June Comedian of the Month #48, Pippa Evans
An improviser and singer, Pippa Evans is an enigmatic figure on stage. She knows how to command the space, and her audience. Having said in recent interviews that she sees herself as more of an entertainer than a stand up comedian, this does well for helping us understand just what this performer is.
Evans is perhaps best known for her onstage character, the bordering-on-terrifying American singer Loretta Maine, but also her role in the improv sketch group, Showstopper!, where the cast are tasked with the goal of creating a completely unique, improvised musical from scratch every time they perform.
Pippa Evans
Pippa also co-founded the Sunday Assembly with Sanderson Jones in 2013, a non-religious community space for people to socialise in and contemplate and celebrate life itself. Stressing that it is not an atheist church, this grain of an idea has spread into a vast organisation, with assemblies being held in London, New York, Australia and the Netherlands, to name just a few.
There are talks instead of sermons and pop songs instead of hymns. And what it provides is a safe space for people who want to feel a part of something, which is reminiscent of the very role that stand up comedy plays for many audience members and performers alike. It is clear that Pippa is an advocate of effective communication, and on top of that, she is a sharp comedy writer and a unique musical talent.
For more information, follow Pippa Evans on Twitter, or visit her website.