Interview with Gillian Cosgriff, star of Waitressing and other things I do well

Singer, song-writer, waitress…

Gillian Cosgriff is the award winning star who has burst onto the cabaret scene and is now wowing crowds with with her highly acclaimed show ‘Waitressing…and other things I do well.’

As a conscientious twenty-something, fresh out of university, with a performing arts degree in hand (its only real workplace value being that she could use it to threaten possible employers with a nasty paper cut), no job, no house, and existing on a steady diet of Pringles and vitamin water – Gillian’s calling in life seemed to be…..waitressing.

Following every tangent with meticulous precision, this show features a hilarious mixture of original songs and more familiar numbers, as Cosgriff explains in her own inimitable way how she manoeuvred those difficult post-university years.

Next stop for the singer, songwriter, pianist and comic genius is the Adelaide Fringe Festival. Catch her while you can. The Flaneur was lucky enough to interview her in a rare moment off.

Hi Gillian, thanks for answering a few questions for The Flaneur.

What is your writing procedure? Do you edit a lot or do your thoughts appear fully-formed? Do you write everyday? 

My writing procedure is pretty scattered. I keep a notebook on me most of the time to write down ideas, usually when I’m on the tram. A lot of the time I’ll just write stream of consciousness kind of stuff, and then if I read it back and see something I like I’ll sit down at the piano and mess around with it. I also write a lot of lists – all kinds of bizarre ones – and quite a few songs have come out of those. I try to write as often as I can, but I don’t have a rule for myself about writing everyday. Sometimes I’ll have an idea for a song but I just can’t seem to articulate it clearly, and then I leave it along for a few weeks (or even months) and it’ll suddenly become clear and I’ll write a whole song about it in an hour. That’s pretty rare though… 

Are you continuing writing whilst you are touring with Waitressing?

I’m writing bits and pieces while I’m on tour. It’s really nice being in cities where you don’t have the obligations that you’d have at home. While the show was playing in Melbourne my days were still full of friends and work and everyday stuff. Being in a different city gives me a sense of freedom to chill out a bit, write and play and just have some space. I like that.

 Waitressing has provided you with a whole show?! Maybe it isn’t so bad? Do artists need a spur to push them to create?

You know, every time I’m away from my waitressing job I think, “What was I complaining about? It’s not that bad.” Then a show finishes and I go back to waitressing a couple of days a week and remember that, “Wait, yes it is.” Actually, I really like the restaurant I work at and as long as I only have a couple of shifts a week I don’t mind it so much. It provided me with a lot of the material in the show, and the mindlessness of a waitressing job gives me a lot of thinking time, so I come up with ideas that I might not have otherwise. I think artists absolutely need something to push them to create. Whilst the ultimate goal is to one day be able to make a living solely as an artist, working those other jobs mean that writing and performing remains my passion. I enjoy doing it more because it doesn’t always feel like work.

 How do you rate a good audience?

They listen, they laugh, they clap, and they aren’t all related to me.

 Do you have any tricks for committing your material to memory?

Not really. Because the show is nearly all my original songs, I don’t need to memorize them…I made them up. Although I have had the odd occasion where I’ll forget a line. The benefit of being a fairly new performer doing your own material is that if I sing the wrong words nobody knows but me…

 I’ve read that you like Noises Off, which has to be one of the funniest plays ever written. Do you have any ambitions to write plays?

I love Noises Off! So hilarious. I’m becoming much more interested in writing plays, especially having seen a lot of really great straight theatre in the last year, it’s definitely something I’d like to try.

 Do you prefer writing or performing? 

I like both. When I’m writing I get to stay home in my pajamas or go sit in a café and drink a lot of coffee. When I’m performing I get to go out and dress up and drink a lot of gin. At the same time, when I’m writing I’m thinking, “This is never going to be done! Is it even funny? Does this line work here or should I change it?” When I’m performing I’m thinking, “Are these people enjoying this? Did I play that song too fast? They didn’t laugh there…people usually laugh there!” There’s good and bad with both!

Do you get nerves before performing? If so how do you cope with them?

I do get nervous before the show. It’s all just part of it now, so it’s not a surprise when the nerves show up. I just remind myself to breathe and not play too fast. Also, I’ve developed this weird thing with the pre-show music that’s playing in the theatre as the audience comes in. For the Melbourne season I did in December they were always playing Fleetwood Mac before the show. So, we’ve kept it ever since, and it’s become this weirdly calming thing for me.

 Do you miss waitressing?

I can’t miss it…I’m still doing it!

 Tim Minchin? Wow?! Do you agree?

I’m a huge fan of Tim Minchin, so it’s a very, very flattering comparison for someone to make. But at the same time, that’s a lot to live up to. The good thing about that comparison is it’s an easy way for people who haven’t seen me before to get an idea of what I do. It’s me and a piano, talking and playing songs that I wrote. Also, my hair is nowhere near as impressive and I wear less eyeliner than he does.

When will we see you in the UK?

Soon I hope! I’m trying to get my show to the Edinburgh Fringe this year, so fingers crossed. The last time I was in the UK I was working in a call centre for Sky TV, so anything would be a step up from that…

 Thank you very much and good luck with the show!