Maria Bamford’s Obsessive-Compulsive Comedy

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Photo via Maria Bamford

Maria Bamford and her dog

Maria Bamford and her dog

When I ask Maria Bamford about the throughline connecting her earliest days in stand-up comedy in the late 1990s to her current run of dates—which will bring her to Turner Hall Ballroom on Saturday, March 28 for a 7:30 p.m. show—she references a physical mannerism and what she believes is its pharmaceutical origin. 

“Well, I think I have a tremor, and that makes everything seem like I'm nervous. But I don't feel nervous. I just look like I'm afraid. Ha ha. It's from Depakote, and it's not that interesting,” she says.

But Bamford is plenty interesting, a comic whose stand-up often concerns the obsessive-compulsive disorder and concomitant unwanted thoughts for which she takes the aforementioned medication. And though she may be a role model to some, she's satisfied if audiences receive something at least basic as laughter from her artistry. 

Mental Health Boon

“I hope that it’s been a comfort, like a rabbit’s foot, without taking the foot of a rabbit off of the rabbit," Bamford notes. And though comedy can't replace psychiatric treatment, Bamford's work has been, in a way. a boon for her mental health as well, though it can come with unbidden lecherousness, too. 

Or as she says, “The arts aren't a substitute for meds or human-to-human health care, but that said, an open mic is a free support group with laughs—and a few more sexual references that you might not enjoy." 

One of the many enjoyable aspects of Bamford's comedy is her use of multiple voices. As might be said of any comic doing what they do to amuse themselves and others, her bevy of characters is a technique by which to keep her interested in her material. 

“I need to entertain myself,” Bamford admits, “so that's the challenge: to keep myself from being bored.” Within the same reply, Bamford also speaks of other sources of staving off boredom, including comedian Chris Fleming and the highly interactive contemporary clowning movement. 

Do Your Own SNL

And just as the newfangled mode of clowning can benefit from its practitioners' immersion in improvisational comedy training, Bamford participated in the same kind of classes early on in her comedic upbringing. Her most important takeaway from that study? 

“It's expensive! Do your own sketches! Make your own SNL on your phone. There's no need to pay for anything,” she insists.

Bamford knows that she's privileged to have the professional standing she enjoys and the perks that come with it. Some of the coverage in a recent documentary about her, Paralyzed By Hope, may give some the impression, as it did me, that Bamford is ready to slow down and back off from comedy. That's not quite true, but she does want to see other funny folks receive their due, too. 

“I do see that I've gotten more than enough attention,” she insists, but adds, “I love to keep going, but I think other comics deserve the spotlight.” Among those on whom she would like that light to shine are the native South Milwaukeean who has frequently been her opening act, Jackie Kashian, as well as Laurie Kilmartin, Joyelle Johnson, Susan Ruce, Amy Miller and Jackie Fabulous. As for what Bamford believes is her greatest achievement in over a quarter-century of receiving shine, it's nigh disarmingly personal.

“My friendship with my sister. I stopped doing jokes about her, and now we're best friends.” The next thing she would like to achieve in an already accomplished career? “I'd love to be on a TV show for five lines a week in a wig.” 

From about a year ago, Bamford explains her resemblance to a raccoon, gives an amusingly unsexy description of her and her husband's physical intimacy, claims the sounds of flatulence as some of her favorite music, plies her facility for impersonations and more in a few funny minutes...