Could you first introduce yourself to the reader?
My name is Sean Patton. I am a comedian from New Orleans now living in New York city. I am returning to Edinburgh since my debut in 2017. My excitement to return to the fringe is matched by the lunacy of my show.
How would you describe your show?
In this modern world, we’re all on the verge of going mad. I aim to show you how to do it the right way. Through tales of Easter sex, sleep apnea, being punched by my mother, cocaine preference, Jesus Christ, and a real slick prick named Paulo, I will demonstrate how NOT to go about your days. After hearing about my flaws and the mistakes I’ve made, you will understand how to better exist in these insane times. Life never gets easier, we just get better at living.
Why do you want to perform at Edinburgh Festival Fringe?
The Edinburgh Fringe is the truth. The frontier of performance art. There, your ideas either get it together and mature into well rounded concepts or crumble and spiral into opioid addicted sob stories. And you, the creator of the ideas, have to live with that! The pressure is insane! So why WOULDN’T one want to perform at the Edinburgh Fringe?
What differentiates it from other festivals?
The fact that it’s the OG. 72 years and counting. There are other festivals, and other fringes, but this is where it all started.
What first motivated you to enter the industry? Who were your inspirations?
Being a raving buffoon for the enjoyment of others is all I’ve ever been good at. Making people laugh at my gaping flaws in a way that makes them feel better about accepting their own is all I care to or can do. I was and am my own inspiration. Because I am the only one who cared enough to push me.
If you didn’t have your current job, what would you probably be doing?
An Undercover therapist. Basically, the patient’s friends and/or family would hire me to psychoanalyze said patient without them knowing. I would approach them say, at a bar, at become their favourite drinking buddy. They’d of course divulge their deepest, darkest secrets, as well as their most embarrassing anxieties. Once I’d made my diagnosis, I present it to their friends and/or family, then disappear from the patient’s life forever. They’d probably then need to see a real therapist to cope with the depression of losing their favourite drinking buddy though.
If you could have any job in the world, what would it be?
President of the United States of America. At this point, I’m now just as qualified as the current one. I certainly tweet less.
What is your earliest childhood art memory?
It was the late summer, on a Sunday afternoon. I was 7. There were two other boys, 9 and 10. We were atop this tree house in a park. They told me the ladder to get down was cursed now and the only way down was to jump over the side. I could see the ladder behind them. It looked as normal as it did when I climbed it, but now the older boys were saying I had to jump... Oh, childhood ART memory! Let’s see...
I was 11. My parents forgot to pick me up from school one day, so I walked home. Along the way I stopped and watched a very large, very tattooed man named Terry carve a swan out of a giant block of ice with a chainsaw. When he finished, a very angry, older man poked his head out of the nearby stop n’ shop and shouted “Terry! You was supposed to carve a damn dolphin!”.
I never found out why Terry was carving animals out of ice, but I’m glad he messed up, because that swan was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen.
Do you ever feel any pressure to be a social commentator, or constantly update material to respond to events?
Onstage I talk about my life through my experiences. My experiences vary, as do the topics of my material. If those experiences include socio-political issues, current events, or mind-numbing flatulence, then that is what I write about.
Equally, do you think there has been a shift in public sentiment that has affected your work?
Public sentiment will always shift. You must work to affect it.
Describe the last year in 5 words or less?
Laissez Les Bon Temps Rouler
If you could work with anybody, from any point in history, who would you pick and why?
I wouldn’t wanna work with anyone from the past. In this hypothetical scenario, I’d far rather work with someone from the future. Just an average Joe or plain Jane from the year 2039. I would pick their brain to prepare for the shitstorm we’re brewing.
What advice would you give to someone who wants to take a show up to the fringe?
Just do it. You’ll never have enough money or experience to do Edinburgh until you actually DO EDINBURGH. You have a show? You believe in it? People tell you you’re crazy for wanting to do the fringe? Good! Those are the three major requirements, and the only ones that matter.
When and where can people see your show?
Gilded Balloon. The Balcony. 19:45. July 31-August 26
And where can people find, follow and like you online?
www.meseanpatton.com www.instagram.com/mrseanpatton
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