Arts preview: it's all geek to comedian Jackie Kashian
American comedian Jackie Kashian bases her act around dorks. Her husband is her inspiration, she tells Kate Whitehead
Jackie Kashian likes to talk about dorks. Big time. The Los Angeles-based comedian hosts a weekly podcast on dorky behaviour, and the subject is sure to come up in her Hong Kong shows this month.
The Dork Forest podcast evolved from a throwaway line at a gig in 2002: "I'll hang out with anyone up to, but not including, the war re-enactment guys." The line had been drawn - dorks who enjoy dressing up in costumes are fine, but not those who go as far as re-enacting famous battles.
She's the first to admit she's a dork herself. And her husband - a game designer - is a "giant dork", she says. "He's a gateway to other dorkdoms that I knew nothing about. He introduced me to live-action role-playing games, board games. When you are with a game designer all he thinks about is games," says Kashian.
They met 10 years ago through an internet dating site. After years of crushes and one-night stands with "jackass comics", she finally met her dorky better half. He features heavily in her stand-up routines, along with the rest of her family, particularly her salesman father who is dream material for a comic.
"For my dad, the most important thing is the sale. He used to sell toupees. He would comb his hair over to look like a toupee, and then pretend to readjust it and say, 'You should get one of these, they don't go anywhere'."
The family is fine with featuring in her routines, and her husband will join her for the Hong Kong shows, not least because he's hoping to expand his collection of action figures, another dorky pastime.