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Melbourne Airport "I'm off to Edinburgh" Award for Outstanding Melbourne Newcomer
Melbourne Fringe, 2006
Q: Is it fun being a woman in the intensely male world of comedy?
KM: I think so, I certainly haven't run into any problems - the comics that I tend to work with and hang out with are all a pretty good bunch - male and female. The female thing can work for you in a lot of situations - there's less women doing it, so I guess it's nice to be considered for jobs when something appropriate pops up.
Q: Why comedy? You don't have the neurotic male loser excuse...
KM: Oh I'm definitely a neurotic female though - I think - and my partner thinks that I am completely neurotic. I think the character stuff comes out of this though - the ability to have a three way conversation with myself on stage is definitely born out of constantly second/third/fourth guessing myself. I think it's healthy to have a good dose of neurosis so you can see the world from lots of different points of view. Oh and I just get off on the laughs - there's nothing better.
Q: Who are your comedy heroes?
KM: I love Jane Turner and Gina Riley, Tracey Ullman, Jennifer Saunders and Mr Barry Humphries is a pretty strong inspiration too.
Q: So where do you keep your Melbourne Airport "I'm off to Edinburgh" Award?
KM: It's sitting on my shelf next too my Best Comedy Award - I did slept with both of them in my bed the night I won them - the goats (the Fringe logo) did get a bit wild and I woke up with some scratches.
Q: What did winning the Melbourne Airport award mean for your career?
KM: It gave me a profile overnight. When trying to book gigs saying you won the Melbourne Airport award makes people interested, it has a lot of credibility in the industry. It's difficult to really express how much of a help it's been, there have been too many instances.
Q: How was your first gig?
KM: Hmmm, my first ever gig was when I was 14 and I did an impersonation of my Dad - without realising I might add. I have made a career out of mimicking my Dad ever since. He's a gem.
Q: Do you have any advice for the Melbourne Airport Emerging Artist class of 2007/08?
KM: Don't sleep with you award. Believe you that you have something to say, don't lie to yourself. Enjoy the ride and get your passport in order.
Melburnian writer and performer Kate McLennan is the 2006 winner of the Melbourne Airport "I'm off to Edinburgh" Award for Outstanding Melboune Newcomer at the Melbourne Fringe Festival. Kate's won the award for her razor sharp one-woman show The Debutante Diaries, a satirical look at the hilarious, tragic, delusional world of the Deb Ball.
The last year has seen Kate take The Debutante Diaries across Australia recently completing an acclaimed stint at the Adelaide Fringe. Kate also had the honour of opening the 2007 Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Kate is now considered one of Australia's finest young comediennes.
Kate has been exploring the possibility of touring her show regionally, something she would love as the show originally grew out of her experiences of growing up in regional and rural areas.
A graduate of the Ballarat Academy of Performing Arts, she has recently being writing and performing on Let Loose Live for the Seven Network and performing alongside sketch comedy legends Marg Downey, Michael Veitch and Peter Moon.
Don't be surprised to see The Debutante Diaries - The Movie...
