19 July 2023
Jerome Chandrahasen performed his first comedy gig in 2003. In 2004 he won the National Raw Comedy Quest. He has performed in the New Zealand Comedy Festival and in the Edinburgh Fringe as well as acting in every season of Wellington Paranormal. Since 2010 he has led the Humorous Arts Trust (AKA Wellington Comedy) which runs comedy gigs around the country, but with a focus on the capital, and are the organisation behind the Raw Comedy Quest.
I caught up with Jerome mid-way through the heats of this year's Raw Comedy Quest and asked a few questions about the business of being funny.
The Wellington RAW Comedy Quest heats run until 28 July in Te Auaha’s Tapere Iti theatre. Semi-finals will be held 3 and 10 August with the final on 17 August at San Fran. You can purchase tickets here.
What are you looking for in the winner of the Raw Comedy Quest?
I've never judged! We always have other people from the industry and other art forms as judges, I think it's best to have lots of different opinions. The official line is: "The judges will be looking for the X FACTOR, ORIGINALITY, STAGE PRESENCE, CRAFTSMANSHIP, AUDIENCE REACTION and FUNNY!" but everyone interprets that differently. I think that's why Wellington is so successful at a national level, there's always a little bit of chaos. Previous judges have included Chris Tse (current NZ Poet Laureate), the writer Ashleigh Young, Raybon Kan, artists from the improv community, as well as previous winners.
You’ve been doing this for 20+ years. What are the differences in the stand-up scene now from when you started?
There are so many more avenues for people to get into comedy. From club gigs, to television writing, panel shows, regional tours, some who have built an international audience off TikTok and other social media. There seems to be a greater acceptance of New Zealand as a place of lots of different voices, we're more confident as a culture.
What advice would you give aspiring comedians who haven’t performed before?
The first 20 gigs are just about getting up there. You'll find a community as well, there'll be someone with a similar sense of humour (or a complementary sense of humour) in a green room or audience, and next thing you know you've got a Fringe show together. At the same time, you can always just follow your own path, perform what you find funny and eventually enough people will come along with you, and you're way.
Is there anywhere a comedian just shouldn’t go in terms of content?
If you're being honest with yourself and being honest on stage, you can almost talk about anything. But remember that that performer you've seen on Netflix or TV talking about a controversial topic or opinion has probably got 15-20 years of experience behind them, and there's a good chance they've failed a lot of times before they got there.
Which comedian(s) are your must sees? (in the Quest or outside. Or both…)
Oooof, I'm sure I'll offend someone by leaving them out, a New Zealand Comedy Festival favourite of mine has always got to be James Nokise, one of the sharpest minds in stand up, and I know how hard he's worked over the years to get there. When he's in the zone (which he is at every Festival) he's a joy to watch.
