Young Regional Artist Fellowship recipient Ethan Andrews debuts his one man show at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival 2018
Ethan Andrews – The Youngest I Am Ever Going To Be
In 2017, Singleton-based stand-up comedian Ethan Andrews was awarded a $10,000 Create NSW Young Regional Artist Fellowship. Through the fellowship Ethan pursued a career-changing creative skills development programme, including a mentorship with leading Australian comedian and producer Karl Chandler.
Off the back of the fellowship Ethan makes his debut at the 2018 Melbourne International Comedy Festival with his latest self-produced one-man show, The Youngest I Am Ever Going To Be.
What has been the most momentous and/or unexpected opportunity your Young Regional Artist Fellowship scholarship has opened up for your career as a comedian so far?
The Young Regional Artist Fellowship has really opened up my eyes to the world of grants and scholarships. Since being awarded my scholarship I have gone on to apply for other scholarships for community projects like festivals, and can see myself continuing to do so throughout the rest of my career.
How has the Young Regional Artist Fellowship scholarship changed you as a self-represented comedian?
Funding has definitely taken the financial pressure off things for now. I mean, just living in Melbourne for the duration of the festival is expensive. Add room hire, festival registration and marketing on top of that and you’ve got quite a bill. I’m lucky with the Create NSW Young Regional Artist Fellowship because ending up in debt isn’t as much of a concern, which really lets me focus on just performing. That financial breathing room has also let me take a look at my future and plot a bit of a trajectory for the next few years.
What advice would you give to potential applicants to the fund?
Do your research before applying. I reached out to previous recipients who very generously passed along their applications for me to look at. When it comes to formatting, budgeting and even just the language of grants, seeing an example can be really helpful. I would also encourage everyone to speak with an arts organisation about getting a letter of support. They’ll probably offer to go over your draft application too (and if they don’t, you should politely ask them if they wouldn’t mind). Organisations deal with [practitioners] every other day so their feedback will probably be very useful.
What made you want to write your latest one-man comedy show The Youngest I Am Ever Going To Be?
Writing your own show is something that I think every comedian is always working towards. An hour-long slot in a festival is to comedians what an album is to musicians. Coming here to perform feels like a big step in. I wanted to tell the story of The Youngest I Am Ever Going To Be specifically because that’s what’s unique to me. I’ve lived this youth in a place not many people live and it’s made me who I am today. The funniest thing is the truth, and that’s what this show is about.
In 140 characters or less describe The Youngest I Am Ever Going To Be.
I grew up in the town with the highest ratio of men to women in Australia. This show is about why a self-help author told me to leave.