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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 24, 2014)
w $îortlanb (Obstruer September 24.2014 Up Front with Wanda Sykes Comedian reaches out to promote Portland show O livia O livia T he P ortland O bserver by Com edian W anda Sykes is reaching out to fans about her upcom ing Oct. 10 perfor m ance in Portland. She was able to phone into the Portland O bserver on W ednes day to generate som e publicity about the show: To do it as often as you can, do it on stage, build your confidence on stage. Once you get your fir st fiv e minutes, it’s easy to get stuck there. Keep trying new material. Even tually you ’ll fin d your voice, you ju st need Moms Mabley! Back in the late 60s, she was huge. I remember watching her on the Ed Sullivan show. She was sofunny! Oh yes, and Bill Cosby, Richard Prior, George Carlin, and Joan Rivers. I’m sorry to hear about Joan - I ’ve heard her death im pacted the com edy scene pretty hard. Comedian Wanda Sykes will be coming to Portland for a performance at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall on Friday, Oct. 10. Yes, she led a great life. She was a real trailblazer and opened so many doors fo r fem ale comics. I ’m glad she was around fo r so long. S h e’s was so inspiring! Wanda Sykes comes to town Friday, Oct. 10 and will be performing at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall. Find out more at Portland.5.com. It is our primary goal as a labor union to better the lives of all people working in the building trades through advocacy, civil demonstration, and the long-held belief that workers deserve a “family wage” - fair pay for an honest day ’s work, OUR FAMILIES & OUR COMMUNITIES A family wage, and the benefits that go with it, not only strengthens families, but also allows our communities to become stronger, more cohesive, and more re sponsive to their citizens’ needs. Our ongoing efforts to establish Area Standard wages and benefits knows no bounderies of race, creed, color, gender, beliefs, or country o f origin. Pacific Northwest Regional Council CARPENTERS www.nwcarpenters.org s Som ething can alw ays happen - I do som etim es expect the unexpected. When yo u fir s t sta rt out, you have no idea. Their m oods can change. It depends w h o ’s on before you. There are so m any variables! Be prepared. I rem em ber the fir s t tim e I was doing these one-nighters in N ew J e r sey, a man dropped his gun a n d it spun around on the floor. A n d then a bunch o f guys were checking their pockets, ju s t to m ake sure it wasn ’t their gun that fe ll. I thought I ’m going to ju s t do my fiv e m in utes and get the hell out o f here. W ho are y o u r favorite com edians? OUR FUTURE rAfCIL Is th ere a n y th in g a b o u t th is w o rk th at su rp rised y o u ? O r co n tin u es to su rp rise you now? / realized I was funny from my peers, people would write in my yearbook “ Thanks fo r brightening up class.” My class, my teachers loved me. I was not disruptive, but I was good at lightening the mood. rem em ber about the area? W hat if anything d o you lik e to do w h en you com e here? D o you have any ad vice for aspiring com e dians? to keep doing it. W hen did you realize you w ere fu n n y? Hi W anda - w e look forward to ha ving you in P ortlan d soon . W h at d o you k n ow or Yes! I have perform ed in Portland before. I love the audience, th ey ’re smart, they ju st want to a have a good time, th ey’re open- minded. I t ’s always a good time. A s fo r the city itself I love the fo o d - 1 love the farm to table stuff! Page 7
