A Poundstone of Paula

I've chosen a video clip for today that features one of my favorite stand-up comedians, Paula Poundstone.  Paula actually came to my hometown recently, and Alan and I excitedly planned on attending her one-night performance. Then, at the last minute, Alan was called out of town on business.  I went to see Paula anyway, BY MYSELF! THAT'S how much I love this woman!

I wasn't disappointed.  I think my favorite quality of Ms. Poundstone's may be how unpretentious she appears. There's no grand "Ladies and Gentlemen..." announcement, no warm-up act to get the crowd energized.  Before the lights even illuminated the stage, Paula was entering, giving a small wave.  Once the audience figured out it was her, we broke into wild applause, and she waved it all away in order to begin her act.  She performed brilliantly for hours.  No warm-up act was necessary!

Immediately after the show she sat at a table in the lobby for a very long time, shaking hands and signing autographs.  She also signed and sold copies of her autobiography, all the proceeds going to our city's local library.  Chick's got CLASS!!!

Paula's specialty involves randomly picking someone from the audience to chat with, asking what they do for a living, them proceeding to make tasteful, non-offensive fun of  them.  It's completely improvised, completely brilliant, and completely HILARIOUS!

Here's a press clip written about Paula.  I just couldn't agree more:  "Armed with nothing but a stool, a microphone and a can of Diet Pepsi, Paula's ability to create humor on the spot has become the stuff of legend.  Little wonder people leave Paula's shows complaining that their cheeks hurt from laughter, and debating whether the random people she talked to are 'plants'-- which, of course, they never are."

This is a clip of Paula's stand-up act from back in the eighties, and it's actually the first performance I ever saw of her.  I think you'll see why I became an immediate fan.  It's obviously very long, but my favorite part is right at the beginning.  She has just been talking about how she owns three cats, and how she disciplines them with a squirt gun filled with water.

I actually tried to transpose this section and use it as a monologue for an audition once.  I quickly learned that NO ONE can do this bit but PAULA!!

I hope you like it!