Dušan Tomić - Dule is a stand-up comedian, improviser, animator, interpreter, mime and theater technician. He is a multi-tasker who makes us laugh to tears. For several years in a row, he has performed at Panč, the stand-up festival, and at performances throughout Slovenia. He skilfully shows us a mirror of the current state of society, makes us laugh and makes us think. His jokes are not on the first ball and it is the latter that gives him his own stamp of originality.
What set of circumstances had to happen for you to become a stand up comedian?
I was always interested in different things. I have always been and still am open to new experiences. So, a few years ago, I was randomly pushed on stage to try this new thing in our country, "stand up", which has been done abroad for a very long time. And I've been in these waters ever since.
Stand up is different from improvisational theatre. How?
The biggest difference is that you prepare according to a script for a stand-up performance. You write your jokes before the performance, think about how you will tell them, where you will pause, where the punch will be. When improvising, you need to react faster, have a lot of associations and adapt to your teammates in order to create a good performance. In stand-up, you adapt only to the audience, your only partner/teammate at the performance.
What suits you better and why?
I like both very much. But I'm still learning, especially how to relax on stage. This is my biggest challenge. When improvising, I research the play on stage, because there is a lot of it. That's why I prefer stand-up comedy, where I can relax more easily. Knowledge of theatrical improvisation within a stand-up performance often helps me. When connecting between topics, interacting with the audience, delivering jokes…
You also work as a technician in the Spanish fighters. Do you prefer being on stage or working backstage?
Hah… We all prefer to be in the foreground. But it is very interesting and also instructive to observe the performances from another point of view.
Does this technical experience also help with performances?
Of course. If my microphone stops working on stage, I start yelling at the top of my voice!
In stand-up, you adapt only to the audience, your only partner/teammate at the performance.
How do you come up with a joke? What is the process?
Hard to say. Very difficult. Sometimes you just blurt out something in society, on your own... It often happens that you write what you see, your thinking at a given moment, on some old coffee bill in a bar or from a store, just so that the idea doesn't sink into oblivion. Then there are hours and hours of filing this idea, which sometimes works on stage, sometimes it doesn't. The only thing that matters is that you always try to make the joke as good as possible.
What do you think about right before you step on stage?
That whatever happens will be good and everything will be as it should be. Then I think of a wide-smiling Roma with a guitar and gold teeth humming my favorite serenade. This scene always calms me down.
What performance in particular stuck in your memory and why?
At my first performance at Panč in 2010, my microphone stopped working right before the end. Confused, I didn't know what to do and shouted my punch line, which was still relevant at the time; Hilda Tovšak! I got a huge round of applause. At that time, many comedians sincerely congratulated me. Today, they sometimes ask me for some advice.
Do you have any advice for aspiring comedians who are just thinking about trying their hand at stand-up?
The only rule and the only guide is simply force. You have to make people laugh! If you follow this you are on the right track.
Where can we see you in the future?
I perform all over Slovenia. In Ljubljana, you can see me at Panč on August 23, i.e. the day before August 22. and I will perform in Ribnica with Lucija Čirović. For all other performances, you can visit mine Facebook profile or a website Laughter Guild.
More information: www.cehzasmeh.si/
