INTERVIEW – “I Sought It Out” Her.ie Catches Up With Comedienne Luisa Omielan Ahead Of Her Vodafone Comedy Festival Gig

Last week, we were lucky enough to catch up with Luisa Omielan ahead of her gigs here on the 27th and the 28th of July for the Vodafone Comedy Festival. Luisa is a literally a class act, tipped as one of the most original newcomers to the comedy scene, her show What Would Beyonce Do? has become hugely popular in a short space of time.

The comedienne, who once speed-dated in a wedding dress, was on the phone in sunny Brighton when we caught up her, a fact we were just a little jealous of, but we soon had an instant connection. "You don't realise how fat you are until you try and get into summer clothes, do you?" That is just a fact...

We got to chatting about how Luisa about how she became involved in the comedy industry: "I always loved it, being funny and I was always the class clown. Then about five years ago I got involved in the Fringe Festival in Edinburgh and I have done about 10 shows there over the years. I was so nervous nobody would come along but it was so exciting to be on stage and really rewarding."

Luisa graduated from in Performing Arts with a straight 1st from Salford University in 2005 and then went on to Chicago to study at Second City, Improv Olympic and Comedy Sports Theatre. When she returned she began working on comedy workshops: "I've actually been so busy lately that I haven't had a chance to run those workshops but I did run them for a while. I love improv so I really want to get back into that, I've just been so busy with the show."

The topic of course then turned to Luisa's hugely popular show What Would Beyonce Do? which has now taken on a life of its own: "I got the idea for the show when I was about 28. I had just broken up with my boyfriend and had moved back in with my mom. I just thought, you will never Beyonce but what would Beyonce do? It's all about channeling Beyonce."

"I don't like the idea of the audience getting bored so every now and again I play a Beyonce song! It's kind of like a musical."

Part of the reason it is so easy to identify with Luisa is due to how humble she is about her success: "It was completely accidental, you know. It has been so succesful and it's just phenomonal. I feel like the show is magic and has become its own entity."

We couldn't let the opportunity of talking to a comedienne about how she feels about the amount of women working in comedy pass us by, comedy is certainly an area that is dominated to a certain extent by men: "I think it's that women don't think it is as accessible as it is! There are loads of funny women, you go out every weekend and hang out with funny women, they must be funny or you wouldn't be hanging out with them! I sought it out, I really wanted to do stand up and I wanted to be funny. I think other women can do that, they just don't know how accessible it is."

Luisa will be in Dubliin as part of the Vodafone Comedy Festival on the 27th and the 28th of July. She was hugely excited about it: "I did a small show as part of a friend's wedding but this is my first real time playing in Ireland. I'm so excited about it!"

We will definitely be there. For more info on tickets, log on to Vodafone Comedy Festival.

COMPETITION - Her.ie have 5 pairs of tickets to go and see the wonderful Luisa Omielan! All you have to do is mail us your details to info@her.ie and the first 5 names we receive will get to go along on Saturday 27th of July!