June 7, 2024 • 22 mins
What happens when a state representative doubles as a stand-up comedian? Meet Representative Madinah Wilson-Anton, who took the unconventional path from Delaware's 26th District to the halls of the state legislature, with a side gig in the comedy clubs. Initially inspired by her comedian uncle and Saturday Night Live, Madinah's career took a sharp turn during a revealing internship at the Delaware State House, steering her from international relations to domestic politics. Throughout our conversation, Madinah emphasizes the power of humor and relatability in both political and comedy realms, detailing how she uses her comedic chops to connect with people and lighten tense situations.
The Delaware Division of the Arts, a branch of the Delaware Department of State, is committed to supporting the arts and cultivating creativity to enhance the quality of life in Delaware. Together with its advisory body, the Delaware State Arts Council, the Division administers grants and programs that support arts programming, educate the public, increase awareness of the arts, and integrate the arts into all facets of Delaware life. Learn more at Arts.Delaware.Gov.
Delaware State of the Arts is a weekly podcast that presents interviews with arts organizations and leaders who contribute to the cultural vibrancy of communities throughout Delaware. Delaware State of the Arts is provided as a service of the Division of the Arts, in partnership with NEWSRADIO 1450 WILM and 1410 WDOV.
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Episode Transcript
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Andy Truscott (00:04):
For Delaware State of the Arts.
I'm Andy Truscott.
My guest today isRepresentative Medinah
Wilson-Anton.
Representative Wilson-Anton waselected in 2020 to represent
the 26th District, where shegrew up.
She attended the Charter Schoolof Wilmington and is an alumni
of the University of Delaware,where she holds a bachelor's
degree in internationalrelations and Asian studies.
(00:26):
As a state representative, shecontinues to fight for social,
economic and racial justice forall Delawareans.
For what you might not know,she is a burgeoning comic and
out there in the world hostingcomedy nights all across the
East Coast.
So, representative, thank youfor joining me today and, as we
kick off, tell me a little bitabout your background and what
(00:48):
inspired you to not only run forpublic office in Delaware but
kind of also get up on thatother stage that is the comedy
club stage.
Representative Wilson-A (00:58):
Awesome .
Well, first, thanks for havingme on.
It's really awesome to be hereand, yeah, ok, so when I tell
people that I do comedy, most ofthem know me from the political
space and they're like what,why?
Um, and some people even arelike really, and they're looking
at me kind of like side-eyeing,like hmm, but you're so serious
(01:20):
, um, because they know me fromthat political space and so so I
guess I grew up in the areathat I represent.
I also grew up with an unclewho I looked up to and I still
do, who was a stand-up comedian.
As a younger person, you know, Iloved comedy.
I remember taping episodes ofSNL and like re-watching things.
When I was getting ready to goto college, I like half-jokingly
(01:44):
told my mom that I didn't wantto go to college and I was going
to go to New York City and tryout for SNL.
And she was like, no, you arenot, and I'm glad that I didn't.
And so, like you mentioned, Iwent to UD.
I studied internationalrelations, political science,
was really interested in gettinginvolved in politics, but at
the federal level or theinternational level was my ideal
(02:06):
goal.
I wanted to work for UnitedNations and an NGO and stuff
like that.
And I got an internship workingin our state house when I was
an undergraduate student and itreally opened my eyes to the
impact you can have on yourcommunity and state government
and that was kind of thebeginning of a new path for me.
I loved it.
(02:27):
I worked there a second year asan intern.
My first full-time job wasworking as a staff person for
the House of Representatives,and the rest was kind of history
.
But when I got elected for thefirst time it was during the
pandemic and so a lot of theevents that I was being asked to
come and speak at were overZoom and I remember I was on one
(02:49):
panel and the question was ifyou weren't in politics, what
would you do?
What would be your dream job?
It took me a second to thinkabout it and I was, like you
know, a comedian, like I thinkcomedy, and people were like
what?
And that got me kind ofthinking about it again after
some years of not reallypursuing it.
(03:09):
And the other thing was I wasdoing all these speaking
engagements as a politician anewly elected politician and I
noticed when I would givespeeches and I would make a joke
and people would laugh.
Their response to the joke wasmy favorite part of the entire
program that I had, you know,and I was like, oh man, like I
love making people laugh and Iwas coming up uh, I just turned
(03:32):
30 last year.
So I was like approaching 30and thinking about different
things in my life that I wantedto try out, and I was like you
know what?
Andy Truscott (03:39):
I'm gonna sign up for a comedy class and pay the
money for it, so that I have togo and like give it my all and
if it doesn't go well, itdoesn't go well, but if it does,
then at least you know, I knowI've tried out this thing I've
wanted to do for so long and Igot the bug some of the
(04:06):
experiences you either had inthat class or, as you mentioned,
you've had out on the eithercampaign trail or even just the
the trail of public speaking asa as a state representative,
kind of what experiences haveshaped your views on not only
the arts but the arts as theyrelate to specifically your
stand-up comedy or, you know,your your ability to bring
people together.
Representative Wilson-Anton (04:25):
I mean, I've noticed in politics,
when I'm trying to persuadesomeone to join me on an issue,
right to hear me out, usingcomedy is a very effective tool,
and you know I've noticed mycolleagues do it.
