Salvador Martin is one of the emerging names in comedy in Portugal. He is a stand up comedian who talks about his day-to-day life and the things that annoy him in a show that he has in the tip of the tongue on tour across the country.
What you have at the tip of your tongue Salvador Martinha?
Salvador Martinha: I have the tip of the tongue above all passion breeze, have a magnificent skewered and this show.
This is a show of improvisation?
SM: No, no. There is a set of stories and predefined ideas I have for the audience and then there is a strong improvisational component.
Tell me how do you choose the topics, besides today's news?
SM: The themes are things above all that annoy me.
Such as?
SM: Things such as the craze of summer festivals that everybody likes and I talk about it, or pants that do not fit me, because as I am chubby cannot fit them.
So there is no taboo subjects in your kind of humor?
SM: I only speak of the things I want.
There are professionals who do not like to address diseases, the so-called black humor, making jokes, for example, on people with cancer. So I ask if in your stand-up comedy you avoid certain subjects precisely not to hurt susceptibilities in public?
SM: I do not think that way, I do not limit myself in this or that way fearing the consequences, I speak of what I really like. Now, my mood is an clean observation, I have no great jokes about illness, talk over things in day-to-day basis.
So how you prepare a show? You write the texts and then what follows your creative process? Mark Twain used to said that to make an improvised speech took him three hours.
SM: If you come to show what you'll feel is that I'm telling stories now, but I've worked this repertoire hours, hours and hours. Already staged it in front of the mirror, there is a strong writing work and memorization and before that, answering your question, all the ideas that come to me that will irritate me I write it down. Imagine, a trip to the supermarket what pisses me off? Choose a cart and it is crooked, go back to choose another, then I will choose cereals, Chocapic, then I see people looking at me as if it were an abnormal dude and is thus I do notes of these ideas and develop them.
There are differences in terms of the public? You are on tour with this show for some time. Notes that certain jokes work best with a particular audience rather than in another town or city?
SM: No, because I sense in all the shows I've realize that the public is more or less similar. It is young, intelligent and with good sense of humor audience that identified a little with the themes that I speak about. I feel it is an ever more alike, because it's an audience that already knew me.
You work in various media, on the radio, on television and on tour. What is the environment where you feel more comfortable?
SM: I feel more comfortable on sites where there is a greater number of people around me.
That is on stage?
SM: In all the places where are the people I like to work, I am at ease and the stage is one of them. The public come to see me at the start and all the people who are here, I'm going to like them, because they paid a ticket to see me.
And you do not feel too intimidated, because you have to please a large majority?
SM: Yes, of course, but I was getting used to this intimidation and make it something cool.
And what is the environment where you feel that there is less feedback? It's on TV, for example?
SM: Yes, you do not have an immediate feeback, on stage is the opposite, notes soon they like it or not. I think that where there is more joy on stage.
And when you are on stage and have a joke that does not work, what you do in these situations? Give back or continuous like it was nothing?
SM: Depart to the next one. Sometimes you forget to do the introduction to a joke because without it does not work, or hardly say a word and you end up being a joke detective. If the audience does not identify with the joke usually you have always a following. So what do you do when you go to a place and missed the exit on the road? Looking for the next exit, you always have to have a choise. The jokes are like a board, get out here! (laughs)
And in relation to the public, how do you define the Portuguese public in general? How would they see you?
SM: There are two questions, I think the Portuguese public is increasingly better. It has come a long way.
We have little sense of humor?
SM: We have to develop it. Already have it, because the sense of humor is not something innate in a country mood has to be developed and I think this has to improve. The more comedians there are more shows with different sense of humor there are, there is more comedy viewers, which means more television comedy and the country will evolve. In the US in terms of humor level is a highly evolved nation, has a lot of humor culture, If I was in America maybe every person who came to the show would problably already saw three stand-ups. What happens here? Most viewers will see one for the first time a show of this kind, or at least half. It is not something negative, it's positive, it's a way we are going.
You had some reference in terms of humorists when you started?
SM: I had but I am ashamed to say because it's what everyone has, is Herman José and as I am a little younger, the "smelly cats" are another reference, I was very identified with them. Outside, like Seinfeld and The Simpsons.
And now that these at this point in your career as a comedian, what is your next jump?
SM: I have many dreams. I liked to do a lot of humor based on my life. I liked to also make a comedy film and so I have a few projects.
You'd like to do a show on your life why?
SM: Because it's like the stand-up, the show I talk about my life and I have not done anything on television that addresses this aspect in such an intimate way. I liked to transport this language to television.
And you think the public is prepared for something like that?
SM: I do not know, we'll see. It's a risk, I just have to try it.
