How has Paula Poundstone spent the pandemic?
In case you’ve listened to the comic, you already know her shutdown time will need to have had one thing to do along with her cats — which now quantity 10, down from a peak of 16.
“I made a goofy little recreation present on Zoom as soon as every week,” Poundstone says. “I let individuals select a cat at the start. And if the cat interrupted the present in any means, then that particular person acquired an additional level.”
She additionally gave weekly press conferences as “French Trump,” recorded episodes of her podcast “No one Listens to Paula Poundstone” and now’s again on the highway with actual, bodily tour dates. One is arising March 5 on the Lesher Middle for the Arts in Walnut Creek. In case you attend, she asks you please put on a KN95 masks and be examined or vaccinated so she will hold performing dwell.
“It’s good for our psychological well being to have the ability to snort as a bunch about what a multitude we’re in,” she says. “And likewise with the ability to put one thing in your calendar you’ll be able to look ahead to doing. I don’t find out about you, however I had 15 months of not having something to look ahead to. I sifted loads of litter packing containers — I don’t look ahead to that.”
On a current afternoon Poundstone, a former San Francisco resident who now resides in Santa Monica, took the time to talk about COVID, what acquired Robin Williams probably his largest snort and behind the scenes on “Wait Wait… Don’t Inform Me!” (Be aware this interview is edited for brevity.)
Q: What’s been the funniest factor to return out of the pandemic?
A: Oh gosh, I don’t know. I do inform individuals concerning the new airline rule which has virtually delayed me attending to theaters, which is there must be two (expletives) on each flight now. I all the time inform them, “Yeah, my flight solely had one, in order that they needed to ask for volunteers. And ultimately when nobody else did, I raised my hand and stated, ‘I gained’t put my seat again ahead it doesn’t matter what you do!’ After which they took off.”
Q: Your tour schedule is packed. Does flying these days make you anxious?
A: I’m not too anxious. I’m vaccinated and I put on my KN95, which I’m actually pleased with. I used to be double-masking for a very long time, however on a flight when you may have two masks on solidly for hours, ultimately my earlobes would fold. I’d appear to be Lampwick from “Pinocchio.”
Q: Do you ever carry your cats on tour?
A: Years in the past I had a cat named Smike after a personality from Nicholas Nickleby. She needed to have eye drops a couple of instances a day, so I took her with me. I used to be working a membership in Dallas and we had been staying at a resort. I can’t keep in mind if I snuck her in — in all probability — and he or she cherished it! She was like Eloise. After I arrived again on the resort, she was ready for me on the door. After we would sleep within the mattress, she’d actually put her head on the pillow with the remainder of her physique going straight down like she was a human being.
Q: How typically do you come out to the Bay?
A: Not sufficient. I used to be not too long ago in, what’s the one with the humorous identify? Livermore. They’d a fortunate break at that theater, which is that certainly one of their huge donors died … that’s not the fortunate break. However he left them cash and throughout the shutdown they took it and put in a brand new air flow system. That’s the luckiest COVID story I’ve heard. As a result of that’s what we should always’ve been doing with colleges, and due to defective science we had been scrubbing desks as an alternative.
Q: Do you may have any favourite Bay Space reminiscences?
A: There was a membership (in San Francisco’s Cole Valley) known as The Different Cafe. It stays my favourite place I’ve ever carried out. Extra not too long ago I’ve accomplished Comedy Day in Golden Gate Park. That’s actually enjoyable — you’re taking part in to 1000’s of individuals sitting out on the grass. The primary 12 months they did Comedy Day I wasn’t on the record, however was in my house simply off the panhandle. At one level I heard this actually elevated, uproarious response. I discovered later Robin Williams’ pants ripped.
Q: In your web site you’ve posted previous trainer studies itemizing you as “under common” in areas like “capitalization” and “skill to work independently.” Do you agree with these assessments?
A: I principally tried arduous in elementary college, however I did have the issue that I speak loads. It’s only a character trait, and you may throw me out of sophistication for it if you’d like but it surely doesn’t make it go away. Man, daily my desk was in a unique place. Like, “Do that, strive that!” Finally my desk was within the hallway. It appeared like Tetris when you had an overhead shot of my classroom daily, and watched my desk transfer till ultimately it simply went out the door.
Q: Was it tough transitioning to digital on “Wait Wait… Don’t Inform Me!”?
In some methods we’ve gone again to our roots. I’ve been on that present for 21 or 22 years and once I first joined them — by the way in which, luckiest day of my life — we didn’t do it in entrance of an viewers. Every of us went to the NPR station nearest us, and we wore a goofy headset and had been linked by way of wire. I believe some native station requested them to do it taped in entrance of a dwell viewers. After that they’d tasted the elixir of life and there was no going again.
Q: How do you put together for the news-quiz portion of the present?
I principally take a look at CNN daily and watch the “PBS NewsHour” virtually each night time. I’ve associates that watch Fox to allow them to know what the opposition is doing. I couldn’t watch that, I’d have a coronary heart assault. I don’t wish to be lied to frequently — the occasional lie, nice, however not frequently. I do maintain the report for losses on (“Wait Wait …”). After I first began I assumed, “Effectively, I watch the ‘NewsHour’ each night time. How can I not know what’s occurring?” However loads of what you lose on is A. you choked, or B. information of the bizarre. I do take a look at the New York Submit for my information of the bizarre, however that will get tedious. What number of Florida crimes can you actually endure by way of?
Q: Do (or did) the panelists hang around after the present?
Yeah, and it was very good. I don’t have an enormous social life as a result of lots of people’s social lives contain their work associates. I work alone in theaters so “Wait Wait” is the one place the place I actually have that. By the way in which, P. J. O’Rourke simply died, which I nonetheless discover surprising. He’s everybody’s favourite Republican and was genuinely a enjoyable, good man. I by no means thought to myself that we had been terribly totally different — possibly as a result of he was the old-school, common type of Republican the place you possibly can disagree on coverage, but it surely didn’t imply something past that. And most of these are gone.
PAULA POUNDSTONE
When: 7:30 p.m. March 5
The place: Lesher Middle for the Arts, 1601 Civic Drive, Walnut Creek
Well being & Security: Proof of vaccination is required and masks should be worn within the theater
Tickets: $49-$59; 925-943-7469, www.lesherartscenter.org