Comedian Grace Jarvis Shares Her Most Unusual Experience Working in a Sex Shop
Topic: Comedy
Rising star Grace Jarvis performs at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival until April 19.
Grace Jarvis is a comedian who works in a sex shop.
Those jokes are easy to make.
Grace Jarvis is a rising star in comedy, known for her unique perspective.
She is back for another performance at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival.
The festival has changed over the years, but still has its charm.
Her show is about love and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
It also talks about life and her experiences.
We talked to Grace about her start in comedy and working in a sex shop.
She started comedy in Brisbane during her first year of university.
She saw a tweet about an open mic night and decided to go.
She thought she could do it because there were only other comedians in the audience.
Her dad was upset she didn't let him see her first performance.
She practiced with her friend and dad, then went back to perform alone.
Now she is performing at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival.
There are more opportunities in Melbourne.
It's hard to make a living as a comedian in Australia.
She wanted to try living in a city with more gigs.
She has a part-time job at a sex shop, which gives her material.
She met her boyfriend and performed at famous clubs.
She got the idea to work at the sex shop on a whim.
She applied for the job and got it.
She put quotes from her show reviews on her resume.
The shop hired her because of her unique experience.
A customer needed a lot of lube, but she didn't have enough.
The customer must have been hosting a party.
Working in a sex shop is interesting for an autistic person.
She feels comfortable, but others are on edge.
She has to ask them to be clear because she's not good at subtext.
She stopped taking notes because the job became normal.
She works limited hours because she's disabled.
She got diagnosed with autism during the pandemic.
She also got diagnosed with ADHD.
She had to reassess what she could do and acknowledge her disability.
Her parents were supportive, and she changed her life.
She didn't get diagnosed earlier, which is surprising.
When she says she's autistic, people usually understand.
But sometimes she gets feedback that she shouldn't joke about it.
She tells them to think from her perspective, not just her nephew's.
On stage, she feels like she's doing everything right.
Stand-up comedy is an autistic art form because it's algorithmic.
There's more disability advocacy in comedy now.
Comedy is also perfect for ADHD because of the adrenaline.
It's surprising that comedy isn't mostly neurodivergent people.
Her podcast is about pain, but guests often talk about something else.
People don't want to hear about her pain in her comedy.
She recommends other comedians like Hannah Gadsby.
People laugh out of sympathy when she talks about her pain.
She doesn't want people to feel sorry for her.
She doesn't do material about her pain because it's too much work.
It's hard for her to write about her pain.
She can make things funny, but the audience needs to feel safe.
Discovering she was autistic was like discovering she was queer.
Both were things she had to come to terms with and realize were positive.
She grew up in country Queensland, which wasn't great for being queer.
Bisexuality and audiobooks are similar in that they're more enjoyable when you stop thinking about what others think.
She saw Lena Moon's show, which was good.
She likes Jack Knight and Olga Koch, who do interesting comedy.
Quotes have been edited for clarity and brevity.
The Melbourne International Comedy Festival runs until April 19.
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