197. Natalie Palamides: Wisdom from a Modern Clown

Mike Birbiglia's Working It Out

Mike Birbiglia's Working It Out podcast

Mikebirbiglia, Comedy, Dontthinktwice, Comedy Interviews, Thenewone, Iraglass, Interviews, Thankgodforjokes, Birbiglia, Mygirlfriendsboyfriend, Sleepwalkwithme

4.8 • 4K Ratings

🗓️ 22 December 2025

⏱️ 59 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Natalie Palamides is a writer and performer best known for her avant-garde comedy shows Laid, Nate, and WEER. She’s eaten raw eggs on stage, fondled audience members (with their consent), and played both halves of a feuding couple in a way that has to be seen to be believed. Mike and Natalie discuss how Natalie’s formal training in clowning informs her creative process, and they break down the philosophical differences between birthday clowns and theater clowns. Plus, Natalie explains the times that literally wresting with audience members nearly went wrong.

Transcript

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0:00.0	it's almost like you're your own stunt person.
0:04.1	Yeah.
0:04.8	So when you go down, is it hurt?
0:07.3	Or are you in such impeccable shape?
0:10.4	Is your core in such perfect shape that it doesn't hurt?
0:15.0	You know, I do have a pretty strong core.
0:19.5	Right now I'm kind of rocking a six-pack. Oh, wow. I'm not striving for this.
0:24.6	Wow. It just happens to me. By accident, you're the six-pack. Yeah. By accident. You know what a terrible thing to say. For me, by accident, I've never had a six-pack. It was totally by accident. That I haven't had one.
0:38.5	Oh, my gosh.
0:39.2	But if I had one, it would be also by accident.
0:41.9	Yeah, well, that's clown for you.
0:47.8	That is the voice of the great Natalie Palamedes.
0:51.0	I'm so excited to have Natalie on.
0:53.2	I have seen her live shows at this point
0:58.2	three or four times through the years at Edinburgh Fringe Festival at the Cherry Lane
1:04.3	Theatre with a show called Weir, W-E-E-E-R that is going from the Cherry Lane Theater to London. If you're listening to this and you're
1:12.2	in London, absolutely see this show. It is a must-see show. She has multiple one-person shows,
1:19.5	including Laid, Nate, and Weir. Nate actually is a Netflix special that you can see now, produced by Amy Poehler.
1:29.1	If you haven't seen Nate, it's basically Natalie playing this guy as a character who's really absurd.
1:39.0	He has a mustache. He rides in a little mini motorcycle.
1:43.0	And it's like a monologue.
1:47.8	Most of the shows a monologue from the perspective of this guy.
	...

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