I've noticed moments where it'svery tense and you know
everybody's like not hearingeach other out, and then
(04:46):
somebody drops a joke, you know,and suddenly that tension is
diffused right, and so there is,I think, space in political
discourse for comedy.
I also have noticed, as someonewho's the first Muslim elected
in our state house, like, andyou know, I have all these
different identities that makeme unique, but at the same time
(05:09):
I also share a lot ofexperiences with people that
maybe don't see me as someonethey can relate to, and one of
the things I always go back towas the class I took.
The teacher was Chip Chantry,who is a hilarious comedian.
He's been doing it for a longtime.
One of the first things hetaught us in our class was that
(05:30):
the first rule of comedy is notto be funny.
The first rule of comedy is torelate to the audience.
And when he said that it waskind of profound.
Right, we're all sitting therelike what?
But when you realize like youcan't be funny if people don't
get it right, that was reallyprofound, I think, and it kind
of perfectly encapsulates thecombo of me being in politics
(05:52):
but also me being in comedy.
Both those things need you haveto be able to relate to people
and communicate where you'recoming from, hear where they're
coming from and meet themsomewhere, right, and so what
I've been really enjoying withmy comedy is talking about
issues that people might notthink about or might not have
experienced themselves, but in away that they can relate to it
(06:15):
and find the humor that I foundin it as someone who, like I
said, I loved watching comedyfrom a young age.
Like I enjoyed just hanging outwith family where my uncle
would be telling jokes and youknow all of that.
But I didn't really understandstand up comedy as an art until
I took the class, reallyunderstand stand-up comedy as an
(06:36):
art until I took the class, andthen I started watching
specials and things from adifferent lens where I'm kind of
like dissecting it.
One of the really interestingthings that Chip shared with us
is the whole idea of, like, whatkind of a room works, how to
get the crowd on your side, whatto do when they're not on your
side, how to make peoplecomfortable, because a big part
of people enjoying stand-upcomedy is you have to make them
(06:59):
relax enough and trust you tothen be vulnerable and laughing,
and you've probably experiencedthis.
A lot of people experience thisfeeling where you look to the
side, to the person next to you,right, like as you're laughing,
and you're like we're laughing,right, like this is funny,
right, yep, yep, it's next toyou, right, like as you're
laughing, and you're like we'relaughing, right, like this is
funny, right, yep, yeah, almostlike you're looking for
(07:20):
permission, right, and so thatwas really interesting.
He he gave us some differenttips about, like, um, you know,
a lot of comedy clubs won't seatpeople on big groups, um,
because the bigger the group,the more likely they're going to
have their own comedy at thetable and then distract from the
comedy on stage, just a lot ofkind of the like, science to
getting people to pay attentionto the comic.
The lighting, for example, rightlike.
Since then I've gone to showssometimes where the lighting is
(07:42):
just the same throughout theroom and it's really difficult
to get people to focus on you asopposed to the funny little
quips that their friend at thetable is making in response to
what you're saying.
Right and like.
One thing that I have struggleda bit with is I like to tell a
lot of jokes that are kind ofdark.
I remember I was at one of theearly open mics I went to.
(08:03):
I was telling some jokes aboutdeath and I thought they were
really funny and some peoplewere laughing at them.
But afterwards a more seasonedcomic came over to me and she
was like you're really funny.
But afterwards a more seasonedcomic came over to me and she
was like you're really funny,but don't start with death.
Like, work, work towards that,right.
Like get people on your sidewhere they trust you and they
relax a little bit before youstart talking about when their
(08:23):
grandma dies, you know.
And I was like, oh yeah, thatmakes sense.
And now some people are skilledenough where they can
immediately dive into stuff likethat.
But it just it kind of it'sinteresting and I'm sure you
know artists can appreciate whensomeone's good at something, it
makes it look like it's so easy, right.
But when you actually start towork on yourself you're like oh
(08:45):
yeah, this is much more involvedthan I thought you know.
Andy Truscott (08:49):
How frequently have you found yourself testing
out material at, say, open micnights, versus kind of more or
less headlining a night whereyou're not really trying
something out but they'reproviding or coming through on
the scripted show?
A comedian set is, oftentimesat least, like loosely scripted
(09:18):
with the idea that periodicallyyou might shift up your bits or
segments as you see where theaudience is kind of taking you.
Would that be?
Representative Wilson-Anto (09:24):
yeah , yeah.
So one of the first um bits ofadvice I got from a fellow
comedian right before, like oneof the first shows I did, was to
not do any new material, whichsounds, you know, it's kind of
obvious to someone who has doneperformative arts probably.
But good comedians make youfeel like you're just having a
(09:45):
conversation and it's all youknow stream of conscious.
I just on the way here, youknow I stopped at a red light,
saw this guy across the street,all this has just happened.
You're the first person I'mtelling.
I stopped at a red light, sawthis guy across the street, all
this has just happened.
You're the first person I'mtelling.
Right, that kind of feeling.
But in reality, like you said,most of the time those jokes
you're hearing we've donehundreds of times and each time
(10:07):
you're kind of tweaking it toimprove it.
