Doug Segal talks about his new show I Can Make You Feel Good.
1 Tell us about your Fringe show
It's a cross between a stand-up comedy show and a mind reading show in which I fuse genuine scientific research about happiness with mind tricks to guarantee everyone in the audience experiences a rush of endorphins. The aim is to make everyone happier than when then walked in.
2 Best thing about the Fringe?
The chance to do 25 shows in the same venue on consecutive days to the most discerning audiences in the world.
3 Worst thing about the Fringe?
Trying to fill a 140 seat venue when 2,999 other shows are taking the chance to do 25 shows in the same venue on consecutive days to the most discerning audiences in the world. I've been very fortunate and have sold out every year. I'm hoping this year will be no exception.
4 How many years have you been coming to the Fringe?
This will be my fifth year but it feels like I've always spent my August in Edinburgh.
5 Favourite Fringe venue?
It depends. As a performer my favorites to perform in are the Ballroom at The Voodoo Rooms (where you can find me this year), The Dining Room at The Gilded Balloon, The Famous Spiegeltent at St Andrew Square Garden and Pleasance One at The Pleasance. As an audience member I also love watching stand up at The Stand.
6 Best Fringe memory?
Probably waking up to discover I'd won an Award in 2012.
7 Best heckle?
Heckles come in three varieties: a) An audience member shouting out something witty, b) an audience member shouting out something stupid and c) an audience member shouting out something incomprehensible.
I tend not to be heckled much due to the nature of my act but when I do: a) Is alright, you just get the audience to quickly acknowledge what was said and move on. This has never happened to me at the Fringe, b) & c) Just eat up time. Most people don't realise this but the venues are really strict with the acts on timing. Many of them will fine you for each minute you go over. This makes dealing with hecklers an issue. Every minute an act has to spend time trying to turn a dumb thing someone's shouted out into something funny is a minute less of the carefully written and honed material they've spent a year on.
Please, just don't heckle. All it does is mean you see less material. It does “help”. Just don't.
8 Craziest on stage experience?
Probably walking out in what is now called Maggie's Front Room in The Three Sisters – a tiny little cramped 60 seater – on the seventh day of my first ever Fringe to find Neil Gaiman sitting in the front row.
9 What’s on your rider?
Hahahahahahahahahahaha! You think there's a rider at a festival where the venues charge us £15 to use more than two mics? That's a contender for joke of the festival right there.
10 How do you wind down after a show?
I don't really. I do as many guest spots in other shows as I can. I average around 75 performances across the festival. I wind down in September.
11 What do you love about Scotland?
The people. The Scots are without a shadow of a doubt the most liberal, progressive thinkers in the British Isle. I've often given serious thought to moving up here.
12 What do you like about Edinburgh?
During the festival – that about a 1,000 of my friends are all in the same place at the same time.
Outside the festival – that about 20 of my friends are all in the same beautiful city at the same time without my other 980 friend making it so frenetic.
13 What’s the most Scottish thing you’ve done?
Carried a hip-flask into a pub.
14 What kind of jokes do a Scottish crowd seem to respond to?
You get the same variation of tastes around the country. I don't think there's a “Scottish sense of humour”
15 Favourite joke?
I'm half Russian Jew, a quarter Irish Catholic and a quarter German Protestant which means half of me wants to get drunk on Guinness & schnapps and the other half doesn't want to pay for it.
16 Favourite Scottish food/drink?
Tattie scone and lorne sausage.
Doug Segal will perform I Can Make You Feel Good at the Voodoo Rooms Ballroom until August 28.
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