Out and About

Beekeeping comedian set to perform in Durham this week

Emma Arnold will peform Monday night in Durham's Arcana Bar and Lounge.

Posted Updated
Emma Arnold
By
Tony Castleberry

It is certainly possible for people these days to get familiar with stand-up comedians through social media before seeing them live or hearing their albums.

I first found out about Emma Arnold through Twitter a few years ago when she was touring with fellow stand-up Geoff Tate, and if there is such a thing as a perfectly entertaining and interesting Twitter presence, Arnold has it.

From her handle, @iamaroadtrip, to the bio to the background image (she’s a comedian and a beekeeper!) to her profile picture is fantastic, as are her tweets, which is the most important part of a Twitter feed, I suppose.

As great as Arnold’s Twitter is, she is also an excellent teller of jokes in spoken word form, and she will be proving that with the Yes, Please tour, which starts Monday night in Durham’s Arcana Bar and Lounge.

Durham comedian Lauren Faber is touring with Arnold, and during a Friday afternoon interview, Arnold and I discussed how she and Faber met, why the tour is kicking off in Durham and more.

Enjoy the interview, follow Arnold on Twitter and don’t forget The Best Tweet I Can Find in Five Minutes at the end:
Tony Castleberry: How did Durham make it on your list of cities for this tour?
Emma Arnold: I like doing smaller cities. I feel like people in the not so big cities appreciate the shows more and I live in Boise, Idaho, so it kind of fits my lifestyle too. We were gonna start in New York, but after Lauren and I talked about it, we picked Durham. It just seems like the right place to start since Lauren lives there and I love North Carolina. I’ve been through there a few times and really enjoy it.
TC: I’ve met Lauren and have enjoyed seeing her live a few times. Is she just opening for you in Durham?
EA: She’s gonna be with me for the whole tour. I met Lauren at a comedy festival in Pittsburgh and loved her right away. I’m taking Lauren and Carly Ballerini on this kind of rowdy girls tour. It should be fun.
TC: I may be the 10,000th person to ask you this: Is the title of your album inspired by Amy Poehler’s book, Yes Please?
EA: I didn’t even know that she had a book by that name, but thanks for letting me know because I’m probably gonna get sued.

The name of my album is actually Yes, Plays.

TC: [laughs] Oh, my mistake. We’ll just forget I asked you about this and cut this question, but I really enjoyed Amy’s book and I think you’d like it. I know you don’t have a lot of free time though.
EA: I’ll get the audio book and listen to it during the tour. People have told me that I say “Yes, please” a lot just in conversation and I think that’s a good thing.

It’s a good attitude to have.

TC: I agree. Are you touring the Yes, Please material or telling new jokes?
EA: It’s mostly new material. I’m working on a new hour to record my next album, but I’ve been doing these jokes for a little while now and fine-tuning them for the tour. … I always kind of do a mix of storytelling and comedy so it’s a good way to let the crowd know who I am and what I’m about.

Here it is, The Best Tweet I Can Find in Five Minutes:

Related Topics

 Credits 

Copyright 2024 by Capitol Broadcasting Company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.