TV comedian heads to Durham

Martha Kelly's joke writing stands on its own, but her joke delivery is what I found perhaps even more memorable when I saw her live at Dead Crow Comedy Room in Wilmington two years ago.

Posted 3:08 p.m. Aug 30, 2018 — Updated 3:08 p.m. Aug 30, 2018

Tony Castleberry

Martha Kelly’s joke writing stands on its own, but her joke delivery is what I found perhaps even more memorable when I saw her live at Dead Crow Comedy Room in Wilmington two years ago. It speaks to Kelly’s singular nature as a performer that I distinctly remember something she did after a few of her jokes that night in addition to the jokes themselves.

Her Port City visit is Kelly’s only North Carolina appearance, but that will change this week when her No Refunds Tour makes stops in Asheville on Friday and at Durham’s Motorco Music Hall on Sunday.

During a Wednesday afternoon phone interview, Kelly -- who co-stars with Zach Galifianakis and Louie Anderson in the critically-acclaimed TV show Baskets -- and I discussed what I found unforgettable about her previous N.C. show, her approach to talking about her alcoholism and sobriety on stage and more.

Enjoy the interview, follow Kelly on Twitter -- her Twitter bio is tough to beat -- and don’t forget The Best Tweet I Can Find in Five Minutes at the end.

Tony Castleberry: I saw you at Dead Crow Comedy Room in Wilmington the last time you were here and I loved how a few times, you’d deliver a punchline, then look down and shake your head, almost like you were embarrassed at telling the joke or something like that. Is that natural or something you do for effect?

Either way, I thought it showed vulnerability and the punchlines maybe even landed a little better because of it.

Martha Kelly: I do it, probably, compulsively. Absolutely, some jokes, I feel like are really dumb. [interviewer laughs] Also, I know if I’m embarrassed after a punchline, I’ll call it dumb. Even though that is honestly how I feel, it’s a little bit like cheating at stand-up. It’s sort of like covering your bases, I guess.

Now I have even more jokes that I think are dumb than I had two years ago in Wilmington. It should be fun.

TC: There’s really no time to rest on this tour. You guys have shows almost every night. Do you need a good night’s sleep to feel your best or are you able to run on empty?

MK: I actually have been getting a lot of sleep because I don’t party at all after shows. Even though we’ve had shows almost every night, each city that we went to was pretty close together. It wasn’t like we had to get up early and drive all day to make the next show. We check out of the hotel between 12 and 1 and then just drive a couple hours and check into the next hotel and then have a little time before that night’s show. I think Pat and Avery, who are quite a bit younger than me, party after shows on nights off, but it still isn’t like we’re having to get up super early.

It’s been fine.

TC: It’s smart to schedule it that way. You talked about your alcoholism and sobriety when I saw your set in Wilmington. Was it tough to talk about that on stage or do you think a part of you wanted to share it?

MK: I definitely would say I’m inclined to overshare. I don’t care who knows. [Kelly, interviewer laugh]

It’s actually harder not to talk about it. Like, in (Alcoholics Anonymous), one of the traditions is that we remain anonymous at the level of press, radio and film. When I was really new (in sobriety), I wasn’t going to AA. I was just kind of white-knuckling it. Then when I was new in AA, I still didn’t know that much about the traditions so I didn’t think it mattered if you said on stage that you were in AA.

Now, I don’t say that. It’s not like it’s a bad thing.

It’s more of like...sometimes people talk publicly about being in AA, and if they relapse, the concern is that some alcoholic or addict out there might see that and think, “Well look, that doesn’t work so why even bother?” So I don’t really talk about being in AA on stage, but I talk about being sober. I don’t think it’s a big deal. I think it was actually more embarrassing before I got sober and would go on stage drunk thinking that people couldn’t tell.

TC: [laughs] Yes! That’s so true. I think about all the things I thought I was getting away with while I was drinking (the author turned two years sober in June) and I talk to people years later and they’re like, “Oh, no. We knew the whole time that you were wasted. You weren’t hiding that from anybody.” That is quite an eye opener.

MK: Yeah, for sure but congratulations on the two years. That’s really awesome. The hardest part is in the beginning.

TC: I totally agree. In fact, I think the second year might have been tougher for me, or at least I felt tempted to drink more, in the second year. I wouldn’t change a thing though. Life is so much better.

I’m guessing you’ve enjoyed performing in North Carolina, at least enough to come back for shows. Are you looking forward to the shows in N.C.?

MK: The only place I performed (in North Carolina) was at Dead Crow in Wilmington and I did think those shows were really fun. Also, the comics that I worked with were really great. I had a really good time there.

I’ve heard that Asheville and Durham are awesome towns. I’ve never been to either one, but I’m really excited about it.

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

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