L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, JUNE 15, 2023 www.italoamericano.org 32 L'Italo-Americano H is grandpar- e n t s , o r i g i - n a l l y f r o m R e g g i o C a l - a b r i a , m e t and married in Australia, w h e r e t h e y h a d m i g r a t e d after the war. Comedian Joe Avati grew up in Five Dock, Sydney, Australia, but his profound Italian heritage has always been at the heart of his stand-up comedy shows that are performed in the Calabrese dialect, in English with or without a Calabrese accent. T h i s s u m m e r , f a n s i n North America will have the o p p o r t u n i t y t o e n j o y h i s unique brand of comedy, as h e b r i n g s t o C a n a d a a n d A m e r i c a h i s t o u r W h e n I W a s Y o u r A g e , w h i c h allowed the world-renowned Australian comedian to high- l i g h t w i t h h u m o r g e n e r a - tional and cultural differ- ences, putting on a hilarious portrayal of the complexities of modern parenting and the minefield of cancel culture. A h o u s e h o l d n a m e i n North America, Avati is one of the original ethnic come- d i a n s . H e f i r s t c o n n e c t e d with his audience 25 years ago through his hilarious anecdotes about growing up in Australia as the child of Italian immigrants. That, along with his razor-sharp wit and priceless observa- tions about generational dif- ferences, have since estab- lished him as a household name around the world, as well as in Australia, North America, and the UK where h e r e g u l a r l y p e r f o r m s t o sold-out crowds. Setting him apart from other humorists is the fact that Avati keeps his shows clean and free from profani- ties, which means that fit- tingly, all generations can enjoy his shows together. "I have performed to comedy lovers of all ages — mums and dads, teens, and even kids because everyone can relate to my stories," Avati e x p l a i n s . " I c a n ' t w a i t t o bring my new tour to Cana- da and America this summer because they are the best audience!" And it's no won- der. Avati had the privilege of selling out large theatres many times over since he started touring here in 2001. He also boasts two number- one live comedy albums in Canada, with one of those albums having held the top spot for 18 months straight. Joe, what's your show about? It's a show where I break d o w n a l l t h e d i f f e r e n c e s between my generation and the new generations. Obvi- ously, the common theme is h a v i n g a n I t a l i a n b a c k - ground and being Italian. Growing up surrounded by Italian culture was very par- ticular. For example kids today, they've got no prob- lem asking for an expensive pair of shoes, a new car, or something like a new phone. I kind of addressed how kids are different in that respect. I've come to understand that kids are different from this p e r s p e c t i v e . A n d t h e n I t h i n k t o m y s e l f : i m a g i n e telling your father you want something... So I look back at how I was raised and how much stricter my parents were with me compared to how we are now with today's kids. Then I ask: and grand- parents? How different are today's grandparents! If I were to say to my son Anto- nio, "Don't do that or I'll slap you," my mother would step out and say, "Don't you dare touch him!" And I feel like replying, "What? Do you have some kind of amnesia that made you forget what you did to me?" Every Ital- i a n g r a n d m o t h e r w o u l d respond the same way, "I never slapped you!" I talk a lot about the things we had to deal with as kids in an I t a l i a n f a m i l y a n d I t e l l funny stories about me and my marriage, about when I became a dad, and how it has changed my life. Are you a very Italian dad? Half of me wants to disci- pline my children the way that I got disciplined. The other half doesn't want to go to jail. I'll talk about this in my show as well, you can't hit kids today. But back in our day, you could hit any- body's kid. W h e n d i d y o u s t a r t d o i n g c o m e d y a n d impressions? I started doing it with my cousin. I started making fun of the things that we had to go through, the way Nonna spoke or how she kept her olives in a black jar. Then I did it in public and it took off in a big way. All of a sud- den, my phone started ring- ing from various promoters saying, "Oh, can you do this at this Italian Association? Can you do this at this Ital- ian wedding?" or at a bap- tism. And then it started to grow from there and then it just sort of built into a one- m a n s h o w a n d t h e n t h a t one-man show went all over the world. Now I don't do it in Italian just for Italians. I t ' s f o r e v e r y o n e . B u t i n A m e r i c a a n d C a n a d a , i t ' s mainly Italians who come to m y s h o w s , i n A u s t r a l i a everybody comes now. H o w w e r e y o u w e l - comed by the American public? The American public was curious when I first started, nobody was doing this here. They'd never heard anything like this before because it was not common to make fun of yourself in terms of comedy, while it's quite a big deal in Australia. Who was the very first c o m e d i a n t o i n s p i r e you? The first one to inspire me was a Calabrese comedian that my dad used to listen to all the time, Micu U Pulici. W h a t d o f a n s l i k e about your show? The thing that probably stands out the most is that there were a lot of Italians w h o w e r e e m b a r r a s s e d a b o u t g r o w i n g u p I t a l i a n because they thought their family was the only one who did those things. Then they came to the show, and they realized that it was not just them, but there were other people and other families all o v e r t h e w o r l d j u s t l i k e theirs. They would actually say: "You made me feel like I belong now. And whereas before I tried to move away f r o m m y I t a l i a n h e r i t a g e because I was embarrassed, I now embrace it." Do you visit Italy? Y e s , I g o t h e r e a t l e a s t once a year, to visit my rela- tives in Calabria and to trav- e l a r o u n d . D o y o u k n o w what fascinates me about Italy? It's a little country but you've got some of the most amazing places in the world in that tiny bit of land. It's all concentrated there: the Vati- c a n , V e n i c e , t h e A m a l f i C o a s t . . . i t ' s s o h a r d t o d e s c r i b e t h e f e e l i n g I g e t when I am there. You don't get so many beautiful places in one little bit of land any- where else. That's what fasci- nates me. Avati with (left) Little Italy of Los Angeles Association's (LILAA) vice-president, Anna Manunza, and (right) president, Mario Amalfitano (Photo: John Hatzis) An evening with Italian-Australian comedian Joe Avati in Los Angeles SILVIA NITTOLI Joe Avati on stage (Photo: John Hatzis) LOS ANGELES ITALIAN COMMUNITY

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