Long before she was a regular panelist on NPR’s Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me, Paula Poundstone has been a standup comedian. She brings her act to the Tibbits Opera House in Coldwater on Thursday April 11th.
Although she’s been doing stand up for 40 years, Poundstone says some of her audience now includes Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me listeners who didn’t know she was a comedian. Poundstone says politics gets into her act because “I don’t edit myself very well.” Asked if the Trump presidency is good for comedy or satire, Poundstone says “We needn’t worry about a shortage of comedy” if someone else is President.
Extended interview with Paula Poundstone in WestSouthwest Podcast
But Poundstone says politics isn’t the main thrust of her act, she says her favorite part of the night is talking to the audience, asking simple questions about where they are from, what they do for a living and their family. Poundstone says it leads to fun spontaneous moments during the show.
While her tour takes Poundstone to Coldwater, there’s large cities like Seattle and Denver. Poundstone says the size of the city doesn’t make a difference, but she says it’s fun to play in more conservative areas. Poundstone says no matter how conservative or liberal an area is, there are people who hold different views. She says in her case liberals in a conservative area come out to see her show. But Poundstone says she has conservative fans. “It’s fun to laugh.”
