Rhode Island Comedy

Elayne Boosler gave an interview for The Valley Breeze prior to her appearance at CATCH A RISING STAR COMEDY CLUB on Saturday, August 13. The feature appeared in The Breeze on Wednesday, August 10, and is reprinted with their permission.

‘Catch’ Boosler this weekend at Twin River

By FRANK O’DONNELL, Valley Breeze Entertainment Writer

Elayne Boosler goes “where the work is. I base it out of New York. If it’s drivable from New York, then it’s easy to go.”

Boosler, who’s been working as a comedian for about four decades now, will appear at Catch A Rising Star Comedy Club inside Twin River Casino in Lincoln on Saturday, August 13.

When we chatted, she was at her home in the Los Angeles area, and she wasn’t exactly sure if she had other dates in the northeast around the same time. “I go to my web site to find out where I’m going,” she says.

For the record, www.elayneboosler.com has her performing in Sag Harbor, NY on August 15. The photo on Boosler’s home page shows her underwater, holding a microphone. “Being underwater is exactly how it feels to do stand-up,” she says. “You can die at any time. You’re holding your breath until the next breath, and you’re kind of in slow motion in your own head on stage.”

The underwater feeling doesn’t make her uncomfortable. She’s been a swimmer for years. “I have to say that being underwater and being on stage are the two most exciting, wonderful feelings in the world to me. Don’t tell my husband.”

Boosler doesn’t find it remarkable that she’s been able to do what she does for so long. “It’s my job,” she says. “I’ve got to eat. Most people work four decades, don’t they?”

Her first show was at a small New York club that presented comedians before stand up was popular. “I was a hostess, and they ran out of acts. They threw me on stage to ramble.” She rambled for about an hour, to the amazement of the other comics in the room – Freddie Prinze, Richard Belzer and Andy Kaufman among them. “They said to me, ‘Do you know what you just did?’ I didn’t know.”

It’s been 38 years since, and she’s still waiting for her big break. “I have high hopes for this gig” in Lincoln, she says.

She’s done quite a bit in those 38 years. When pressed, she says her two favorite moments as a comedian, so far, are performing at the London Palladium for the Queen of England and at the White House Correspondents Dinner for President Clinton.

“That was so much fun. Comics love to sit in a deli and make other comics laugh as hard as possible. Can you imagine having that opportunity with the President of the United States? When he finally laughed so hard that he put his head in his hands, I was the king of the world.”

In addition to being a comedian and a writer, Boosler calls herself an animal activist. “I’ve loved animals my whole life,” she says, “and I wrote checks (to support animal causes) for decades.”

But she wanted to do more. “Ten million healthy adoptable animals get killed every year,” she says. “It’s not a sexy cause, not a red carpet thing. But it’s ongoing, heartbreaking, and needs as much attention as possible.”

The non-profit organization she founded in 2001, Tails of Joy, speaks for “every animal. Dogs and casts and chimps in Cameroon. We raise money for the smaller rescue organizations. I get a lot of bank for the buck. It gives my life meaning, and it’s what I hope I’ll be remembered for.”

Boosler is a big fan of social media. “It’s given me an entirely new relationship with my fans. It’s truly the joy of my life.” And it’s given her material too. Her quasi-rap song, “Facebook is a Clocksucker,” has gotten some airplay and some attention on the Internet. “Everything and anything matters these days. You need more of everything everywhere. One focused performance anywhere doesn’t matter any more.”

Her on stage performances come right out of the news. “I talk about the politics of everyday life. Finances, food, romance, politics. Anything you come across in your days. On your way out of my show, you’ll have a time capsule of exactly where you are today.”

[Elayne Boosler appears at Catch A Rising Star Comedy Club, inside Twin River Casino in Lincoln, on Saturday, August 13 for two shows. Visit www.catcharisingstar.com for complete details.]