a beauty AND a funny girl!

“Is comedy a subject? I know it’s not usually taught in schools, though perhaps that’s because the average student would fail that class. And I’m not going to pretend I’ve studied the ancient Greek works on the comedic arts- if such works even exist- but I consistently, night after night, make audiences laugh, so I think I know what I’m doing.” 

“I absolutely loathe cold, wet weather! Snow, rain, sleet- they ruin my favorite outfits and keep patrons out of Le Gnome Qui Rit. Is it any wonder that I prefer sunshine and starry nights to cloudy days and storms?”

“There are quite a few reasons why I wear high heels so often. They make my legs look long and luscious, they’re always in style....and they can kill a pesky bug with ease. Does that answer your question?”

“I run a comedy nightclub at which I am also the headliner. I spend my nights performing and spend my days preparing to perform. Plus, I like to party. What I’m trying to say is, I don’t get much sleep at all!” 

“Everyone who comes to Le Gnome Qui Rit is a friend of mine! Especially if they buy me a drink after the show.”

“My voice, so I’ve heard, is rather deep for a woman. Maman said I cried the most of any baby she’d ever had, and that may have something to do with it. All that crying paid off, though! It’s hard to forget a voice as sultry as mine.”

“The stars. I’m one of them.” 

“Nothing’s under my bed, darling, besides some empty champagne bottles and a random assortment of shoes. No, I was never the type to believe in bogeymen, not even as a child; in fact, I used to scare my older sister, Amandine, by hiding in our bedroom closet during the night and clawing against the door. Now she was a real scaredy cat.” 

“Good manners? Why, I haven’t given much thought to them in such a long time! They’re not my favorite topic, as you might imagine. Most would not consider it ‘good manners’ for a pretty young lady, such as myself, to get up on stage each night and tell profane jokes to a drunken crowd. Really, I don’t ask much: as long as no one near me picks their nose or burps in my face, they’re well-mannered enough for me.” 

@nicolaspicou​

“But this is Paris, of course,” Josette said, droll as ever in the middle of a crowd-pleasing set, “and there’s almost as many strangers here as there are types of cheese. So, me being myself, and myself hates to be bored, I like to make up stories about strangers as they pass by.”

She paused for effect, ever so briefly. “They’re never happy stories, mind you. They’re tragedies that make me feel better about my own life. “ Again, the crowd roared. She puts on a cheesy grin and prances about the stage as she says, “All the smiling, hand-holding couples are just trying to put on a good show for the in-laws they’re about to visit.” Then, she sticks out her gut as far as it goes. “None of the pregnant women walking around were able to convince their boyfriends to stay. The children running around the streets, I consider them off-limits to my cynical daydreams, but only until they’re adults. Then they’re whatever I damn well say they are.” 

After taking a sip of water, Josette shifts her weight onto one foot, a little tired but nonetheless as exhilarated as she is every performance. “We all have a sob story to tell, non? I certainly have mine, but I’ve spoken enough about myself. What about you all? What about...you?” 

Josette’s Inspo #4 

The above link is a small snippet of a young Joan Rivers’s stand-up on The Ed Sullivan Show, which was a lot easier to find than a gif of her as a young comedienne. Besides, to see her in action helps one to see just how she became such a revolutionary figure in comedy. I imagine that Josette’s own stand-up would be a lot like Rivers’s- edgy yet approachable, as abrasive as it is spunky, and most of all, more than a little subversive. 

I still remember when I first started planning Josette’s character, trying to find the perfect song to listen to for inspiration. Eventually, I thought of ‘Roxie’ from the musical Chicago, the main character’s ballad of celebrity ambition. Besides both being flappers, Josette and Roxie long for glamour, fame, fortune, and most of all, attention. To paraphrase the song itself, the reason these women want fame is all because they didn’t get enough love in their childhood. 

“Pastries, gin, the uproarious laughter and applause from another successful performance. It’s the little things, isn’t it?” 

“Oh, goodness, um...I think I might’ve let a squirrel get away with a piece of my croissant once? It had it before I noticed, and I didn’t feel like chasing it, so...ouais, I fed a hungry animal!”