And so most of the time whenI'm on stage at a show, it's
material I've done before,unless it's specific to what's
happened in that room.
And that's something that Ithink I really enjoy.
Using that in the beginning ofa show to get people on board is
as soon as I get on there Imake a joke that is obviously
brand new and it's just me andyou right.
(10:30):
So I did a show a couple ofmonths ago in Bethlehem,
pennsylvania, and so I was onthe way there.
It was kind of a hike and I'mlike thinking about bethlehem
what jokes can I make aboutbethlehem?
And I didn't know how theywould go.
It was a little bit risky, butI started my set with bethlehem
jokes, sure, and the comic whointroduced me made a comment.
(10:54):
He said um, you know she's allthe way from Delaware, so you
know she took those back countryroads just for you guys.
So I got on stage and I thankedhim and I was like, yeah, he
said all.
He said I did all that for youguys, but I don't know.
You guys like that I took, Itook whatever the highway was.
I don't even remember it now.
Andy Truscott (11:10):
I was like I took that highway, the whole way.
Representative Wilson-Anton (11:12):
I'm not dying for you guys.
Andy Truscott (11:14):
And they thought that was so funny.
Representative Wilson-Anton (11:16):
And then I started talking about
Bethlehem, right.
And so now it's the feeling isshe's got this show just for us,
right?
And then I go into the material.
I know that works, works.
Sometimes I might switch thingsup Like I have a joke I do
about my.
(11:36):
So I have vitiligo, which is askin condition, and so I have a
lot of jokes about that.
And that's been an interestingjourney, because sometimes
people don't like laughing at mebecause jokes like for most of
those the punchline is me and alot of people like that, and
sometimes comedians will usethemselves as a punchline in the
(11:57):
beginning just to get people'sguard down and relax them.
But some people do not likethat and I've had people come up
to me afterwards and say like Idon't like that you're making
fun of your skin.
I think it's so beautiful andI'm like, okay, like I'm not
saying it's not, but plenty ofother people love that I make
fun so it's a difference of, uh,laughing at you versus laughing
(12:17):
with you, right?
yeah, yeah and like.
So that's something that I'vebeen working on too is like, how
do I balance it where it'sclear that I'm not, uh, you know
, sad, right, like you have to.
And I think it was um, who wasit?
It was either chip or anothercomedy mentor who said don't
make jokes about things that areimportant to you right away,
(12:40):
right, um, like, if you knowwhere, the, where the feelings
are still raw, sure, you have towork through that on your own.
You can't work through thosethings on stage, because if it's
raw, the audience will tell andthey'll they'll pull back, you
know, um, and so when I go toopen mics, a lot of times that's
where I'll hear people doingthat, and I'm like, oh, and like
(13:02):
you can feel the room start tocringe, right where it's like
yikes, I wish you hadn't told methis, man, I just feel bad for
you.
I don't feel comfortablelaughing.
One of the things that I havebeen, as a new comic, trying to
work on is what they call crowdwork, which is very popular
right now, and, like, somepeople go to shows just for that
, like they're like, I want tosee how I want them to.
(13:24):
I want the comic to destroy theaudience, you know, and like
come after people in theaudience.
Um, I don't do a lot of that,but what I have noticed is some
some really good comedians willdo that, but they'll use that
crowd work moment to get to apunchline that they've already
done before, sure, so they mightask anybody in the audience.
Married people raise their hand.
(13:45):
They're like how long you'vebeen married?
Awesome, people clap andthey're like you know, I've been
married this long and they goright into their their bit about
marriage.
But then it feels like oh,we're just having a conversation
, you know.
So trying to kind of employdifferent tools, um, in my set,
uh, something I'm working oncomedy.
Andy Truscott (14:05):
You will not always have a great night.
Sometimes you'll have nightsyou'll have shows where you're
just like, wow, nothing landedthat one.
Tell us a little bit about weknow it's it.
When it's easy, it's fun.
But when it's not easy, tell usa little bit about we know when
it's easy it's fun, but whenit's not easy.
Tell us a little bit about whatthat feels like.
Representative Wilson-Anton (14:19):
The fun.
I feel the fun most of the timeduring the show and after,
right Before most shows, I'mdreading it.
I'm questioning why I wasbooked right Like driving to
Bethlehem.
I'm like I don't know why theybooked me for this show.
These people are going to hateme.
They're not going toem.
I'm like I don't know why theybooked me for this show.
Andy Truscott (14:39):
These people are gonna hate me.
They're not gonna think.
Representative Wilson-Anton (14:40):
I'm funny.
Uh, you know, they're gonnawant their money back.
They're gonna walk out duringmy set.
It's very easy to get into thatlike pattern of thought where
it's like what they call theimposter syndrome, right, where
it's like I've tricked peopleinto thinking I'm funny and the
gig is up now.
Um, they're finally gonnafigure out that I've tricked
people into thinking I'm funnyand the gig is up now.
They're finally going to figureout that I've just been like
faking it this whole time, andthat's something that I've
(15:01):
experienced in in politics too.
Right, I was elected at 26.
