The Jester Interview: April Brucker

New York-based stand-up comedian April Brucker is following in the footsteps of Jeff Dunham in keeping ventriloquism contemporary with her character, May, who never hesitates to flirt with audiences and make shameless passes at guys she deems “hot.” [for a sample, check out her appearance on the Rachel Ray show here]. But Brucker, who grew up in Pittsburgh and began doing stand-up in New York in 2004, is not only a ventriloquist, with a repertoire of self-deprecating stand-up that draws on her past addictions and tumultuous love life. She has also appeared in online shorts and shows including The Ricky Star Show and on DailyComedy.com. And as Jester found out in this interview, her take-no-prisoners stage personality can overflow into the real world as she got into some static with another patron in the diner during the chat. But we don’t judge -- and don’t forget, one of Brucker’s regular gigs is leading an open mike night for aspiring comics at the unlikely venue of Maui Taco on 5th Avenue near the Empire State Building.

Jester: How often are you out performing?
April Brucker: Just about every night. I’m an ex-addict and my substance is no longer booze, pills or food. It’s now stage time. I’m addicted to getting on stage. Sometimes I get up anywhere from three to six times a week. I will go anywhere for stage time. People always ask me where I do shows and I say, ‘Anywhere they give my white ass a stage,’ which is the truth, the honest-to-god truth. I’m [often] at Sheba Mason’s room at Joe Franklin’s. I always love doing Sheba’s shows. She’s the hardest worker in stand-up. She’s one of them. She doesn’t get the street cred she deserves. I’ve moved to guest spots at the Underground Lounge, which means I’m moving up on the ladder because I’ve done some television. I go anywhere they will give my white ass a stage, anytime, whether I fly gracefully or tank like a dead fish.

J: What lengths of time do you usually get?
AB: It depends. I’m at the point in my comedy career where I’m no longer at ‘bitch’ level where I have to bring [an audience] or bark, but I’m not on Letterman, obviously. I’m in the middle level. Because I’m very visibly on the radar, I’m on for guest spots or to emcee. That actually makes me have to fight harder for stage time, because I’m not bringing or barking which guarantees stage time, and I’m not on Letterman, so I can’t demand it. So I get whatever time I can get. I’ve done a half-hour, I’ve done an hour, I’ve done five minutes -- usually in the city it’s five to seven minutes, but on special occasions I do a half-hour or hour. I can go all night. Whether or not it will be good is a different story.

J: How did you get into doing stand-up?
AB: I screwed up everything else in my life.

J: Did you have any performing background?
AB: I’ve been acting since I was 13 and as for the ventriloquism, I got into that by accident.

J: How did that happen?
AB: I was watching an Edgar Bergen TV special and I was with my family. They were all trying to talk like him and I was the only one who could do it. So my mom gave me a dummy for Christmas and off I went. I started doing shows for Alzheimer’s patients which was pretty funny because they thought my dummy was real. Then I did a show for kids. I opened for David Newell who was Mr. McFeely on Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. I used to do a bunch of shows around my hometown. I was in all of my school plays and had a TV show on the public access station, so I was something else in my town. Everybody thought that I was a star.

So I came to New York and I wasn’t a star. I was the farthest thing from a star. I was put on academic probation my first year at NYU’s drama program. I was kicked out of the studio that I was in. My roommate hated me. I had roommate problems. I couldn’t get a date. I was struggling real hard with my weight. I was depressed and wanted to leave school and leave New York. I had nothing going for me. It seemed like all the girls in my classes were either really big sluts or goody two-shoes. I didn’t like the big sluts because they were just big sluts and no one likes a big slut. But I didn’t like the goody two-shoes because they were just annoying. So I didn’t fit, didn’t have any friends. I tried smoking. I hate cigarettes.

I was walking home one night from somewhere and it was raining and someone barked me into a comedy show that was free for students and I thought I could get out of the rain. People always told me I should try stand-up and I saw it and thought I would do it. So now that’s where I’m at. I didn’t leave New York. That’s how I got into it. It was all an accident. Stand-up is not an art form you choose. It chooses you.

J: How did you create May’s character?
AB: May is based on two people. One is a girl I didn’t like in high school. She was real nasty to me and real shallow and I always wanted to deck her, but I figured I’d get suspended from school if I did. The other is based on a friend of mine who was always out to marry a rich doctor. That was her plan. We used to have this little clique called “The Erins.” She was a cheerleader and I love her. Everybody loved Erin. That’s who May is also based on. I just put those two together. The parts of May that I love are Erin, but the really shallow parts are the girl that I hated. May is so the opposite of me. Even at the height of my partying and drinking, I was never a party animal. I’d have a drink to get to sleep. I never drank to -- maybe to loosen me up with a guy, but it was never ‘Hey, let’s party, let’s go to the club, the VIP room, and meet a rich guy.’ That wasn’t me. I wasn’t the shallow type.

May is so the opposite of who I am. I’m very angry and insightful. May is very oblivious. She’s very happy and will do anything to get to the top. I just give up. Screw it. … If Everest gets too cold, I go down. May will get her sugar daddy to give her a ride. That’s the difference. And she always has sugar daddies. I don’t. May is the girl that would never date the guys April does, because my guys are broke, homeless, have drug problems. May’s guys don’t have drug problems because they’re old. They have money. The only [young] guys she likes are rappers because they don’t live as long as dirty old men.

J: Do you always use May in your stand-up?
AB: It depends. Some places like the ventriloquism and some places don’t want it. Some places say they’re strictly stand-up. That’s fine. Other places say the ventriloquism is so cool and they need it. I can do both. I enjoy doing both. People ask if I like one more than the other and the answer is no. Sometimes I love my partner, and sometimes I love being me, by myself, because when I’m by myself, I can tell a story or just talk. I can be April and don’t have to depend on a prop. When people say I’m just a prop comic, that’s not true because I can do a regular set of stand-up. But on the other hand, that little puppet can save my ass. I was doing a show in Jersey where I was tanking until I brought her out. I’ve done several shows where they haven’t liked April but they’ve loved May. That little puppet has always had my back. She’s my partner.

J: How do you write your stand-up?
AB: I write what I feel and I write what my experiences are. I write about being a failure when it comes to guys. I always date the wrong kind of guys. I write about the fact that I’ve had some adventures. I write about some of my adventures on the road. I write about my world view. I hate born-again Christians with a passion. I hate evangelicals. I hate Republicans. There’s a place in hell for all of them. I’m very liberal. I’m very pro-gay rights. I have friends from every background. I have a bunch of gay friends. A lot of my friends have had colorful adventures. And I write about how I feel. How I feel is things are obvious to me that I don’t feel are obvious to the rest of the world. Those are my best jokes.

J: Do you have a ‘Scared Straight’ message for kids?
AB: Because of my past? (laughs) Just ‘Scared Straight’ -- or ‘Ladies, get scared straight, because when a woman says she loves you, she means it.’

Continued