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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!
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