Today’s Q&Aer is Mary Beth Barone

What’s the best bit of advice you’ve ever been given from a seasoned comic?

‘Get your ass up and work’: Kim Kardashian.

And what has proved to be the least useful?

I was told early on to stop dressing in a revealing way because it was distracting from the jokes. But I think it helps because then if there’s straight men watching who don’t find women funny, they can still enjoy my performance. 

Is there one thing that keeps cropping up when people talk to you about Edinburgh in August?

People keep calling it a boot camp. That’ll be fun for me because I’ve never been to camp.

What’s your favourite word that begins in ‘e’?

‘Egg’.

Is there one act you absolutely HAVE to see in August?

Yes, I absolutely have to see Leo Reich. My boyfriend and I both snogged him on the dance floor one night at Freedom Bar in Soho. Now we’re bound for life (even though he famously came to New York for two days and didn’t text me. But that’s in the past).

I have an extremely monotone voice so was doing deadpan well before comedy

Picture yourself in early September: what would constitute a successful Fringe for you?

The Oscars adds a new category for best Fringe show and I win!

What percentage of your early stand-up performances is likely to appear in your Fringe debut?

It depends how you look at it. From my early stand-up, maybe none; but there are multimedia elements from when I was a kid/teenager. In some ways, I’ve been a comedian since childhood.

Which other new comedian do you feel a special kinship with? And do you reckon it’s reciprocated?

Benito Skinner and I have a special kinship. Everyone asks if we’re siblings which is funny because we actually are lovers.

Which side of your family do you get your funny bones from?

I think it’s an even split between my mom and my dad’s side. My dad has very dry humour which I got from him. I have an extremely monotone voice so I was doing deadpan well before comedy; just in my everyday life without knowing it. My mom comes from a family of seven siblings and I have five siblings so all the goofy chaos comes from that side.

What will you do to keep fit and healthy (relatively speaking) during August?

Drink lots of water and get lots of sleep. I’m totally obsessed with sleep.

Which word of six letters or more will crop up the most in your Edinburgh show?

It’s going to be a three-way tie between ‘model’, ‘actress’ and ‘singer’ (‘model’ is five letters but felt wrong to leave it out).

Mary Beth Barone: Silly Little Girl, Pleasance Courtyard, 3–28 August, 8.30pm.