Actor Barry Humphries may wear women’s clothing, but he’s no drag queen.
“There’s a difference between what I do and what a drag queen does. In drag you’re being Liza or Madonna or whoever,” he said. “Edna’s just a character I play.”
Humphries – better known for his portrayal of Australian housewife “Dame Edna” – spoke to a group of Ohio State theater students Thursday about his career.
“I like to talk at these places because it helps me better understand what I do when I talk about it,” he said. “It helps to meet someone else who does it.”
Humphries said the most important part of acting was being yourself.
“Don’t distrust your own view of the world,” he said. “Trust in your own observations. Speak with your own voice.”
He even took a few shots at his theater students.
“I love drama students who say they can’t afford to go to the theater and then light up a cigarette.”
Humphries grew up in a suburb of Melbourne, Australia, “which in the ’50s was amazingly boring,” he said. “I felt a profound sense of isolation like everything was happening elsewhere.”
He said that reading Upton Sinclair’s “Main Street” had a big effect on him in college.
“Someone else found their environment boring and wrote about it,” Humphries said.
While in school Humphries became involved in the theater. His parents, however, did not want him to go into acting but instead wanted him to pursue a more stable career as a doctor or lawyer.
“I knew people who did that,” he said. “They lived unhappily ever after.”
Eventually Humphries began writing material for revues – satirical shows featuring skits and music. It was during this time he first developed the prototype for “Dame Edna,” a sketch involving average Australians housing guests for the 1950 Olympics.
Originally, the title character was written to be played by an actress who worked in the theater company. But the actress said she was too busy with other parts in the show, and it was suggested Humphries play the part.
Initially, he said he was hesitant.
“I was told ‘you’re an actor, you should able to play a tree. You’ll do it,’ ” Humphries said.
After playing the character for a while Humphries realized he had created something original.
“I’d felt I’d hit a vein of humor that had not been hit before,” Humphries said. “People like to believe in Edna like they believe in Santa Claus.”
Humphries did not realize that “Dame Edna” would grow into a series of one-man shows and guest appearances, spanning five decades and winning him a number of awards.
“I’d never thought half a century later I’d be playing the same character.”
Humphries’ “Dame Edna” shows were constantly evolving.
For example, Humphries said at first he couldn’t find a way to end a show that brought it all together. He always had a vase of gladiolas sitting on stage. One night, Humphries noticed a woman who was looking at the gladiolas instead of at him.
“So I ripped them out dripping wet and flung them at her,” Humphries said. “She just started passing them around the audience. I realized I’d found my ending.”
Reactions to Humphries’ lecture were positive.
“He makes his living playing an amazing character, and he’s so good at being himself at the same time,” said Michael Meagher, a graduate student in mathematics education.
“He’s just so charming and naturally personable,” said Jenny Stoessner, a graduate student in theater.
Humphries’ “Dame Edna” one-man show wrapped up its weeklong Ohio Theater stop yesterday, but the tour continues nationwide for the bulk of the year.