So a lot of my colleagues weresignificantly older, had more
life experience and a lot oflike the the arguments that were
made about why they, why I,should not be supported the
first time around.
Was that right?
Like she's young, what does sheknow about anything?
Why would anybody listen to her?
(15:21):
Um, and so that's a veryfamiliar feeling for me.
I would say I definitely getstage fright still before most
shows when you mess up.
Right, you know you've messedup, but with comedy it's not
like I'm singing a song everyonerecognizes.
You know, I might mess up apunchline and the audience has
(15:44):
no idea because they don't knowwhat the joke was meant to be,
or, you know, I might make acomment that I thought they'd
laugh at.
They don't laugh at it, butthey didn't realize I wanted
them to.
So going back and watching ishelpful.
If you're watching the show, sosay, I'm like second in the
lineup and there's like fourpeople performing, if I'm
(16:04):
watching from the audience it'sreally hard to gauge if they're
laughing more or less, becauseI'm sitting with the audience,
so I'm feeling all the laughterbeing directed in that direction
.
And then I get on stage and itfeels completely different, um,
and so I do enjoy when I get tolisten from backstage, because
then I can kind of have a bettersense of okay, yeah, they, they
(16:26):
laugh significantly less when Iwas on stage, um, I have a lot
of work to do, or okay, no, itwas about the same.
So the other thing is liketrying to put my performance in
perspective.
So like if I'm the opener um,where people are still kind of
getting warmed up, they're notas relaxed yet as opposed to if
(16:47):
I was the feature.
So like not the headliner, butright before the headliner yeah,
trying to put those things inperspective too.
So some of my best sets havebeen where I was later in the
lineup, so kind of rememberinglike, yeah, okay, you people
laughed really hard, but theyalso were like ready to laugh,
which is also something to keepin mind.
Like there are shows what I'vedone where it's like we're
(17:10):
having a comedy show at thissports bar and everybody's here
to watch the phillies, not tolaugh at your jokes.
Andy Truscott (17:18):
The response you get from people is going to be
different than where everyone ispaid to to come out and laugh
as you think back to school orjust you know the years that you
have admired your uncle, whowas also a comedian, how did
arts and or arts education kindof play into your interest in
stand-up comedy, or was thatreally unique to just the
(17:40):
relationship that you had withinyour family?
Representative Wilson-Anton (17:43):
the fact that my uncle was a
comedian opened my mind at ayoung age to comedy as a career.
Yeah, um, but I also feel likewe were.
So I'm I'm 30 now um, I feellike our generation was often
encouraged not to go into thearts.
Um, because of, like the wholefight, like you have to make
(18:03):
sure you have a job and youdon't want to study art when you
go to college because you havedebt, no job and like all of
those fears, and so I know a lotof people who pursued something
else as a backup, right, andthen they're like okay, now I
want to pursue this art that Ireally am passionate about and
that way, if it doesn't work out, I'm not talented enough to
make it my full-time job.
(18:24):
I have something I can fallback to.
I had art classes throughout myschooling, but I didn't have any
that were focused onperformance.
Art, right, it was mostlypainting and different crafts
and things like that.
Art, right, it was mostlypainting and different crafts
and things like that.
When I was in high school, Ijoined the improv team.
I wasn't able to continue withit because I there was no like
(18:45):
transportation, okay for that,because it was after school so
it was like you had to figureout how to get back home.
Probably would have started atcomedy much earlier, had that
been a more feasible thing forme as a student in high school.
I know there were groups incollege that would do like
improv troupes and likedifferent shows and things like
(19:07):
that.
It's something we should beinvesting more in.
You can see the change instudents Like.
I've seen young kids that willgo from being like super shy and
then they're part of like somekind of art program where
they're performing in front ofpeople and suddenly it's not
terrifying for them anymore.
Right, I think there's a lot ofvalue in that.
The skills are verytransferable to basically any
(19:31):
industry, some kind ofappreciation for our benefits,
all of us as a society.
I'm part of the Arts and CultureCaucus.
I'm like.
However, I can be supportive ofarts in Delaware.
You know I hope to be.
It's been.
It'll be two years in July thatI've been doing stand-up comedy
and I'm now co-hosting a showwith a comedy mentor of mine in
(19:55):
Wilmington.
The Comedy Corner at BootlessStage works.
We have shows there this summer.
We'll be kind of on a hiatusuntil August, but almost every
month there's a show for thecommunity, just because there's
also like the sense of somethingfor us to do in the community
where you can go out and have agood time and it's safe and it's
fun.
You know I'm a clean comic somy performances are also family
(20:17):
friendly, but having spaces likethat are really important for
community building and so yeah,I mean I think the arts should
be a really big part of ourcommunity here in Delaware, but
I think we have a lot of spaceto grow.
Andy Truscott (20:34):
Tell us a little bit about some of the events
you've got coming up and wherelisteners can see you.
Representative Wilson-Anto (20:41):
Yeah , so Bootless Stateworks is a
theater, performance artstheater in the Lutheran Church
on North Broom Street.
So it's 1301 North Broom Streetin Wilmington and, like I said,
those shows the Comedy Cornershows are almost every month.
Our next show is going to beAugust 24th and you can find
(21:02):
tickets for that once we startselling tickets That'll be on
Eventbrite.
