Marianne Schaberg

Today I am interviewing Marianne Schaberg, a comedian born in Providence, RI who has been doing comedy for six months. To find out more about Marianne, please visit her website.

Why did you start doing stand-up comedy?

I was a comedy junkie growing up. I would listen to Bill Cosby records ( LP style) and watched Billy Crystal (VHS style) every day. At age five, I began begging my mom to let me stay up for SNL. She never caved in but my father (my hero, my clone) would sometimes let me watch.

Once I was an adult and growing beautifully into my father's illustrious facial features, I moved to NYC and started working but I didn't have the gumption (yes, gumption) to try stand-up although I had always wanted to. Last summer, I quit my job and thought to myself, "now or never."

I started going to open mics and I got hooked after I experienced how it feels to "kill" on stage. I find "killing" is best described by the infamous words of Marg Helgenberger on the pilot episode of "CSI" - "You feel like King Kong on cocaine." She actually said that... about CSI detective and lab work. On the other hand, bombing pretty much sucks but Marg hasn't provided a metaphor for that feeling just yet, except she did give herself a rape kit once so it might feel something on par to that disaster.

Can you tell me one weird thing about yourself?

My toes. They are super weird. Not because they are ugly or hideous (I rock a peddy). But because they are SUPER dexterous, agile and rambunctious. I'm fairly certain they can play the piano even though they've never studied it. They're just weird geniuses, prodigies really. Look for them at Carnegie Hall next fall.

How do you deal with rejection?

I cry. Then I drink. Then I induce myself into a 3-day coma on the couch. Nah, I'm like so much tougher than that. I cry a teeny bit, but only on the inside, and then get back on the old horse or Sarah Jessica Parker, whichever is closer.