Interview: Janelle Koenig of PRISCILLA, QUEEN OF THE DESERT at Crown Theatre

Janelle Koenig is no stranger to the comedy scene, performing standup across Australia and around the world. She juggles her own stand-up career with writing a range of works (she's been a columnist for The Sunday Times and also has credits for other performers like Joel Creasey and Jimeoin), regular spots on radio, and having a family. It's barely surprising to find someone so talented is good at musical theatre as well, and Janelle will bring her own brand of performance to the role of Shirley in PRISCILLA, QUEEN OF THE DESERT at Crown Theatre. We sat down to chat about how she got to where she is and what she's learnt along the way.

Being such an accomplished comedian, how did you get into musical theatre?

It's interesting, it's through musical theatre I got into comedy, not the other way around! In high school I was interested in theatre, and out of school I auditioned for and got into a course that taught everything about being in a theatre company, so we did acting and singing, but also did costume design, lighting, sound, producing, and advertising. Once I came out of that I felt like I would become a serious stage actress, but I was also aware that I didn't necessarily fit the mould of what most other actresses were like at the time. I decided to learn drama teaching to keep the connection, so went back to uni and through that auditioned for the musical the uni was putting on. During one of the breaks I was telling a story to a group of people and someone said "What you just did was stand-up comedy!" I was reluctant because it didn't feel quite right, but stage time is stage time so I gave it a go, and I loved it! The gigs were great, the audiences were great, but backstage things were absolutely toxic, since I was a young girl whilst most other comedians were middle aged males. I got tougher, I learnt to defend myself, but as fun as the shows were the pay off wasn't worth it at all. You just wouldn't see that sort of thing these days- there would be outcry and anger- but it was how it was then. So I gave stand-up away for a few years, and happened to see some time later an all female comedy workshop. So I spent a weekend with some amazingly talented and well known female comics working on all facets of stand up, and at the end of it we did five minutes on stage, and I was lucky enough to get booked on the spot for stand up.

I've always loved musicals, I'm a musical theatre nerd, and I came across a lot of the cast and crew through that. I always keep an eye on what's going, and when this came up I auditioned straight away. There's only some parts that appeal to me, I definitely want to be the character with character, or the rough-around-the-edges type, you know, the ones that people remember. Shirley definitely fit that brief for me.

Shirley is the hostile, bigoted bartender in the show. Whilst you're not necessarily

It almost feels like Shirley is one of the least feminine characters in the show, and I see myself as feminine, so there's a difference. But I grew up in one of the rougher suburbs of Melbourne- some people are still taken aback when I say where I'm from- and I definitely had a somewhat bogan upbringing which I'm very proud of. I could see a petrol refinery from my front room, and it feels like a lot of the people around me at the time were the sort of people you'd find in an outback Aussie pub. In fact, it's almost method acting for me because I feel like I've been that bogan in the pub many times before, just in a prettier dress.

Have you learnt anything from the show and from your character?

Not necessarily from Shirley herself. Some of my best friends are gay men, so that's far removed from how Shirley is. But I've taken a lot from being in the show. Stand-up comedy is such a solitary thing: I write my own show, produce it, direct it, and I worry about lighting and ticket sales and the right cues being hit. Here I'm a part of a much bigger team, and we've very much become like a family. I haven't had that in such a long time. Stand-up is temporary, you meet people for a night and then don't see them again. Here, we've just been through five weeks of rehearsals and we've got three weeks of shows coming up. It's unusual for me to spend eight weeks with the same people, even my own family sometimes! It's been delightful to be a part of a group like this, and after doing my own thing for a while it feels good to be part of a team.

How did you maintain a skill set amongst everything going on in 2020?

A lot of comedians I know managed to keep an outlet by doing livestreamed shows online, but I didn't really find that worked for me. You know when you're in a Zoom meeting and you tell a joke and it falls flat? Or even if people laugh you can't really tell? I perform much better live I feel, you have to be in the moment and react to the audience and the things that happen. I did do a lot of writing for other performers who chose to keep performing however they could, as well as writing some ads and other corporate work. I know we were lucky here in Perth anyway, but it was nice to have a rest. I'm a very indoorsy type, borderline agoraphobic, or at least very lazy, so I was happy not to leave the house! It wasn't too bad, I kept myself busy, and even managed to write a few new jokes for my shows.

What do you get from the production of PRISCILLA, and what do you hope the audience will get?

I love that the movie is over 25 years old now, but the issues are still relevant today. The show is about acceptance and learning who you are, and also about the hatred people can be up against. The show features a lot of racism, homophobia, and classism that was spread blatantly in the 90s, and seeing it and hearing it was just accepted. It's extraordinary to think how far society has come in that time, but the show reminds us of how far we have to go. It's lovely, too, to have such a diverse cast. There's such a variety of ages, nationalities and genders, and some very talented First Nations people, but at the same time the show isn't about promoting itself for its diversity. The audience has to realise that and see the people behind the characters, which contributes to the themes from the show.

Janelle plays Shirley in The Platinum Entertainment production of PRISCILLA, QUEEN OF THE DESERT, which is playing at Crown Theatre Perth until May 30th. Tickets through Ticketmaster.

Image credit: Platinum Entertainment/Crown Theatre