Jenny Wynter - Comedian, Writer, Keynote Speaker

Obligatory Blog

My very occasionally updated thoughts that need to be expressed, and don't belong elsewhere.

Dec 4, 2012

On Leaving The Kids To Do Comedy (or, “One of my son’s first sentences was ‘Mummy

So next week I’m heading off on my second set of cruise ship gigs. I actually really hate being away from my kids. I love them of course, but I also really like them. I enjoy their company. I love being together. Don’t get me wrong, I also have periods where a little break away is the stuff my dreams are made of, but for the most part, I actually really dislike being apart. Yet sometimes the reality of my career means that we are. I’d love to bring them with me on each and ev

Nov 30, 2012

Writing a New Show Is Scary

Writing a new show is scary. I remember tearing my hair out when I was starting what finally became “An Unexpected Variety Show”, namely cos the whole process was just so damn messy that it left me wondering (more often than not) whether it was EVER going to actually look like anything other than a bunch of disconnected index cards covering the floor. My sister came over yesterday and between dissuading toddlers from swallowing Christmas ornaments, we talked through the new s

Apr 29, 2012

Postcard from Destination Burn Out

My monkey. So apparently I’m the only one who’s surprised by my collapse, physical and emotional, this week. I feel stupid to have not seen it coming, all I can say in my defence is that when it comes to anticipating the inevitable burn out resulting from this mad past few months, I simply did not have time to think about it. A closing night celebration with some of the Unexpected crew and friends! With 2012 thus far comprising not one, but three trips to Adelaide, including

Mar 7, 2012

Adelaide Fringe Festival Tour Diary: A Personal Lifetime Highlight

Backstage before the show. Not much comedy in this post, but I just want to share it for what it is. Anybody who has seen “An Unexpected Variety Show” will understand why the prospect of having my daughter in the audience for the very first time was one that filled me with a plethora of emotions, from anxiety to sappiness and just about everything in between. Despite feeling incredibly tense onstage for the first half of the show (despite my suggestions that a side seat might

Feb 28, 2012

Adelaide Fringe Festival Tour Diary: Bad News and Caring Too Much

Trying my hand at "Skee Pong" on set with Jason Chong at Festival Fishbowl As I was heading into the Light Hotel this avo to get ready for my show, I heard some news that rocked me. A family member – a distant family member, but one whom I have extremely positive memories of from childhood – died. I was so shocked, not just by the news itself, but also by how very upset I felt about it. And selfishly, I was also more than a little worried about being cool by the time the curt

Feb 7, 2012

47 Gigs in One Month: The Adelaide Fringe Adventure Approaches

Working, performing and eating cheese. Pretty much sums up today. AND…having a mild freak out upon going through my schedule for Adelaide Fringe Festival, which at the moment of me typing this, stands at 47 gigs in three and a bit weeks. FORTY-FREAKING-SEVEN. I think I’m gonna need some sort of protein supplement to get through this. Or at least somebody to hurl Gatorade down my throat at regular intervals. You’re with me, right? I’ll blog the entire adventure if you’ll occas

Feb 3, 2012

The Kindness of Strangers (or “The WHY Of Performing/Writing/Show Pony-ing”)

Somebody sent me a snippet of their journal page after seeing the show at Melbourne Fringe. This made my freaking week! I want to share with you a couple of encounters with strangers that have really rocked my world of late. The first of these was at Woodford Folk Festival. There I was, popping my head in backstage at The Mystery Bus to double check what time my gig was that day. The greenroom was empty except for one woman. I smiled at her and said something like “Hey! I’m

Dec 1, 2011

2011: MY YEAR IN REVIEW

After a beyond crapola 2010, complete with car accidents, toddlers breaking legs and husbands being hospitalised, I was ready for a pretty damn spectacular 2011. I’m chuffed to see now, that a) it didn’t disappoint; and b) my blog is so incredibly useful in terms of remembering what the heck happened! So here tis. January: – kicked the year off in typical uber-optimist fashion by making a nice juicy and just mildly ambitious set of goals. – made our preps for the flood situat

Nov 8, 2011

Doing Stuff You Love Even When It Hurts

*Image courtesy of TerraBlueArt I am in the midst of an epic transition at the moment, specifically in terms of looking after my health. Have you ever gotten to that point where you’ve just thought: “ENOUGH?!” Well, this week, I have. I have FINALLY pulled my finger out and gone to see a naturopath, and her advice thus far is exactly what the…well, naturopath, ordered. It was pretty freaking amazing. When she did her iridology thang and told me she could see from my iris alon

Oct 5, 2011

Melbourne Fringe: Touring With a Toddler Installment 7: Gaining Perspective

My point of view post-show, waiting for the train home. Today I finally gained the perspective I’ve been looking for. This was in no small part, kicked off by some much-needed physio on my CANING back, followed by a serendipitous stumble into a gorgeous little kiddified cafe nearby on Rathdowne Street. But that was just the start. The real clincher was discovering several pieces of bad news today. As in, REALLY bad news. Not for me personally, but for a few different people i

Jun 28, 2011

Radelaide Cabaret Festival: a brief debrief

Fiona O’Loughlin told me many, many moons ago that her family understood that the first couple of days after she got back home from a festival, she wasn’t really BACK. Night 1: almost certainly take-away. Oh how I get it. As such, just a quick (and mostly pictorial) debrief from my most excellent time in Adelaide. I went with the goal of testing the waters with the show, getting some photos and if I managed to score some nice quotes to pull out of any reviews, that would be a

Mar 29, 2011

Operation Focus! Ideas & Projects for the Coming Year

Small Hands Big Hearts I’m so excited to announce the start of a whole new project – the one I’ve been teasing you about in mild amounts, the one that’s on my bucket list, etc. etc. My sister-in-law and I have started up a new undertaking called ‘Small Hands, Big Hearts‘, focusing on working with our kids to make a difference in the world. We’ve got HUGE dreams for this thing – not the least of which is a not-too-distant trip abroad with the kidlets to do some volunteering, p

Dec 8, 2010

4 Semi-Coherent Thoughts On Keeping Momentum Going

I doubt I'd ever be game, but something deep within me freakin LOVES this. My dear friend (and fellow chaser of the challenging performing/Mummy combination) Alex called me this morning, and asked me something which has since sent my cogs not just turning, but spiralling inwards on themselves in confusion not seen since I exposed the poor darlings to Inception: “How do you keep your momentum going?” I tried to answer, but realised afterwards that what I’d really been talking

Nov 14, 2010

Publicity photos for Gumball Theatre – sneak peak!

My oh my, it’s been one huge weekend. I’ve been in rehearsals since Friday night with my fellow mainstage Gumball Theatre castmates Marc and Greg – they came and stayed the entire weekend so we could improvise our buttocks off, hang out and play handball with various assortments of my children. And…we now have publicity pics! These are hot off the press (or more accurately, off the memory stick) so thought I’d give you guys the first sneak peek! Whaddya think? #impro #Improv

Jul 12, 2010

Interview with Fiona O’Loughlin

Hey guys! Well, I promised you some interviews with faboosh mummies who are chasing – and living – the creative dream, so what the heck? Don’t say I never come through for you! I’m kicking things off with an interview I did a little while back now, with the amazing woman, comedian and mother-of-five, Fiona O’Loughlin. This interview was originally for a book I was putting together on mums rocking the world, a project which I am very much hoping will still come to fruition whe

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