Adelaide Fringe leaves us spoilt for choice with so much talent and so many options of shows to see. Sometimes, someone makes an impression and stands out from the crowd. Jamie Mykaela is one of those people. An international, award winning comedy-cabaret performer, Jamie is described as a “firecracker with an over-inflated ego and hard-earned imposter syndrome colliding in a hot mess of costume changes, ukulele strings, songs, stories & ping pong!” I also heard a rumour there is glitter…
Sam About Town chatted with Jamie to find out more about this fantastic show and about the dynamo herself.
SAT: Thanks for your time Jamie. I have to admit though, you had me at ‘glitter’…do we need to continue this interview?
(Purchase tickets here)
JM: *laughs*
SAT: For those readers who don’t live on glitter alone, could you tell us about your show?
JM: A celebratory lament to my personal failures, insecurities, and extreme stubbornness that keeps me doing this nonsense. With a dash of ping pong, ukulele ridiculousness, and low budget charm. There’s also some stories about when I appeared on X-Factor, hugged a Spice Girl, and was featured on Malaysian prime time news!!
SAT: I want to hear those stories – sounds awesome! What inspired you to create this show?
JM: I created my first show when I was 18. It was super self indulgent but definitely what I need to make out of catharsis. Since then I have had a bit of a wild ride and needed to write something that was a love letter to my younger self, forgiving myself for being a bit of a f**k up, if you will? And to forgive myself for my mental health and to point out that I am doing pretty damn well for a 21 year old. It’s extremely self aware that if none of those stuff ups happened, I wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing today.
SAT: It sounds like you have a quirky and amazing style. Who would you say this show is aimed towards?
JM: Definitely aimed towards all the millenials who peaked in high school. I’m right here with you. Gifted and talented doesn’t mean jack once you’ve graduated.
SAT: Is there audience participation in this show?
JM: Audience Participation? From me? Never!
Note: Yes, there is a fair bit of audience interaction but I promise I’m not scary – I just look it. I’m more afraid of you than you are of me! I’m just a five foot nothing, 55kg little gremlin in drag lashes.
SAT: The mention on your Facebook page of erotic puppetry has caught my interest – that’s not on many resumes! I’d love to know more about it and will we see any in this Adelaide Fringe?
JM: Yes! Erotic puppetry. I wish I could say it’s as impressive as Puppetry of the Penis but this was literally just performing with a muppet version of myself (Jamie Mupkaela – naturally) in an brilliant show based in Perth called Pupperotica. They are a bunch of excellent weirdos who asked me to do a spot. I had to fake an orgasm with my puppet. It was wonderful and also led to my favourite fan interaction ever, in which a girl pointed at me in broad daylight and screamed “YOU JACKED OFF A PUPPET!” Yes, yes I did.
SAT: You have been playing in various Fringe Festivals for the last 5 years. Is this your first time in the Adelaide Fringe?
JM: It’s my first time as a solo artist and I couldn’t be more excited! I have previously come here as a support for a stand up show and as a co-host for a game show at Gluttony but I’m really excited to come into my own this year! It’s wonderful and terrifying being a solo artist but I think the last two years of scoping it all out has given me a good foundation.
SAT: Why did you decide to perform here?
JM: Because I am head over heels in love with Adelaide. I’m not even joking. Adelaide is easily one of my favourite cities alongside Sheffield and Glasgow. You guys have such an interesting arts scene here. I’ve seen some amazing fever dream level art here and the community seems so lovely and supportive. You’ve got the best vintage stores, the best architecture, the best indie club nights, and the best tofu in all of Australia! You’re a city after my own heart.
SAT: Have you worked with a producer before? What are the benefits to an artist to have someone in their corner?
JM: Never! But I am so glad I have the wonderful Alys from Epodcentral. As a DIY punk-purist, self produced artist in the past – I am a wee bit scatterbrained. So it’s lovely to have someone with a full blown business brain on my side and dealing with a lot of the admin while I deal with a lot of the audience facing work. She is a genius and I’m so happy to have her.
SAT: You are a classically trained musician and Fringefeed describes you as having a “killer set of pipes”. Could you tell us more about your training?
JM: Oh man, I was a classical singing student, I studied musical theatre, I was in the Australian Youth Choir (from THAT Qantas ad), the National Youth Dance Theatre, I got performing arts scholarships in high school, and was hands down dedicated to go to WAAPA*
*I didn’t go to WAAPA. I ended up working in a record store instead.
SAT: When did your love of ukuleles begin? Not an easy instrument to learn – any complaints from the neighbours in the early days?
