MAA #016: With Mitchell Tinley

Interview with Mitchell Tinley, Perth Comedian and one half of radio’s Mitchell and Michael Show (track them down on Facebook for more info).  Mitchell started comedy two years ago and is putting on a Fringe Show with his friend Tor Snyder in 2016.  The show is called Dating Naked, check it out if you’re in Perth at the end of January for Fringe. Mitchell will also be performing at Laughs For Locks (an event raising money for Camp Quality) on 4 December.

We discuss: Comedy as the “un-happy” profession, comedy being a great outlet for mental health issues, the courage and bravery of “I’m funny, let me prove it”, comedy being very nerve-provoking and switching to “bullet-proof” on stage, Childish Gambino’s notion of turning a negative into a funny story, making jokes at funerals, laughter = medicine, feeling fake on stage, the comfort of having solid material, being a natural at radio, the contagious-ness of laughter (and grumpiness), the subjectiveness of comedy, Mitchell’s style of humour, keeping it clean vs swearing, philosophy around bombing (on stage), looking on the bright side of negatives and not running away from problems, metaphorically having eggs in different baskets, the grief process of a bad gig, philosophy of “as good as it can be is as bad as it can be”, being aware of the reasons for your actions, semantics of the word “depressed”, keeping things in perspective, the unhelpfulness of personalising and “mind reading” (ie, thinking we know what others are thinking – which is usually negative!), preference to at least give things a go (and possibly fail), reflections on RU OK? Day and asking for help, growing up with Harry Potter, jokes that transcend time, the “please like me” element of comedy, humans creating rules, the awkwardness of small talk, the near completion of his Media Degree, and playing pranks on radio veterans.