Due to stigmas, Shamaine Othman stated that female comedians must put in more effort.
Shamaine Othman is a comedian who becomes agitated when poorly written jokes receive attention.
The 39-year-old, who began performing stand-up in 2011, stated that any topic can be discussed as long as it is extremely humorous.
She told Malay Mail, “You have to be really good at it, it takes years of practise.”
The comedian from Kuala Lumpur, who sometimes draws inspiration for her shows from friends and family as well as her own experiences, stated that because of stigmas, female comedians must put in more effort.
“Female comedians have to work twice as hard when they are on stage because there is a stigma that women are not funny.”
“We have to show the audience that women are funny, even though most of the time men have believed this for a long time.”
Shamaine, who has performed on the comedy circuit in Singapore and Malaysia, claimed to write her material with self-censorship and to take local sensitivities into account.
The self-censoring happens at the writing stage, not performing. I of course think about local sensitivities when writing my jokes.”
Shamaine, however, believes she could write about anything as long as it’s funny.
Comedians can test out jokes at open mic nights and work-in-progress shows, such as my twice-weekly room at KLPAC called Test Is Best, to see if they work.
When asked about her aspirations as a comedian, Shamaine stated that she wanted to encourage more women, particularly in this area, to try stand up comedy and eventually show the world what life is like in this part of the world.
We have been exposed to largely Western-centric themes for a very long time.
She said, admiring Dr. Jason Leong’s work ethic and being a big fan of Rizal Van Geyzel’s delivery and jokes, “It is time they learn more about other cultures than their own.”
Regarding foreign performers, Shamaine’s favourites are Ronny Chieng and Ali Wong.
“I believe we are anglophiled Asians with similar points of view.”
