Jessica Kirson is ready to shake audiences up at Just for Laughs’ For the Culture [Interview]

Jessica Kirson performs at For the Culture at this year’s Just for Laughs

While Just for Laughs has rebranded The Ethnic Show as For the Culture, don’t expect comedian Jessica Kirson to tame her act during her slot on the long-running show.

‘’People are much more sensitive than they used to be,’’ says Kirson, who speaks from experience — the hilarious, no-nonsense New York comic has been touring the globe for over two decades and has witnessed first-hand how audiences have changed over time.

Much of Kirson’s material aims to combat the rigidity of modern comedy audiences — to get the crowd laughing before they have time to over-analyze a joke to death.

We caught up with Kirson ahead of her appearance on this summer’s For the Culture show at Just for Laughs to discuss how audiences have changed since the start of the pandemic, how to deal with uptight crowds, her love of Montreal, and more.

For the Culture runs from July 13-24 at Cub Soda and from July 26-28 at MTelus as part of the Just for Laughs festival. Alongside Kirson, the show includes host Alonzo Bodden, Dave Merheje, Paul Rabliauskas, Sheng Wang, and Yannis Pappas. Tickets are available here. Follow Kirson on Twitter for all upcoming tour dates.

Bad Feeling Magazine: I just saw your appearance on the new Bill Burr Netflix special last night; how did that come together? What was that experience like?

Jessica Kirson: Bill is very, very good to me. He produced my one-hour Comedy Central special. And then he asked me if I wanted to be on his Netflix special with all these other comics. And I, of course, said yes. And it was amazing. I flew out there and I went up, and it was a great experience. The crowd was a little dead, but it was incredible. It was such a fun time, and the other comics are amazing. It was awesome.

When you’re on a bill with a bunch of different comics, does that change the dynamic of your set? Or is that what you’re used to doing in New York?

Oh, it’s completely what I’m used to doing at the Comedy Cellar in New York City or the other clubs, you’re always up with huge hitters. And it’s funny, I’m always kind of used to going up towards the end of the show. So, normally, I’m following a lot of amazing comics who are just powerhouses on stage. That’s why it’s so good to start as a New York Comic, and to be around such great comics because it makes you better, you know, it makes you really strong. I was at the Comedy Cellar last night in New York, and I did two shows. And you’re going on after such great comics. You have to do well. You just have to get strong to follow those kinds of comics.

Standup during a pandemic

Have the crowds changed since the start of the pandemic?

I mean, people have gone through such — it’s changed a lot. Listen, it depends. Everywhere you go is different. Every city, every state, it could be every town. You know, some states, some cities are so much more sensitive than other places. It depends on the politics of where you are.

In the United States, it depends on so many factors. I mean, when COVID was happening, it depends on where it was really bad, where they didn’t think there was even COVID happening, where there were a ton of outbreaks going on. But really, it’s about like, the politics, is what it’s all about. If you’re in the deep South, it’s a lot of times very conservative, whereas if you’re in a more liberal city, they can be very, very woke. And certain jokes will do well, and certain jokes won’t. It’s just fascinating. It really is.

”Did I just trigger you?”

Do you try to adjust your material depending on where you’re performing? Or do you have your set that you’re doing at that moment in time, and audiences will either react well to it or they won’t?

I pretty much stick to what I do and don’t let people dictate what I say and what I don’t say on stage. But if I do get like moans or something, I address it. I always address the truth of what’s going on in the room. So, if I say something, and people go ”Ohhhh,” I’ll say, ”Oh, you guys, did I just trigger you? Did you just get sensitive?” You know, I’ll address what’s happening.

But, you know, it’s funny, I’ll talk about my own life, for example, I went to fat camp as a kid. And I’ll talk about my own experience going to fat camp, and people in the audience will shut down. And I’m like, you’re getting upset about my own experience that I’m making fun of and laughing about? Like, I’m fine about it. And I’m laughing about it. And I have no issues with it. And you’re getting tense and not laughing or moaning or getting upset. Like, it makes no sense.

I mean, you should be allowed to own your story.

You’re upset about your own body. Like you’re upset that you’re heavy. You need to go work on yourself. Like, this has nothing to do with me, you know? It’s just so interesting, the psychology of what happens during comedy shows. And then they laugh. Then they start laughing because I’m addressing the truth of what’s happening.

”People are much more sensitive than they used to be”

I guess it’s sort of like a litmus test that lets you know what affects people in different parts of the world.

This is the breakdown now; people are much more sensitive than they used to be. Years ago, you could say anything, and I’m not even talking about race or religion or anything. I’m talking about anything. And people laughed, there was no thought process. People didn’t take time to think about what you were saying. They just laughed, there was just like this knee-jerk reaction, and they laughed.

Whereas now, they’re really kind of thinking about it. They’re looking around, they’re seeing it this one’s laughing, if that one’s laughing. And it could be about like, the silliest thing. It’s not even about something serious or heavy I’m talking about. It could be about animals; it could be about anything. And they’re just in their heads a lot at comedy shows. And they didn’t used to be, that’s the difference now.

”I don’t find anything funny about the politics in this country at all”

Are you trying to get people to snap out of that sensation during your set? Do you have a certain joke early in the set that you try to use for that purpose? Or is it just built up throughout your set, to get people to relax?

I say, ”Listen, I’m liberal. I’m married to a woman. But some of you are way too uptight.” I’m like, ”You shouldn’t even come here. You should just go bowling, you’re too wound up. Like, you gotta let go. You really have to stop being so uptight.”

Like, lately, I’ve been saying, ”You’re making people switch sides, like, you’ve got to stop. We’re gonna lose the election again.” And people crack up. That’s just if people get very overly sensitive. But I don’t talk about politics in my act at all. I am not a political comic on purpose, because I don’t find it funny, I don’t find anything funny about the politics in this country at all. I don’t watch the news.

But you know, people are very, very, very sensitive. I mean, I’m a character comic, I’ve been doing characters for 23 years, since I started. And now even certain characters I can’t do anymore. I can, but if I do them, the whole audience will shut down. Some of them because they’ll get offended and the other ones because they’re worried about what other people were going to say, it’s crazy.

Just for Laughs – For the Culture

You’ve performed at The Ethnic Show before, and now, it’s being rebranded as For the Culture — does that mean something different to you as a comic? Do you see your material as coming from a cultural perspective?

Well, when I talk about being Jewish, and our culture, so many people relate to what I’m talking about. So, like, Italian people will say, ”Oh, my God, that’s my whole family.” Or when I talk about our anxiety, or when I talk about my mother complaining or different things, you know, a lot of people relate to our culture. So, it’s very relatable. I relate to more of our culture and our upbringing and our background more than the religious part of it anyway.

You’ve been to Montreal a few times; do you have any special memories of being in the city or seeing other comics that you’ve kept with you over the years?

Yeah, I love being there. You know, I travel constantly, I travel every week. And I feel very, very comfortable there. And it feels like home to me. I love being with the other comedians there. I feel safe there. You know, I hang out with them. I know it very well, the city. And I don’t feel like that in a lot of places. It’s such a beautiful, great city. And I just can’t wait to come back and to spend time with the comics and see the fans and people are really excited to come to the shows. I just love it; I love the city so much.

Jessica Kirson performs at For the Culture from July 13-24 at Cub Soda and from July 26-28 at MTelus as part of the Just for Laughs festival. Tickets are available here.