Melbourne based comedian Emily Tresidder says she was feeling disenchanted by the comedy scene when she decided to take an indefinite hiatus from performing. “[Comedy] feels like a bros club, it’s alienating if you aren’t accepted by the club.” she tells Magazine 6000.
Despite performing some of the “best shows” of her life on a tour of Malaysia, Emily says she was grappling with the narrow perceptions of women in the industry.
“As a woman in comedy I felt pigeonholed into talking about things like periods… I often had people coming up to me after my shows to tell me that I’m “funny for a woman”.”
Emily soon realised a break from her career in comedy was necessary to revaluate if it was still right for her, “I needed to figure out how comedy slotted into my life.”
A trip from Vietnam to Iceland would provide the perfect opportunity to take time off. However, Emily didn’t want to make this any ordinary ‘holiday’ and set herself the ambitious goal to make this journey all without travelling by plane!
Emily Tresidder performing Where’d You Go?
Her return to Australia was unfortunately less exciting as she headed into lockdown in Melbourne. Things didn’t stay boring for long, however, as Emily landed a new job hosting her own radio show on JOY 94.9FM.
Emily says working as a radio host along with the lack of in-person interaction (with people other than her housemates) started to inspire a “craving to reconnect” with audiences in real life.
From the confines of her bedroom, over several months, Emily busied herself writing what would become her return show ‘Where’d You Go?’. She says the writing felt more personal than ever, “It’s my most me show”.
The show would become a culmination of Emily’s experiences as a woman in comedy and the journey she went on in the pursuit of happiness and rediscovering self-acceptance.
Eventually ending her comedy hiatus after two years, Emily made her return to the stage with her new show and a new outlook on the industry, “I feel like the weight of external pressure is off. I care less now and put myself at the centre of my comedy. I’m doing comedy for myself.”
Having played in both Melbourne and Adelaide, Emily says ‘Where’d You Go?’ has received the best feedback she’s ever had and attributes its success to the show’s personal content and wide audience appeal. “This show is for everyone. It’s a feel-good show.” she describes.
Now it’s Perth’s turn to get a taste of the show audiences have been raving about with Emily bringing ‘Where’d You Go?’ to the Perth Fringe Festival from Feb 5-9, performing at Four5Nine Bar.
So, you might be wondering if she was triumphant in making her trip from Vietnam to Iceland without flying? Emily says we’ll have to come to the show to see whether she achieved that goal or not. But she does reveal that the show will certainly be, “An adventure without leaving your seat.”