Paula Poundstone Shares Her Struggle Leaving the Stage

Stand-up comedy legend Paula Poundstone is coming to the Ridgefield Playhouse this Saturday night on July 13, 2024. We had a chance to speak with Paula ahead of her Connecticut gig, touching on topics from her comedy roots on a Greyhound bus to the worms that keep her company. Here are some highlights from the I-95 Morning Show interview.

Lou: I want to go all the way back to how you started. When you left Massachusetts in the late 70s, you took a Greyhound bus across the country doing open-mic nights wherever you could find them. Was there any anxiety with this big life change? Was it ever scary?

Paula: “Sometimes but mostly I really liked it, but there were times when it was a little scary. One night, I was in Canada somewhere—I forget where now—and when I arrived at the place four hours later, there was no station. So, it’s the middle of the night and I’m just outside in the dark waiting for the bus to return, and I saw this light way off in the distance. It kept coming towards me, and it was a person with a flashlight. It kept coming towards me, and I was certain I was going to be attacked in the middle of the night. So, I took out a little teeny Swiss Army knife—the smallest kind that really can’t cut anything at all—and just sat with it there. Finally, I realized it was a person coming to the bus stop. It had zero to do with me; they were just coming to the bus stop. It would be good if I didn’t plunge a half-inch blade into them when they got there.”

Ethan: I’ve seen you at the Ridgefield Playhouse a couple of times and correct me if I’m wrong, you were on stage for about two, two and a half hours. I thought someone was going to come out and say, OK Paula, let’s wrap it up!

Paula: “Whether or not I would have responded to that I don’t know. It took me years to figure out to ask the theater to put a clock on-stage somewhere where I could see it because I can’t tell time on-stage. A, I have a job that is the most fun job in the world, and once I am up and going, it’s kind of a world unto itself and I just can’t tell time. What often used to happen, perhaps it still does, is that I would get talking to the crowd and eventually people have homes and families that they need to return to. Eventually, the crowd gets kind of worn out, and their energy starts to wane a little bit. You know, I’m still having a great time. As a performer, I mean, I think the show works best if I leave first.”

Get your tickets now to see Paula Poundstone at the Ridgefield Playhouse.

You can listen to our complete two-part interview with Paula Poundstone below.

Part 1 – Paula told us all about her worm farm, yes, worm farm. We also learned about the impact Robin Williams had on her early years in comedy.

Part 2 – Paula explains how her relationship developed with NPR’s “Wait, wait, don’t tell me.” Poundstone also discussed how she made history as the first woman to ever host the White House Correspondent’s Dinner.

Check out the Ethan, Lou & Large Dave Podcast on Apple and Spotify.

Source: WRKI, Getty Images