Love Tim Minchin? What about Flight of the Concords?
If you like super catchy songs that deal with tough things like mental health and coping mechanisms, I Have a Face by Jude Perl is for you.
Jude, who has recently finished performing at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival to rave reviews, shares a little bit about herself, her struggles and personal experience in the hopes of helping others to feel less alone.
What was the inspiration behind the show?
I wanted to create a show to let people know that they aren’t alone in feeling alone. To connect with those who experience depression/anxiety in any way, and to be able to come together and laugh at the absurdity of our thoughts and our world, but to also remind people that they don’t have to suffer alone.
What are the key themes and ideas that I Have a Face explores?
Labels, loneliness, coping mechanisms, double standards our world imposes on women especially, overthinking and being a sensitive person in what feels like a very aggressive, binary world.
What can audiences expect when they come and see I Have a Face?
A fast paced, hilarious and heartfelt exploration of some difficult themes like mental health and loneliness. Be prepared to have your coping mechanism of choice mentioned in rapid fire jaunty musical numbers, but I am a pretty gentle person and performer, and I only want to remind us that we are all human and we are not alone.
What do you enjoy about touring and why?
Obviously I love getting to perform in new spaces in front of new audiences, but I also love the excitement of staying in a hotel and sometimes the hotels have bathrobes and I really really like bathrobes. Also I love when the hotel has their own branded notepad, and sometimes they leave you nice little notes, and how nice is that.
What drives you to pursue a creative life?
Throughout my entire life, I’ve often felt overwhelmed by just day-to-day things and just living in this world. The only thing that’s ever really made any sense to me is music. Especially when music is combined with story. Discovering and watching (and re-watching) all the classic musicals like West Side Story and Singin’ in the Rain is probably what got me through high school. Singing seems to be the only thing that stops the millions of thoughts running through my head. And writing songs and shows is also how I channel all my curiosity for the things that don’t make any sense to me into something that no longer just exists inside my own head. It’s not just this confusion or anguish I’m experiencing and trying to hide inside myself. It becomes this absurd, hilarious, vulnerable performance I can then share with people who also experience this and we can all laugh and cry about it together. I think the way I learn about the world and myself, and those around me is through writing and performing. But deeper down, it’s really just about genuinely connecting to others through music and laughter. I think those two things are so profoundly healing and important to humanity and you can talk about the most challenging of topics with music and comedy, but you can also experience incomparable joy and euphoria. It’s just the best thing in the world.
Use five words that describe you as an artist!
Honest, stream-of-consciousness, absurd, musical, bad-at-dancing-but-still-enjoys-dancing
