Three Questions

Sydney Morning Herald

Thursday January 8, 2009

Yasmine Fathy

What are the disadvantages of a 10-octave vocal range?

The main disadvantage is that most humans can't hear the upper three octaves but it does seem to affect other species of mammals and marsupials, which gives me some satisfaction.

What is music comedy?

It is comedy which employs elements of music to enhance the characteristics of language such as timing, tone, texture, melody and dynamics in order to subvert the seriousness of the many issues concerning humanity today.

Your shows include 300 characters - how do you make them up?

Each one is constructed by hand for several hours using the best of old world character craftsmanship and modern cutting-edge theatrical techniques. I keep a log of all the characters I come across and run them through this process. It's not perfect, but I think the work comes across on stage. My goal is to break the world record of 336. I think the magic and mystery of Sydney might put my number over the edge.

Reggie Watts performs at the Bosco Theatre in Hyde Park from January 20-25 and 27-31, as part of the Sydney Festival.

© 2009 Sydney Morning Herald

Back to News Index | Back to Home