Puberty Rhythm And Blues

When you've got a title as perfect as Puberty Rhythm And Blues, the chicken-or-egg question simply must be asked: what came first, the title or the show? “Aw, the fuckin' title came first!” says Em Rusciano, her voice bursting with excitement. “How good a title is it?!”

Rusciano first leapt into the public eye in 2004, when she appeared on the second season of Australian Idol (the one that Casey Donovan won, and Ricki-Lee Coulter somehow didn't). Since then she's made her way into radio, television, cabaret and now comedy. When asked why she's decided to take herself to MICF, she explains that she's driven by a combination of peer pressure (in a good way) and a willingness to leap before she looks. “I'm a gag hag – all my besties are comedians, and I work [in radio] with a very good one in Dave Thornton,” she says. “I did Cabaret Festival, and all of the boys are like, 'Why don't you do [MICF}?' I really wanted to say no, but then I thought, 'Stuff it, I'll just do it'. I just kept saying yes, which is how I get most of my jobs.”

While she's excited about taking on the challenge of MICF, Rusciano isn't convinced that she's the next big thing in comedy. “I don't think I've even decided I'm in – this is like my apprenticeship,” she laughs. Anyone dying for a sneak preview won't find her trialing material in the various Melbourne comedy venues, either – she's got other avenues to test out her routine. “I did 20 minutes with the Governor General last week – as you do,” she says. Her process is a little different to how most of her comedian friends work. “I don't write punchlines and I don't write gags, I just tell stories that people can relate to and hopefully find funny,” she says. “I don't deliberately sit down to tell a joke, because if I did that, it would be terrible.”

For Puberty Rhythm And Blues, the stories are about something we've all experienced – that awkward moment when your body starts changing. It's all the more reason why Rusciano can't see herself on the traditional comedy circuit. “I think it would be weird if I got up and did a tight five on my hairy vagina from when I was 13,” she says. “Out of context, my very hairy vagina would be weird in a comedy room, and the comedy nerds in their Star Wars t-shirts would probably walk out.” Rusciano knows she has her fans though, and she hopes they get a kick out of her show. “It is the Comedy Festival, so hopefully someone at least laughs at me, if not with me.”

WHEN & WHERE: Thursday 28 March to Sunday 21 April, MICF, Forum Theatre