You can follow DH EntertainmentI have a link tree where so my
hyperlink from my link tree isMedinah Comedy and so all my
upcoming shows are on there.
June 17th I'll be competing inPhilly's Funniest, which is a
(21:26):
comedy competition at HeliumComedy Club, and there's some
other Delaware comics that willbe on that show as well, and
then it's like a summer-longcompetition.
So if I get through that roundthere'll be other shows um at
Helium, and I'm really excitedabout that.
I keep my link tree updated, sofollow me kind of to keep up
(21:48):
with upcoming shows, but there'sa lot of comedy, great comedy
here in Delaware.
For Delaware State of the Arts.
I'm Andy Truscott.
My guest today isRepresentative Medinah
Wilson-Anton.
Representative Wilson-Anton waselected in 2020 to represent
the 26th District, where shegrew up.
She attended the Charter Schoolof Wilmington and is an alumni
of the University of Delaware,where she holds a bachelor's
degree in internationalrelations and Asian studies.
(00:26):
As a state representative, shecontinues to fight for social,
economic and racial justice forall Delawareans.
For what you might not know,she is a burgeoning comic and
out there in the world hostingcomedy nights all across the
East Coast.
So, representative, thank youfor joining me today and, as we
kick off, tell me a little bitabout your background and what
(00:48):
inspired you to not only run forpublic office in Delaware but
kind of also get up on thatother stage that is the comedy
club stage.
Representative Wilson-A (00:58):
Awesome .
Well, first, thanks for havingme on.
It's really awesome to be hereand, yeah, ok, so when I tell
people that I do comedy, most ofthem know me from the political
space and they're like what,why?
Um, and some people even arelike really, and they're looking
at me kind of like side-eyeing,like hmm, but you're so serious
(01:20):
, um, because they know me fromthat political space and so so I
guess I grew up in the areathat I represent.
I also grew up with an unclewho I looked up to and I still
do, who was a stand-up comedian.
As a younger person, you know, Iloved comedy.
I remember taping episodes ofSNL and like re-watching things.
When I was getting ready to goto college, I like half-jokingly
(01:44):
told my mom that I didn't wantto go to college and I was going
to go to New York City and tryout for SNL.
And she was like, no, you arenot, and I'm glad that I didn't.
And so, like you mentioned, Iwent to UD.
I studied internationalrelations, political science,
was really interested in gettinginvolved in politics, but at
the federal level or theinternational level was my ideal
(02:06):
goal.
I wanted to work for UnitedNations and an NGO and stuff
like that.
And I got an internship workingin our state house when I was
an undergraduate student and itreally opened my eyes to the
impact you can have on yourcommunity and state government
and that was kind of thebeginning of a new path for me.
I loved it.
(02:27):
I worked there a second year asan intern.
My first full-time job wasworking as a staff person for
the House of Representatives,and the rest was kind of history
.
But when I got elected for thefirst time it was during the
pandemic and so a lot of theevents that I was being asked to
come and speak at were overZoom and I remember I was on one
(02:49):
panel and the question was ifyou weren't in politics, what
would you do?
What would be your dream job?
It took me a second to thinkabout it and I was, like you
know, a comedian, like I thinkcomedy, and people were like
what?
And that got me kind ofthinking about it again after
some years of not reallypursuing it.
(03:09):
And the other thing was I wasdoing all these speaking
engagements as a politician anewly elected politician and I
noticed when I would givespeeches and I would make a joke
and people would laugh.
Their response to the joke wasmy favorite part of the entire
program that I had, you know,and I was like, oh man, like I
love making people laugh and Iwas coming up uh, I just turned
(03:32):
30 last year.
So I was like approaching 30and thinking about different
things in my life that I wantedto try out, and I was like you
know what?
Andy Truscott (03:39):
I'm gonna sign up for a comedy class and pay the
money for it, so that I have togo and like give it my all and
if it doesn't go well, itdoesn't go well, but if it does,
then at least you know, I knowI've tried out this thing I've
wanted to do for so long and Igot the bug some of the
(04:06):
experiences you either had inthat class or, as you mentioned,
you've had out on the eithercampaign trail or even just the
the trail of public speaking asa as a state representative,
kind of what experiences haveshaped your views on not only
the arts but the arts as theyrelate to specifically your
stand-up comedy or, you know,your your ability to bring
people together.
Representative Wilson-Anton (04:25):
I mean, I've noticed in politics,
when I'm trying to persuadesomeone to join me on an issue,
right to hear me out, usingcomedy is a very effective tool,
and you know I've noticed mycolleagues do it.
I've noticed moments where it'svery tense and you know
everybody's like not hearingeach other out, and then
(04:46):
somebody drops a joke, you know,and suddenly that tension is
diffused right, and so there is,I think, space in political
discourse for comedy.
I also have noticed, as someonewho's the first Muslim elected
in our state house, like, andyou know, I have all these
different identities that makeme unique, but at the same time
(05:09):
I also share a lot ofexperiences with people that
maybe don't see me as someonethey can relate to, and one of
the things I always go back towas the class I took.
The teacher was Chip Chantry,who is a hilarious comedian.