JM: Fun fact about Jamie Mykaela here, my hands are too small for the piano/regular sized guitars/some ukuleles! I have the tiniest hands in the world so it made sense for me to learn the ukulele. My best friend when I was in year 9, Geneva taught me how to read tablature, taught me how to play Sail by AWOLNATION, and sent me on my way! My first songs I ever taught myself were Rose Tint My World and New York, New York… I’ve been camp from the very beginning.
SAT: As well as a talented and entertaining performer, you come across as a strong, female role model. How important is that image to you and the influence you may have on other women and societal attitudes?
JM: So, so, so important. A big part of this show came from a place of rage that even when I have being doing really well – a lot of people just assume that I get these opportunities because I have been ‘sleeping with the right people’ or that the only reason I get gigs is because I’m “the girlfriend” when I have been very clear at the start of my career that I am an outspoken, feminist rabble rouser who gets where she is because of her own talents and merits. I just happen to have some really cool male performers in my corner. I’m just hoping that my stage persona and the things she has to say inspire other women to adopt that in their everyday lives – that they are 100% in control of all the good things that come to them and that they deserve them no matter what other people say.
SAT: Do you have any messages you hope your audiences will take away with them?
JM: I think a main thread through this show is to forgive yourself and not beat yourself up too much. It sounds so cliche but if you end up punishing yourself for things that you aren’t in control of – or work tirelessly to fix them, you’ll burn yourself out. Know when to stop and look after yourself.
Also, don’t be a sleazebag.
SAT: For someone who is self-described as “a 4’9″ idiot with a 5’3″ personality and a 6’7″ headpiece”, the name of the show is too enticing not to discuss! According to Wikipedia, a Napoleon Complex is: “a theorised complex occurring in people of short stature. It is characterised by overly-aggressive or domineering social behaviour, and carries the implication that such behaviour is compensatory for the subject’s stature.” Hmmmmmmm……anything you want to tell us?
JM: Listen, ya girl used to get sat on in high school because people wouldn’t see her. I was never the smartest, the prettiest, so by god, I’ll be the funniest and biggest bitch in the room. If you can’t be a 7 foot drag queen in heels, you gotta work with what you’ve got and be the 7 foot drag queen in heels that you know that you are in your heart. If that means looking people directly in the eye as you sit on their laps to serenade them gently with verbal abuse like they are an ex that never called you back – then I’ve definitely got a Napoleon Complex. (Again, I promise I’m not scary!!)
SAT: Have you always had a passion to perform? And have you had family influences and inspirations from others, or were you just just one mad, creative chick right from the womb?
JM: Little old me has been a showbo since birth, and was always gallivanting around in the nud except for a tutu, and hardly anything has changed. My parents were both super academic and I was a little less so but they always wanted me to have open doors. I guess this is what happens when you grow up watching The Nanny and sneakily watching your mum’s Rocky Horror VCR over and over again just to watch Columbia’s tap dance during the Time Warp and fantasising about costumes.
SAT: Part of your vast experience has been opening for acclaimed cabaret glitterati such as Amanda Palmer, Aurelio Voltaire and Tomas Ford. Could you share with us any highlights from these experiences?
JM: Way back when I was a little underage cabaret baby, I got to play a couple of songs before Amanda Palmer at one of the Kickstarter house parties that was hosting. I remember chatting to her about busking and she asked me to play some songs before her set. I actually vomited immediately afterwards out of sheer shock. However my all time favourite highlight was getting crowdsurf at the closing night of Tomas Ford’s Craptacular in Edinburgh. I had 6 Sambuca shots and was playing the ukulele and I got crowdsurfed out of the venue. It was an absolute dream!
SAT: Your costumes have been commented upon. Is this a carefully planned part of your show and an aspect you have a lot of fun with?
JM: I’ve been a magpie for years and years, from when I was four and I first watched the Time Warp segment from Rocky Horror – all I wanted was Columbia’s sequinned shorts. I just have a wild collection of glittery, crazy, eclectic clothes that my friends say “only make sense on me” – I’m not sure if that is a good thing but when you grow up being a theatre kid who has a borderline fetish for gaudy punk threads and a penchant for gender f**kery – you end up with some pretty mental stuff.
SAT: What do you have planned for after the Adelaide Fringe?
JM: Learn how to make my own salt and pepper tofu, learn to drive, give my partner a kiss and my dog a big cuddle. I love touring but Perth is truly my home.
Jamie Mykaela’s Napoleon Complex is playing on 23 & 24 February and 1-6 March at Vines Room at The National Wine Centre,
Cnr Hackney and Botanic Rd, Adelaide
Tickets can be purchased here
https://adelaidefringe.com.au/fringetix/jamie-mykaela-s-napoleon-complex-af2019
Follow Jamie Mykaela on social media:
https://www.facebook.com/jamiemykaela/#
