As part of We Own The Laughs.com’s Comedian of the Day, have a few laughs and get to know comedian Sashi Perera. The Perth, Australia native shares some of her favorite moments in stand-up comedy and explains how she always owns the laughs.
Name: Sashi Perera
Hometown: Perth/Melbourne, Australia
Instagram/Twitter/Facebook/Snapchat/Tik-Tok: IG: @sashbomb Tik-Tok: @sashicomedy
Years in Comedy: 5
Haven’t we seen you somewhere before: None yet – honestly I’m not that important, I can’t believe you’re letting me do this.
Comedic Influences: Ali Wong, Sindhu Vee, Hasan Minhaj, Danny Bhoy, & Sara Pascoe
Favorite Comedy Album: I’m really bad at listening if there are no visuals or melodies, so I haven’t actually listened to one yet. I also don’t listen to podcasts. Is that bad? That’s bad right.
Favorite Comedy Special: Homecoming King – first time a comedy special made me feel so seen.
Favorite Comedy Movie: Forgetting Sarah Marshall – I watch that every year and it makes me cackle every time.
Favorite Comedy TV Show: The Office, the US version – I’m on a loop – I get to the end of Season Five and just restart from Season One.
Favorite Comedic Character: Louis Litt in Suits has some of the best lines in television history, fight me.
Favorite City to Perform In: Melbourne – it’s home now and where all this comedy madness started.
Favorite Topics to Joke About: Every day things that we all struggle with – race, religion, gender, doors – no topic is too large or too small.
Favorite Type of Audience for a Comedy Show: Anyone who is on board to laugh – bonus if they’ve already seen my comedy and know what they’re in for.
Favorite Comedy Club: Comedy Republic in Melbourne is my absolute favourite place to perform.
How did you discover your passion for comedy:
It snuck up on me! I entered a comedy competition on a whim in Melbourne in 2018 and it was love at first mic. I didn’t win or even get in the final but everything just kept going from there.
What do you remember most about your first time performing stand-up comedy:
The thrill of hearing a room find something as funny as I did.
How would you describe your comedic style:
Observational, story-telling – I try to walk a line between smart and stupid, it’s often a lot of the latter.
Describe your process for comedic writing:
I write down notes in my phone, mull over an idea for weeks and the punchlines come in the shower. It’s annoying but I’m learning to trust the process. My water bill is climbing.
Describe the comedy scene in your area:
Melbourne is stacked to the brim with weird and wonderfully talented humans – doing gigs, running gigs, making stuff. I feel lucky to live here and lucky to be able to duck out to gigs most nights of a week to see what people are working on.
How do you judge success in the world of comedy:
It’s the same as judging success anywhere else – it’s not an end point, it’s an ongoing journey. Someone’s always going to be ahead of you and someone’s always going to be behind you. So the focus is you – are you happy? Are you healthy? If the answer is no, that’s a problem.
Who are some of your comedic peers that you enjoy watching perform or inspire you personally and professionally:
Luke Kidgell, Blake Pavey and Jenny Tian. They’re Australian comedians taking the stand up and online realms by storm. I’ve loved watching their rise and appreciate all the advice I’ve forced them to give me.
What’s been your most memorable moment in comedy:
Opening for Hannah Gadsby at their first show at this year’s Melbourne International Comedy Festival was a really surreal, pinch me moment.
What have you learned most from your failures in comedy:
Never blame the audience if you’re dying on stage. Finish the set and do something nice for yourself to shake off the bomb. It’s really nice learning that you can live through the worst set of your life – like if that’s the worst it gets, how cool!
How do people react toward you when they realize that you can make people laugh:
They always ask me to tell them a joke and I never have one ready, I really have to stop telling people I do comedy.
Describe building a career in stand-up comedy:
I’m trying to take it slow and steady. It feels like it takes so long to find your feet and then all of a sudden, you have all these opportunities coming in from every direction. I’m trying to remember that comedy has been around for ages, there’s no need to rush about and do everything at exactly the same time.
If you could change one thing in the world of comedy, what would it be:
We need to agree whether we shake hands, hug or fist bump the MC when we walk on stage. I keep getting it wrong and my, do I look silly every time.
Best advice you’ve ever received from a comedian:
Keep going. If you like it, just keep going. I pass that on to new comics as often as I can, half the challenge is to keep at it even when you have no idea if anything better than getting paid in drink tokens is ahead of you.
If you were releasing a comedy special this week, what would it be called:
“I’m Not Ready for This Special”
Funniest encounter you’ve ever had with a celebrity:
Hannah Gadsby was so lovely that I can’t say there was anything funny about that encounter (apart from their stand up, obviously). I haven’t met anyone else super famous. I think I saw Hugh Jackman at a traffic light one time but also that could have been a normal person.
Weirdest place you’ve ever performed any form of comedy:
A lady flew me from Melbourne to Rome to do a twenty minute set at her wedding. It was in an ancient grainery an hour outside Rome, there was a seven course dinner and a jazz trio flown in from New Orleans. That was wild.
A Sashi Perera Fun Fact:
I used to be a refugee lawyer and now I tell jokes for a living.
Where would you like your laughs to take you:
I want to make a decent income to show my family that telling jokes full time is a viable career pathway – is that too lame? Should I say world domination? World domination sounds so very tiring though.
What would you tell a potential comedian if they ask you how they can own the laughs:
Figure out who you want to be on stage. Do you want to be an amplified version of yourself, exactly you or someone completely different? Once you have your persona sorted, everything else will flow from that.
What are your thoughts on the future of comedy:
It’s in great hands, I feel like I’m constantly finding new comedians to love thanks to the internet. I think once you expand the type of people doing comedy, they draw in an audience who may not usually go to live comedy. It’s sharing the love, everyone should laugh as much as possible.
If you could write an episode for ONE classic TV sitcom, which show would it be:
I would love to write an episode of Friends – The One Where They Learn Healthy Boundaries.
If you could choose ONE comedy club and THREE comedians to perform with on your perfect comedy show, how would it go:
Comedy Republic. Ali Wong, Sara Pascoe, & Sindhu Vee. It’d be so embarrassing because I wouldn’t be able to get any words out, I’d be in too much awe.
What’s next for you:
I’m about to start the UK leg of my tour and I’m absolutely shitting myself.
Why should a person always laugh at life:
How can you not? Can things get any more ridiculous? We’re the top species on the planet and we’re all out here trying to guess the passwords we’ve made for ourselves. It’s beyond funny.
Follow Sashi Perera’s comedic journey on these social media websites:
Instagram/Twitter/Facebook/Snapchat/Tik-Tok: Sashi Perera
Youtube: Sashi Perera
Personal Website: Sashi Perera
