Editor’s Note: Read the related story — OH MY GOD SHE’S PARISIAN Review — Our Fast French Friend
Having smiled non-stop during her show— so much so that our cheeks ached!—- it’s almost startling to find comedian Julie Collas speaking in sober terms about anything. A one-time mergers and acquisitions attorney, Julie gave up law after the Bataclan attacks in Paris. Whether you’ve had a similar life is too short moment or not, you too will likely appreciate that Collas’ humor is born and nurtured by her being a person of great depth.
Make a note to see her one-woman show if you travel to Paris. Meanwhile, read this Picture This Post (PTP) conversation with Julie Collas (JC) as a preview.
(PTP) How did your English skills get so advanced?
(JC) I moved to London when I was 10. my father was transferred to England for work. At the time, I didn't realize that we were moving to an island and that there was no Channel Tunnel or Eurostar yet! The only way to get back was to take the ferry!
I ended up at the french lycée, but back then there weren't as many French people living in London as there are today.There were a lot of kids who spoke very good english, and I felt a bit excluded!
What was it like for you to live abroad?
I didn't miss France that much because I was small. I didn't miss it much during my six years in London. But when I went to the United States to study law at Northwestern, I missed France. Not only because I had all my law school friends who had stayed in France, but also because the United States is very different from France. For the first time, I was confronted with a completely different culture, with a nine-hour time difference, which didn't make it easy to talk on the phone to my family!
I really missed France, especially as I'd left my boyfriend in Paris!
I still decided to stay and work in the United States after graduating, and I went to work in New York. I have to say that as much as I loved the city as a tourist, I didn't enjoy my New York experience at all as a salaried employee and city dweller. I found myself alone in an apartment in the East Village, which was old and disgusting, and I was already paying a fortune. Life in New York was expensive, and above all, I was working so much. I found the Americans very competitive at work, and they didn't get on with each other very much, as if it was every man for himself. Then I understood, in New York people live to work, whereas in France people work to live! I missed the café terraces and life in Paris, and my friends and family too. After a year I came back.
Has traveling affected how you build your show or does your material come strictly from being born and bred Parisian?
I like to travel a lot and I traveled a lot when I was young. I visited a large part of the Middle East. I spent three months in Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, and Iraq. I know all the countries of Eastern Europe. I've traveled in Asia. For my show I obviously only draw on my Parisian experience because it's a show centered on the city of Paris. But in my show I speak from two different points of view. I speak from the point of view of the Parisian and I also speak from the point of view of the person who visits Paris. I'm able to understand the point of view of my foreign spectators because I've lived abroad and I think that's what makes all the difference. I have the sensitivity of the foreigner who visits France. I also understand their point of view about us because I have quite a few friends who are expatriates in Paris and who tell me about their experiences, which inspires me.
During your show you are very interactive with the audience, and it seems like how the show unfolds each time somewhat depends on who is in the audience for that performance? Have you ever been surprised by what you unleashed?
A boy proposed to his fiancée on stage once. It was huge. He had planned to do it during the week, and then I don't know what happened—he decided to do it on stage! At first I thought it was a joke, but then it wasn't! Some of the girls in the room started crying!
Another time, a Polish guy made his coming out on stage! It was very moving because he had never said it before. He explained to me that in his country it was complicated to be gay, and that he was happy to be able to talk about it here, even though in his country nobody knew. I was very moved.
Or there was even a time when I heard a dog bark. I said ‘is there a dog in the room?’ A guy said "Yes you scared him, he was sleeping . I apologized for disturbing his dog and then invited the guy to come on stage with his dog. I don’t know what happened —but the dog fell in love with my leg. He grabbed it, and made love to it for five minutes. There was nothing we could do, so I did the whole improv act with the dog stuck to my leg. I don’t think people were even listening to me! They were all watching the dog and laughing our loud!
The funniest moment I can remember is when a guy told me he was in love with me; and I said how is that possible because you don’t know me! And he said of course I know you, I follow you on instagram!!! The audience was laughing so much that I managed to transform it into a funny moment!
It was a funny moment but it was also disturbing because you cannot fall in love with someone you don’t know! We are still goof friends on Instagram now, and he found an Australian girlfriend!
Another funny moment was when I asked a guy where he was coming from and who he was coming with to the show. He introduced me to his three different lovers. It was an amazing moment because I thought he was making fun of me. But actually, he explained that he was polyamorous.
There was also a memorable time when a guy in the audience asked me if he could do his three minutes sketch because he wanted to become famous! I said yes— and the guy was very funny and hopefully it was a great moment for him!
I love those moments, they are so unexpected and magical!
What have your friends and family said to you about your show?
At first when I decided to quit law they — my mum and dad—were not happy. The rest of my family was very surprised, in a bad way. They thought I was fooling around, and that it was a temporary existential crisis and that eventually I’d get back to my true self. That's why I hid the truth from them until the last moment. I invited them to the show ten days before the premiere and then I ended up saying that i'd resigned from my job. They were scared and today i understand their reaction because being a stand-up comedian is a complicated profession where few people make a living.
Today, my parents come to see me once a year and each time they tell me that I'm getting better. They laugh a lot, but my mother still doesn't understand how I can go so far in what I say on stage. no matter how hard I try to explain to her that it's "another me" on stage. She just doesn't get it! Things were different with my father.
After my theater premiere my father stood up to applaud and said "she's made for this job!”.
So growing up, did your family and everyone else you knew describe you as the funniest person in the room?
At school, I was a bit of a clown, but mostly I chatted a lot. As I got older, I started to play the clown, but I don’t think I’m the stereotypic comedian who may not have self-confidence, and they think that they need to be funny to be loved, and they have to be the funniest, which isn't true. It can hide a real lack of self-esteem. For example, people who monopolize everyone's attention by talking louder than anyone else tend to irritate me, but I understand that behind this posture there's a wounded child hiding. However, in my family—Yes, I was quite funny. Actually I was a performer. They called me "the little reciter" because I learned tons of poems by heart and I would ask to read them to people.
In everyday life I'm pretty calm. But also— I’m in love with people, and watching and listening to them fascinates me!
To my audiences I want to say—
Thank you for all the magical moments I spend every week end with the spectators.
I know that the people who come have made a real effort to find me and are curious and openminded. I hope that one day, I become the equivalent of the Moulin-Rouge when it comes to stand-up comedy in Paris!
OH MY GOD SHE"S PARISIAN- is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED BY PICTURE THIS POST.
Read the full review --
OH MY GOD SHE’S PARISIAN Review — Our Fast French Friend
For more information and tickets visit the OH MY GOD SHE'S PARISIAN website.
Images courtesy of OH MY GOD SHE'S PARISIAN and Julie Collas.
About the Author: Amy Munice
Amy Munice is Editor-in-Chief and Co-Publisher of Picture This Post. She covers books, dance, film, theater, music, museums and travel. Prior to founding Picture This Post, Amy was a freelance writer and global PR specialist for decades—writing and ghostwriting thousands of articles and promotional communications on a wide range of technical and not-so-technical topics.
