I consider stand-up comedy a fluid form
which is what makes it a WONDERFUL playground for a musician!
Hi! Thank you for reading You’re Invited to Laugh: a weekly look at work as an American stand-up comedian based in Berlin, Germany. I’m Steph DePrez, and moved to Europe as an opera singer in 2019. You can read the full story here. This publication is free right now, but you are invited to pledge support for the future!
Name me a medium more open to experiment and breaking form than stand-up comedy. Maybe clowning, but I put them in the same family.
You have 50 minutes, give or take, to stand up in front of a group of people and make them laugh. That’s it. That’s the job. I use all the tools in my toolbox, which includes music. The first time I wrote a full show, I added five opera arias. The second time, I added other genres I wanted to sing: jazz, musical theater.
Some people might argue that singing in the middle of a stand-up set breaks the form. To them I say, who the hell cares?
On Thursday evening, a fabulous audience packed into the couches and loungers at Wein Salon to watch my solo show, a 65 minute exploration of growing up loud, studying opera, and watching my mom die of cancer during the pandemic. Fun stuff! But truly, if you think comedy can’t punch you in the gut, you’re really missing out.
You can chart the development of the show in my other newsletter,
, which I wrote before launching this comedy-centric publication. I did a shorter version of this show on tour through Germany earlier this year, with one or two arias and no cancer. (Easier to sell.) But the full show, with a detour into my dad asking if IKEA makes caskets, is how I prefer to share my story.The real delight for me this time around was having singer colleagues in the audience. There were three opera singers from different projects I’ve been a part of who surprised me, and I rushed to gather their feedback. (There is no one more critical of singing than an opera singer, so I wanted to rip the bandaid.) Yes I sounded lovely, but the real standout, they all shared, was the jazz song I sang: Gershwin’s “Someone to Watch Over Me,” which you can see a clip of on Reels.
I sing the song after a joke about intimacy with a man who loudly appreciated my curves, which, at the time of the encounter, did wonders to counteract my body-shaming programming. I use the story to celebrate people in our lives who accept us, with our perceived flaws, and choose to love us in that fullness. It’s a nice breath in between bits about predictable topics like Germans and travel.
Here’s the thing: it’s my solo show, with my stories, so why not include the things I like to do on stage? Hannah Gadsby has art history. I’m gonna sing.
This line of thinking has opened the windows of my creativity for the next show I write, which I’ll take to Edinburgh in August and then tour in September. Instead of focusing on being impressive using the normal comedy benchmarks, I’ve decided to write a show from the vantage point of, “What would I say if I could truly say anything?”
The world just gets bigger.
What’s on this week!
Monday, March 24th
Pimp My Jokes | Suess War Gestern
Tuesday, March 25th - PARIS
English Standup Comedy Showcase | Les Marquises
Friday, March 28th
Showtime Musicals Night | Wein Salon (Cabaret!)
Saturday, March 29th
Top Shelf Comedy | Mein Freund Harvey (Host, 30 min long set, there will be songs)
If you want links to any of these shows, hit me up! Most are easily found by searching the name of the show and the venue.
About Me: I’m Steph DePrez an award-winning singer, writer, and performer. You can read my full bio at www.stephaniedeprez.com and also follow me on Instagram and YouTube.