EDINBURGH 2023: Courtney Pauroso Q&A

BWW caught up with Courtney Pauroso to chat about bringing Vanessa 5000 to the 2023 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Tell us a little bit about Vanessa 5000?

Vanessa 5000 is an absurdist one-woman clown show about a sex robot, in the format of a product demonstration. Throughout that product demonstration both Vanessa and the show itself evolve into something… else. It’s a satirical contemplation of the future and modern existence, painted with the brushstrokes of stupidity (sure). It’s an epic, sexy, frightening, mysterious, interactive, and hopefully hilarious woman-fronted sci-fi clown-style solo rock opera (yeah sure, why not). 

I devised this show through live workshop performances in LA over the past 3 months with my brilliant best friend and director Corey Podell. I always start the process not knowing exactly what the show is about. I just start with the seed of an idea, throw up material in little bits and pieces and improvise and flounder and try new things until slowly but surely the show reveals itself to me. Did I mention it’s really stupid? It’s really stupid. But there’s also a moment in the show that (if I play it right) is dead silent, and Corey told me that during my last performance, she saw some men wiping away tears. Not to brag.

Having performed at the festival before, do you think you know what to expect from it?

I expect it to be exhausting but magical, with ups and downs, and divine surprises. The past two times I’ve done the festival (first with my friend Michael Feldman’s show Fairy Tale Theatre: 18 & Over in 2015 and then with my last solo clown show Gutterplum in 2019) I had some of the best months of my life. It’s a lot for August 2023 to live up to! But really, I can’t wait. I’m feeling stoked to get to introduce people to Vanessa 5000 and to make the show better and better as the month goes on. And I’m preparing myself for the athletic feat of it all. My show is very physical. I’m going to need to make sure to schedule time to rest and probably a few massages. But it’s just a month. I’m gonna go hard.

What is your background in sketch comedy?

When I moved to Los Angeles in 2008 I knew I wanted to be an actress but had no idea I would end up doing comedy. It was a stroke of luck that my very first apartment happened to be down the street from The Groundlings Theater. I started taking classes and seeing shows there, totally in awe of all of the performers I was watching, and it eventually occurred to me that I might too be funny. I also met many lifelong friends, including my director Corey Podell, who was in The Groundlings Sunday Company with me. The Groundlings was great for learning structure, which is really key even when you're making work that is a little more Avant Garde. And it pushed me to experiment with different kinds of characters, to expand my physical and vocal range, and to find my point of view as a writer. It was discovering clown years later that really blew my mind, but my time at the Groundlings definitely laid the foundation and gave me the skillset and discipline to be able to make the kinds of shows I’m making now.

Where else might we know you from? 

Currently I am obliged to inform you that I stand in solidarity with SAG-AFTRA and the WGA, so I’ll skip mentioning any studio projects. But I would love to shout out my friend Alex Warren’s incredible film “Dogleg” that is currently touring independent cimemas around the United States. It’s an anthology that is threaded in a really cool way. It is beautifully shot and so, so funny and a perfect example of what you can make when you operate outside the system. I play a mysterious nutcase in a scene with “Sick of Myself” writer/director Kristoffer Borgli, and then later play myself (as the actress playing said mysterious nutcase). It is one of my favourite projects I’ve ever worked on. Go see it, all the cool kids are loving it. Also, people sometimes recognize me as the host of a couple different Youtube shows that I for some reason insisted on not being credited by name on. I think at the time I felt shy about doing those kinds of jobs and the whole “internet culture” of it all freaked me out, but honestly? I did a good job. So if you can find them, enjoy some early work. And don’t be mad if I’m low-key drunk and/or in a succubus costume. 

Who would you like to come and see Vanessa 5000?

All over the age of 18 are welcome, but enter at your own risk. In a fun way! Someone recently pointed out to me that there is an inherent similarity between clowns and robots. They are on the one hand obliged to please and serve the audience (or their user), and on the other hand there is a sense of danger in their presence - something about them is a bit unnerving, a bit of a threat. So, my ideal audience is in the mood for some fun and playful danger. Or maybe I’d rather them not know what to expect at all, and then get them on board! My dream attendee? Camille Paglia. She cracks me up. 

Courtney Pauroso: Vanessa 5000 will be performed at 9pm in Pleasance Courtyard (Beneath) from 2nd – 27th August (Not 16th)

Booking link: https://www.pleasance.co.uk/event/courtney-pauroso-vanessa-5000

Photo credit: Van Corona

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