy pub.
Outside, Provan's partner, Mick Moriarty, is preparing to join Greg Fleet in their show
Fleetwood Mick. The pair have a brief chat before she quick-steps to Kent Valentine's
What Would Batman Do?
Provan checks her phone during the show, the screen hidden under her coat, for fires she might need to put out.
Later, she waves at musical comic Tim Minchin in the street - "I love Tim," she glows - and discusses the delights of his previous shows.
Upstairs, Tommy Dassalo is
The Third Guy in a tiny room at the top of the Town Hall. Pipes run along the ceiling, making the show sound as if it is being performed next to a stream or in a urinal. It's called the Wee Room.
Provan is still laughing, and passing notes with celebrated Edinburgh Festival booker Karen Koren, who later jogs down to her next engagement.
Provan's days are long during the 31/2-week festival. They typically begin with an early morning play with her two-year-old, before the nanny arrives, emailing, phone calls, meetings and then a line of shows.
"I see shows because I like them, because I need to help choose the awards and because I help put together the roadshow," she says, describing the lucrative two-month-long tour.
We slip into the climax of Jason Byrne's
Sheep for Feet and Rams for Hands. The hilarious Irish performer's show is sold out and Provan stands at the side, grinning as he hits his marks.
Half an hour later Byrne is outside the Festival Club, about to go underground with Adam Hills to pump up another set of punters.
Downstairs, Provan muses on the smaller acts she has enjoyed this year -
The Glass Boat, Michael Chamberlin - as she talks to the night's producer about the set.
It's an early night, around 11.30pm, because she's judging Class Clowns tomorrow. That's her dilemma at this time of year. "I kind of need to be awake," she says, laughing.