“The secret to breaking into humor? Questioning "

• Le Point Virgule fait L'Olympia

  takes place on Thursday, June 23, 2022. A dozen young artists are on view.

• The artistic director Antoinette Colin composed the set with a concern for eclecticism, according to "the themes, the rhythm, the phrasing..." of each comedian.

• “There has been an explosion in the number of artists over the past five years.

  Social networks have put a big spotlight on this profession and there is an illusion of ease.

  But the most "hefty" can be counted on the fingers of one hand, ”she explains to

  20 Minutes

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This Thursday evening,

A dozen young comedians will perform on the mythical stage of the boulevard des Capucines (Paris 9th) for the thirteenth edition of this gala which acts as a showcase for the famous room nestled in the Marais (Paris 4th).

The names on the bill (Marie Reno, Merwane Benlazar, Alex Fredo, Louis Chappey…), still confidential, have the potential to be those who will shake the zygomatics of the greatest number tomorrow.

Antoinette Colin, the artistic director of the event, has scrupulously selected each artist throughout the last months.

"We must not miss it," she insists to

explaining that she made sure to compose the set with a concern for eclecticism, according to "the themes, the rhythm, the phrasing..." Interview with a pro and passionate about humor.

You have been a Point Virgule programmer for twenty years.

How have you seen humor evolve over time?

There has been an explosion in the number of artists over the past five years.

Social networks have put a big spotlight on this profession and there is an illusion of ease.

But the most "sturdy" can be counted on the fingers of one hand.

We are here to make the event, I have no interest in having an artist who will “vegetate” for x months or x years at Point Virgule.

Getting to Point Virgule is already not easy.

For a whole generation,

, the bias of sets, are a very important working ring but, often, they are in the quest for the punchline while we are looking for shows.

Hold an hour on stage and fill, on his name, a hall of one hundred seats every night, it is a certain level of requirement, it is not the same work.

Are those who think that making those around you laugh and being cheeky enough to make a career in humor are wrong?

Not everyone thinks so, but we had a period – it's a little less true now – when artists were looking for buzz by any means to obtain some form of media recognition, except that behind it, it didn't necessarily follow. .

Don't get the wrong job, just because you're a YouTuber doesn't mean you're an actor, and vice versa.

Norman was revealed on the networks and then found success on stage.

For once, his promise to him held the road, he made beautiful rooms, worked and learned his trade as an actor.

Some people in stand-up say “I'm not an actor”, whereas the best stand-up artists are actors.

They are on a set to tell stories.

Is there less or more freedom of speech today than before?

More self-censorship?

There is always freedom of speech.

The question is how to use it.

If the writing is good, if the interpretation is unique, anything is possible.

We saw it with Gaspard Proust.

At the time when he was playing at Point Virgule, he was performing in front of twenty or thirty people, it was a rather hesitant start.

Once programmed at Point Virgule made L'Olympia, he picked up everything, there was an after for him.

I recently saw Roman Frayssinet who is writing his new show.

He doesn't mince his words, but he does it well.

If you want to write to shock or disturb, I think the writing angle is not good.

You have to have a point of view and a form of legitimacy to impose what you want.

Do you immediately feel the potential of an artist?

Or do you have bad surprises with people who seemed promising but did not confirm or, on the contrary, good surprises with comedians who did not convince you at the beginning?

You said it all!

(laughs) Being surprised is what I like about my job.

Often, I have people like Félix Dhjan who is on the poster for

this year, and who had to pass the Point Virgule auditions half a dozen times.

I didn't take it because it wasn't interesting.

He is a stage freak, with an overflowing energy, but what he was saying, we did not hear him.

There was no writing, it wasn't directed, it went all over the place.

What made us end up working together is that he started working and stopped stirring up air.

He learned the trade, he observed and found his working method.

At the start of the school year, he will be headlining from Thursday to Saturday.

With every artist that I program, there has to be a feeling.

Félix, despite the refusals, never stopped believing in it.

Conversely, there are artists in whom I believed enormously but who did not work enough.

It's frustrating.

I told some that they still had it under their feet, I advised them to collaborate with a co-author, a director.

The greatest danger in this profession is isolation.

There are very few artists who know how to work on their own and even those, at some point, have the humility to say to themselves: "I've done 40% of the job, I'm taking a break and I'm going to take enough time to talk to so and so who will give me feedback on what has been written".

It is a profession of great humility.

I'm taking a break and I'm going to take the time to talk to someone who is going to give me feedback on what was written”.

It is a profession of great humility.

I'm taking a break and I'm going to take the time to talk to someone who is going to give me feedback on what was written”.

It is a profession of great humility.

What's the secret to a career in comedy?

Questioning and work.

In stand up, you have to have a look of the moment.

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• Culture

• Humor

• Humorist

• Paris

• Olympia

• Spectacle

• Ile-de-France