He's been doing it for a longtime.
One of the first things hetaught us in our class was that
(05:30):
the first rule of comedy is notto be funny.
The first rule of comedy is torelate to the audience.
And when he said that it waskind of profound.
Right, we're all sitting therelike what?
But when you realize like youcan't be funny if people don't
get it right, that was reallyprofound, I think, and it kind
of perfectly encapsulates thecombo of me being in politics
(05:52):
but also me being in comedy.
Both those things need you haveto be able to relate to people
and communicate where you'recoming from, hear where they're
coming from and meet themsomewhere, right, and so what
I've been really enjoying withmy comedy is talking about
issues that people might notthink about or might not have
experienced themselves, but in away that they can relate to it
(06:15):
and find the humor that I foundin it as someone who, like I
said, I loved watching comedyfrom a young age.
Like I enjoyed just hanging outwith family where my uncle
would be telling jokes and youknow all of that.
But I didn't really understandstand up comedy as an art until
I took the class, reallyunderstand stand-up comedy as an
(06:36):
art until I took the class, andthen I started watching
specials and things from adifferent lens where I'm kind of
like dissecting it.
One of the really interestingthings that Chip shared with us
is the whole idea of, like, whatkind of a room works, how to
get the crowd on your side, whatto do when they're not on your
side, how to make peoplecomfortable, because a big part
of people enjoying stand-upcomedy is you have to make them
(06:59):
relax enough and trust you tothen be vulnerable and laughing,
and you've probably experiencedthis.
A lot of people experience thisfeeling where you look to the
side, to the person next to you,right, like as you're laughing,
and you're like we're laughing,right, like this is funny,
right, yep, yep, it's next toyou, right, like as you're
laughing, and you're like we'relaughing, right, like this is
funny, right, yep, yeah, almostlike you're looking for
(07:20):
permission, right, and so thatwas really interesting.
He he gave us some differenttips about, like, um, you know,
a lot of comedy clubs won't seatpeople on big groups, um,
because the bigger the group,the more likely they're going to
have their own comedy at thetable and then distract from the
comedy on stage, just a lot ofkind of the like, science to
getting people to pay attentionto the comic.
The lighting, for example, rightlike.
Since then I've gone to showssometimes where the lighting is
(07:42):
just the same throughout theroom and it's really difficult
to get people to focus on you asopposed to the funny little
quips that their friend at thetable is making in response to
what you're saying.
Right and like.
One thing that I have struggleda bit with is I like to tell a
lot of jokes that are kind ofdark.
I remember I was at one of theearly open mics I went to.
(08:03):
I was telling some jokes aboutdeath and I thought they were
really funny and some peoplewere laughing at them.
But afterwards a more seasonedcomic came over to me and she
was like you're really funny.
But afterwards a more seasonedcomic came over to me and she
was like you're really funny,but don't start with death.
Like, work, work towards that,right.
Like get people on your sidewhere they trust you and they
relax a little bit before youstart talking about when their
(08:23):
grandma dies, you know.
And I was like, oh yeah, thatmakes sense.
And now some people are skilledenough where they can
immediately dive into stuff likethat.
But it just it kind of it'sinteresting and I'm sure you
know artists can appreciate whensomeone's good at something, it
makes it look like it's so easy, right.
But when you actually start towork on yourself you're like oh
(08:45):
yeah, this is much more involvedthan I thought you know.
Andy Truscott (08:49):
How frequently have you found yourself testing
out material at, say, open micnights, versus kind of more or
less headlining a night whereyou're not really trying
something out but they'reproviding or coming through on
the scripted show?
A comedian set is, oftentimesat least, like loosely scripted
(09:18):
with the idea that periodicallyyou might shift up your bits or
segments as you see where theaudience is kind of taking you.
Would that be?
Representative Wilson-Anto (09:24):
yeah , yeah.
So one of the first um bits ofadvice I got from a fellow
comedian right before, like oneof the first shows I did, was to
not do any new material, whichsounds, you know, it's kind of
obvious to someone who has doneperformative arts probably.
But good comedians make youfeel like you're just having a
(09:45):
conversation and it's all youknow stream of conscious.
I just on the way here, youknow I stopped at a red light,
saw this guy across the street,all this has just happened.
You're the first person I'mtelling.
I stopped at a red light, sawthis guy across the street, all
this has just happened.
You're the first person I'mtelling.
Right, that kind of feeling.
But in reality, like you said,most of the time those jokes
you're hearing we've donehundreds of times and each time
(10:07):
you're kind of tweaking it toimprove it.
And so most of the time whenI'm on stage at a show, it's
material I've done before,unless it's specific to what's
happened in that room.
And that's something that Ithink I really enjoy.
Using that in the beginning ofa show to get people on board is
as soon as I get on there Imake a joke that is obviously
brand new and it's just me andyou right.
(10:30):
So I did a show a couple ofmonths ago in Bethlehem,
pennsylvania, and so I was onthe way there.
It was kind of a hike and I'mlike thinking about bethlehem
what jokes can I make aboutbethlehem?
And I didn't know how theywould go.
It was a little bit risky, butI started my set with bethlehem
jokes, sure, and the comic whointroduced me made a comment.
