Malaysian comedian Shamaine Othman wants to inspire more women to try out stand-up comedy
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 7 — As a comedian, Shamaine Othman gets upset when attention is given to badly written jokes.
The 39-year-old, who started doing comedy in 2011, said any issue can be talked about as long as it is really, really funny.
“You have to be really good at it, it takes years of practice,” she told Malay Mail.
The Kuala Lumpur-based comedian, who gets her ideas for her shows from her own life experiences and sometimes from friends and family, said female comedians need to work harder due to stigmas.
“There is a stigma that women are not funny so female comedians have to work doubly hard when they are on stage.”
“We have to prove to the audience - most of the time men, who for the longest time believe women are not funny.”
Having moved about in the comedy circuit. in both Malaysia and Singapore, Shamaine said she practices self-censorship when writing her material and takes into consideration local sensitivities.
“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.
“Open mic nights and work in progress shows, like my biweekly room at KLPAC, Test Is Best, are there for comedians to try out jokes and see if it's well received.”
Asked on her hopes as a comedian, Shamaine said she wants to inspire more women to try out stand up comedy especially in this region and eventually show the world what life is in this part of the world.
“For so many years, we have watched very Western centric themes.
“It is time they learn more about other cultures than theirs and comedy is the best way to do this,” she said, who admires Dr Jason Leong's hustle and is also a huge fan of Rizal Van Geyzel for his jokes and delivery.
As for international acts, Shamaine counts Ronny Chieng and Ali Wong among her favourites.
“I think we share the same POV as anglophiled Asians.”
