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Christian/Gospel Music News, Reviews & Interviews
| MizT: Clean, Christian Comedienne |
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Q) You didn't have to do "clean comedy." How come you do it? A) I've found more things to laugh at that happened innocently in the church arena. I really believe that the body of Christ also needs to be ministered to with laughter. Some Christians need to have permission to laugh where others of us look to laughter as stress relief. I have a natural talent for making people laugh and I prefer to keep it clean. Q) You're a native of Austin, Texas. How does that area and culture figure into your comedy? A) My childhood upbringing was in the church. I was a Sunday school teacher and choir member. The only auxiliary I didn't join was the Ushers! My mother was a choir musician, singer and voice coach. My father was a quartet singer. Many of my stories came from my personal experiences and my parents shared stories from their experiences and I put it all together and everybody gets to laugh about it. Q) How would you sum yourself up in three sentences if someone had never heard of you before? A) I would say that MizT offers an irreverent, sweet and alternative take on all things sacred. Her shows are high energy packed and explosive. She's funny and never offensive.  Q) You've lead praise and worship at your local church-- do you consider yourself a singer, a comedienne, or both? Do you sing in your comedy shows? A) I am both. It just depends on the setting I'm in and sometimes both of them come out on the same occasion. Sometimes before Praise & Worship I open up with a funny story but that's based on how the Holy Spirit is leading me for that specific worship service. When it comes to Praise and Worship, I am a worshiper. The words says to worship the Lord in Spirit and in Truth. The truth is God gives me laughter so why not worship him with it also? If laughter is what He places in my spirit, I give it back to Him. If praise is what He drops into my spirit, I give it back to Him. If intercessory prayer is what He places into my spirit, then that's what I give back to Him. So I'm a worshiper. Yes, I sing in my shows sometimes. I have a song that will soon be #1 on the charts called "Pinto Beans" and it's to the tune of the traditional Baptist Hymn, "I Will Trust in the Lord." Q) What are some of the topics or themes of your comedy? A) My topics are about children, Sunday school stories, bloopers from the pulpit, being a choir member and choir songs, ushers and family. I talk about being celibate, dealing with my mother's ailments, and shouting folk holding on to their wigs as they are being taken out of church. For example, one of my kids was trying to get to their mother so she came to me and said, "Teacher, my diarrhea hurts right here." She was pointing to her forehead and looking so pitiful. I didn't let her know that I knew that wasn't where diarrhea comes from so I let her go find her momma! Q) Is it hard being a black church woman in comedy, when it seems like comedy tends to be a white secular raunchy man's game? A) My foot was already in the church door as a singer and emcee. I have been on many programs in Austin so I've made my own footprints years before the comedy started coming to the forefront. So my reputation was in tact on its own. I also believe that if my parents and family's reputation was not in tact, it would be very difficult for me to be accepted in the churches in Austin, TX as a comedian. There are many seasoned ministers who know me and trust my family name and know that I will not come into their church and be vulgar or talk off the wall stuff to their congregations under the disguise of being a comedian. It is very important to have the support of those saints. I did a program last year and I was surprised by how many preachers were in the house and they had a blast! They laughed harder than most of the people there and many of them came to me afterwards and told me how much they enjoyed my material and presentation. That kind of feedback builds my confidence; I have nothing to fear or worry about when it comes to being accepted as a comedienne. I realize that I am breaking ground as a female, Christian comedienne but God has ordained me with this gift and I trust Him to keep opening doors for me. I don't know if it's hard because I'm not working the clubs at this time. Maybe I would see the difference, but that's where I am right now. Q) How did you get to be funny? A) I got it honestly! I am just like my daddy. My father was a gregarious personality. He just had a way of putting people at ease around him. People were always calling on him for help and advice. He was my role model. Q) They say it's better to laugh than cry, right, so what are your thoughts about that? A) I'd rather be laughing anytime, wouldn't you? I'm glad that despite the many obstacles that I've overcome, including raising a medically dependent child, physical obstacles, health issues, ailing parents, etc., I can truly say that it is my season to laugh. After serving as emcee for a musical one night, a lady approached me with tears in her eyes and said, "You don't know how much I needed to be here. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time." I stay humbled by comments like those and thank God for this comedic gift. Q) How did you get your name, MizT? A) I had a former supervisor, Edward G. Pope, who said my name was too hard to pronounce. It's like Renee' with a T. So he started calling me MizT and everybody in the office followed. I knew that I would eventually be on stage and knew that that would be the name I'd use regardless of which talent I utilized. Q) Where should people go to learn more about you, get your comedy CD & such? A) Well, the CD can be purchased at Waterloo Records in Austin, TX and on Amazon.com or CDBaby. I have video clips at GodTube. To keep up with the latest info visit my site, http://www.miztgospelcomedienne.com/home.html. |
Austin’s First Gospel Comedienne, MizT, released her debut comedy CD--Back at ‘Ya, Lord!--this year. You have never heard church bloopers and Bible stories told like this. MizT has been making audiences laugh with her fresh and original Christian comedy that’s rated “I” for the innocent. While comedy is her focus, she's also a worshiper and a singer, and often includes funny songs in her act. ChristianMusicDaily.com recently interviewed this one-of-a-kind lady.
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