I-95 Exclusive: Paula Poundstone Shares Her Struggles Exiting the Stage

Stand-up comedy legend Paula Poundstone is coming to the Ridgefield Playhouse this Saturday night (7/13/24). We got a chance to speak tp Paula ahead of the big Connecticut gig, covering a lot of ground from her comedy roots on a Greyhound bus to the worms that keep her company. These are some of our favorite moments from the I-95 Morning Show interview.

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Lou: I want to go all the way back to how you started. When you left Massachusetts in the late 70s, you took a Greyhound bus across the country doing open-mic nights wherever you could find them. Was there any anxiety with this big life change? Was it ever scary? 

Paula: "Sometimes but mostly I really liked it but there were times when it was a little scary. One night, I was in Canada somewhere, I forget where now and when I arrived in the place four hours later, there was no station. So, it's the middle of the night and I'm just outside in the dark waiting for the bus to return and I saw this light way off in the distance and it kept coming towards me and coming towards me and it was a person with a flashlight. It kept coming towards me and coming towards me and I was certain I was going to be attacked in the middle of the night by this person on the other side of a field somewhere that apparently knew I was there in the dark. So, I took out, I had a little teeny Swiss Army knife like the smallest kind that had a blade that really can't cut anything at all and I took it out and just sat with it there before I finally realized, it's a person coming to the bus stop. It has zero to do with me just they are coming to the bus stop and it would be good if I didn't, if I didn't plunge a half an inch blade into them when they get there." 

Ethan: I've seen you at the Ridgefield Playhouse a couple of times and correct me if I'm wrong, you were on stage for about two, two and a half hours. I thought someone was going to come out and say OK Paula, let's wrap it up!

Paula: "Whether or not I would have responded to that I don't know. It took me years to figure out to ask the theater to put a clock on-stage somewhere where I could see it because I can't tell time on-stage. A, I have a job that is the most fun job in the world and once I am up and going, it's kind of a world unto itself and I just can't tell time. What often used to happen, perhaps it still does is that I would get talking to the crowd and eventually people have homes and families that they need to return to and eventually the crowd gets kind of worn out. Then, their energy starts to wane a little bit and you know, I'm still having a great time. You know, as a performer I mean I think the show works best if I leave first." 

Get your tickets now to see Paula Poundstone at the the Ridgefield Playhouse. 

You can listen to our complete two-part interview with Paula Poundstone below.

Part 1 - Paula told us all about her worm farm, yes worm farm. We also learned about the impact Robin Williams had on her early years in comedy. 

Part 2 - Paula explains how her relationship developed with NPR's "Wait, wait, don't tell me." Poundstone also discussed how she made history as the first woman to ever host the White House Correspondent's Dinner. 

Check out the Ethan, Lou & Large Dave Podcast on Apple and Spotify