(10:54):
He said um, you know she's allthe way from Delaware, so you
know she took those back countryroads just for you guys.
So I got on stage and I thankedhim and I was like, yeah, he
said all.
He said I did all that for youguys, but I don't know.
You guys like that I took, Itook whatever the highway was.
I don't even remember it now.
Andy Truscott (11:10):
I was like I took that highway, the whole way.
Representative Wilson-Anton (11:12):
I'm not dying for you guys.
Andy Truscott (11:14):
And they thought that was so funny.
Representative Wilson-Anton (11:16):
And then I started talking about
Bethlehem, right.
And so now it's the feeling isshe's got this show just for us,
right?
And then I go into the material.
I know that works, works.
Sometimes I might switch thingsup Like I have a joke I do
about my.
(11:36):
So I have vitiligo, which is askin condition, and so I have a
lot of jokes about that.
And that's been an interestingjourney, because sometimes
people don't like laughing at mebecause jokes like for most of
those the punchline is me and alot of people like that, and
sometimes comedians will usethemselves as a punchline in the
(11:57):
beginning just to get people'sguard down and relax them.
But some people do not likethat and I've had people come up
to me afterwards and say like Idon't like that you're making
fun of your skin.
I think it's so beautiful andI'm like, okay, like I'm not
saying it's not, but plenty ofother people love that I make
fun so it's a difference of, uh,laughing at you versus laughing
(12:17):
with you, right?
yeah, yeah and like.
So that's something that I'vebeen working on too is like, how
do I balance it where it'sclear that I'm not, uh, you know
, sad, right, like you have to.
And I think it was um, who wasit?
It was either chip or anothercomedy mentor who said don't
make jokes about things that areimportant to you right away,
(12:40):
right, um, like, if you knowwhere, the, where the feelings
are still raw, sure, you have towork through that on your own.
You can't work through thosethings on stage, because if it's
raw, the audience will tell andthey'll they'll pull back, you
know, um, and so when I go toopen mics, a lot of times that's
where I'll hear people doingthat, and I'm like, oh, and like
(13:02):
you can feel the room start tocringe, right where it's like
yikes, I wish you hadn't told methis, man, I just feel bad for
you.
I don't feel comfortablelaughing.
One of the things that I havebeen, as a new comic, trying to
work on is what they call crowdwork, which is very popular
right now, and, like, somepeople go to shows just for that
, like they're like, I want tosee how I want them to.
(13:24):
I want the comic to destroy theaudience, you know, and like
come after people in theaudience.
Um, I don't do a lot of that,but what I have noticed is some
some really good comedians willdo that, but they'll use that
crowd work moment to get to apunchline that they've already
done before, sure, so they mightask anybody in the audience.
Married people raise their hand.
(13:45):
They're like how long you'vebeen married?
Awesome, people clap andthey're like you know, I've been
married this long and they goright into their their bit about
marriage.
But then it feels like oh,we're just having a conversation
, you know.
So trying to kind of employdifferent tools, um, in my set,
uh, something I'm working oncomedy.
Andy Truscott (14:05):
You will not always have a great night.
Sometimes you'll have nightsyou'll have shows where you're
just like, wow, nothing landedthat one.
Tell us a little bit about weknow it's it.
When it's easy, it's fun.
But when it's not easy, tell usa little bit about we know when
it's easy it's fun, but whenit's not easy.
Tell us a little bit about whatthat feels like.
Representative Wilson-Anton (14:19):
The fun.
I feel the fun most of the timeduring the show and after,
right Before most shows, I'mdreading it.
I'm questioning why I wasbooked right Like driving to
Bethlehem.
I'm like I don't know why theybooked me for this show.
These people are going to hateme.
They're not going toem.
I'm like I don't know why theybooked me for this show.
Andy Truscott (14:39):
These people are gonna hate me.
They're not gonna think.
Representative Wilson-Anton (14:40):
I'm funny.
Uh, you know, they're gonnawant their money back.
They're gonna walk out duringmy set.
It's very easy to get into thatlike pattern of thought where
it's like what they call theimposter syndrome, right, where
it's like I've tricked peopleinto thinking I'm funny and the
gig is up now.
Um, they're finally gonnafigure out that I've tricked
people into thinking I'm funnyand the gig is up now.
They're finally going to figureout that I've just been like
faking it this whole time, andthat's something that I've
(15:01):
experienced in in politics too.
Right, I was elected at 26.
So a lot of my colleagues weresignificantly older, had more
life experience and a lot oflike the the arguments that were
made about why they, why I,should not be supported the
first time around.
Was that right?
Like she's young, what does sheknow about anything?
Why would anybody listen to her?
(15:21):
Um, and so that's a veryfamiliar feeling for me.
I would say I definitely getstage fright still before most
shows when you mess up.
Right, you know you've messedup, but with comedy it's not
like I'm singing a song everyonerecognizes.
You know, I might mess up apunchline and the audience has
(15:44):
no idea because they don't knowwhat the joke was meant to be,
or, you know, I might make acomment that I thought they'd
laugh at.
They don't laugh at it, butthey didn't realize I wanted
them to.
