Abby Wambaugh
Published: Tuesday 13th August 2024
One random comedian, eight random questions; it's the ultimate test of funny person and fate. This week it's our favourite Copenhagen-based American comic, Abby Wambaugh, whose Edinburgh Fringe debut, The First 3 Minutes of 17 Shows, has a wonderful premise. Was there a lightbulb moment where it all came together?
"Last year I was up for the Reserve and I watched so many shows, it felt like every day I had a new idea for a debut show," says Wambaugh. "And then one day I had the idea that I could do a little bit of all of them, and I had this feeling in my stomach where I knew that was the one. Then I've had a lot more lightbulb moments creating the show, where I keep realising the connections between the shows. I've loved making it."
That show is on now until late August. Any standout moments from this Fringe so far?
"Warning!! This story has a happy ending but is scary at first! On the day of my first preview I was really in my head about my show and running around doing errands for it, all stressed out. And then I passed a man on the street who was pacing and panicked on the phone and I overheard him say that he had lost his children.
"He had been separated from them by the tram doors while he and his wife got their luggage out and the kids had been still on the tram when it moved again. For the next hour I helped the parents however I could, until the police found the kids and they were reunited.
"I got to cry with relief and hug them when we found out and then I was like, 'Ok, it is actually so wonderful that the kind of thing I get to worry about right now is "what is the funniest sound to make when you pretend to be a vacuum cleaner cord?"'
"Every time I walk by the spot where that happened (a KFC!) I am so happy about that family, and I'm so happy to be doing this show and I'm happy that walking by a KFC can MOVE me everyday. It was really a gift."
And there is no gift better than KFC. Abby Wambaugh, your Random 8 await.
Who is - or was - your most interesting relative?
My kids! I'm so interested in them!!
Which superpower would you pick?
Maybe stop time? And I would do it right before I had to leave my house to get somewhere on time, so I could do all the things I'm suddenly motivated to do when I have somewhere else to be.
Who are you most envious of?
Any dog that's getting petted and played with and talked to like a baby.
What's the best thing you ever bought a ticket for?
I watched Denzel Washington's 2006 thriller Deja Vu in a theatre where I could eat French fries in Vietnam and I was and continue to be delighted by all parts of that experience.
Ever walked out of a film (before the end)?
No, but I'll nap or take out my notebook.
What's the weirdest thing you ever saw?
Hmmm. It's good weird, but it's weird that in American charity shops (like Goodwill) they organise items and clothes by colour instead of category.
Which low-key law would you introduce?
Everybody has to write Morning Pages or have someone that loves them listen to them ramble for 15 minutes before they make any important decisions or pick any fights.
What's your favourite building?
Houseboats!! They can do it all!!
Abby Wambaugh: The First 3 Minutes of 17 Shows played at the 2024 Fringe.
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