So going back and watching ishelpful.
If you're watching the show, sosay, I'm like second in the
lineup and there's like fourpeople performing, if I'm
(16:04):
watching from the audience it'sreally hard to gauge if they're
laughing more or less, becauseI'm sitting with the audience,
so I'm feeling all the laughterbeing directed in that direction
.
And then I get on stage and itfeels completely different, um,
and so I do enjoy when I get tolisten from backstage, because
then I can kind of have a bettersense of okay, yeah, they, they
(16:26):
laugh significantly less when Iwas on stage, um, I have a lot
of work to do, or okay, no, itwas about the same.
So the other thing is liketrying to put my performance in
perspective.
So like if I'm the opener um,where people are still kind of
getting warmed up, they're notas relaxed yet as opposed to if
(16:47):
I was the feature.
So like not the headliner, butright before the headliner yeah,
trying to put those things inperspective too.
So some of my best sets havebeen where I was later in the
lineup, so kind of rememberinglike, yeah, okay, you people
laughed really hard, but theyalso were like ready to laugh,
which is also something to keepin mind.
Like there are shows what I'vedone where it's like we're
(17:10):
having a comedy show at thissports bar and everybody's here
to watch the phillies, not tolaugh at your jokes.
Andy Truscott (17:18):
The response you get from people is going to be
different than where everyone ispaid to to come out and laugh
as you think back to school orjust you know the years that you
have admired your uncle, whowas also a comedian, how did
arts and or arts education kindof play into your interest in
stand-up comedy, or was thatreally unique to just the
(17:40):
relationship that you had withinyour family?
Representative Wilson-Anton (17:43):
the fact that my uncle was a
comedian opened my mind at ayoung age to comedy as a career.
Yeah, um, but I also feel likewe were.
So I'm I'm 30 now um, I feellike our generation was often
encouraged not to go into thearts.
Um, because of, like the wholefight, like you have to make
(18:03):
sure you have a job and youdon't want to study art when you
go to college because you havedebt, no job and like all of
those fears, and so I know a lotof people who pursued something
else as a backup, right, andthen they're like okay, now I
want to pursue this art that Ireally am passionate about and
that way, if it doesn't work out, I'm not talented enough to
make it my full-time job.
(18:24):
I have something I can fallback to.
I had art classes throughout myschooling, but I didn't have any
that were focused onperformance.
Art, right, it was mostlypainting and different crafts
and things like that.
Art, right, it was mostlypainting and different crafts
and things like that.
When I was in high school, Ijoined the improv team.
I wasn't able to continue withit because I there was no like
(18:45):
transportation, okay for that,because it was after school so
it was like you had to figureout how to get back home.
Probably would have started atcomedy much earlier, had that
been a more feasible thing forme as a student in high school.
I know there were groups incollege that would do like
improv troupes and likedifferent shows and things like
(19:07):
that.
It's something we should beinvesting more in.
You can see the change instudents Like.
I've seen young kids that willgo from being like super shy and
then they're part of like somekind of art program where
they're performing in front ofpeople and suddenly it's not
terrifying for them anymore.
Right, I think there's a lot ofvalue in that.
The skills are verytransferable to basically any
(19:31):
industry, some kind ofappreciation for our benefits,
all of us as a society.
I'm part of the Arts and CultureCaucus.
I'm like.
However, I can be supportive ofarts in Delaware.
You know I hope to be.
It's been.
It'll be two years in July thatI've been doing stand-up comedy
and I'm now co-hosting a showwith a comedy mentor of mine in
(19:55):
Wilmington.
The Comedy Corner at BootlessStage works.
We have shows there this summer.
We'll be kind of on a hiatusuntil August, but almost every
month there's a show for thecommunity, just because there's
also like the sense of somethingfor us to do in the community
where you can go out and have agood time and it's safe and it's
fun.
You know I'm a clean comic somy performances are also family
(20:17):
friendly, but having spaces likethat are really important for
community building and so yeah,I mean I think the arts should
be a really big part of ourcommunity here in Delaware, but
I think we have a lot of spaceto grow.
Andy Truscott (20:34):
Tell us a little bit about some of the events
you've got coming up and wherelisteners can see you.
Representative Wilson-Anto (20:41):
Yeah , so Bootless Stateworks is a
theater, performance artstheater in the Lutheran Church
on North Broom Street.
So it's 1301 North Broom Streetin Wilmington and, like I said,
those shows the Comedy Cornershows are almost every month.
Our next show is going to beAugust 24th and you can find
(21:02):
tickets for that once we startselling tickets That'll be on
Eventbrite.
You can follow DH EntertainmentI have a link tree where so my
hyperlink from my link tree isMedinah Comedy and so all my
upcoming shows are on there.
June 17th I'll be competing inPhilly's Funniest, which is a
(21:26):
comedy competition at HeliumComedy Club, and there's some
other Delaware comics that willbe on that show as well, and
then it's like a summer-longcompetition.
So if I get through that roundthere'll be other shows um at
Helium, and I'm really excitedabout that.
I keep my link tree updated, sofollow me kind of to keep up
(21:48):
with upcoming shows, but there'sa lot of comedy, great comedy
here in Delaware.
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