Midge Lema is an actor, writer, producer, and on-camera host. Lema worked with Disney for over a decade as Manager of Creative Brand & Development, and head-writer/host of The Oh My Disney Show. Lema’s first solo show Bean was awarded “Best of Hollywood Fringe” and “top ten shows not to miss” by the West Australian at the Fringe World Festival.
Her latest, Bean vs. The Robots: A Solo Show Musical, debuts at both the Hollywood and Edinburgh Fringe Festivals in 2026.
How did you get into comedy/writing/producing etc?
My first memory of witnessing comedy was as a kid. I was sitting in the audience of a Broadway
show in New York City, dressed up in some sort of gown, hands folded in my lap like a proper
child who promised they were old enough to sit in a theatre for three hours. The show was a
musical, and I remember a lot of running about and bold physical comedy. The audience were
absolutely losing it. They could not stop laughing. I thought we were supposed to be quiet in the
theatre, but the adults around me did not know this. Something that was happening on stage
was making them laugh. And applaud. And stand up in their seats. This was curious to me. I
peered at the performers, who were completely unphased by the laughter and going about their
work, and decided that’s who I wanted to be.
I then began my own work of practicing bits in my room, singing weird little songs, jumping out
at family members from behind my favourite house plant and performing a self-written
monologue. I got some laughs, but not enough. I went back to the drawing board.
I eventually studied theatre in school. When I left school, as is the case with many jobs in the
entertainment industry, there was no clear path forward. So I kept writing bits, monologues,
songs, hoping they turned into something meaningful. Sometimes they did, sometimes they
didn’t, but I loved the process. I love performing, but I really love sitting in my room alone and
writing, wondering if one day any of it will make sense to someone else.
Tell us about your comedy style.
My style is a combination of physical comedy, long drawn out pauses, random interjections, and
a lot of eye work. I love to look at things, and maybe the audience doesn’t know what I’m
looking at. I adore chaos in comedy. Often it’s the chaotic moments that are the most calculated
and sweated over bits in the creation process.
I care deeply about how the audience feels when I’m writing. How do I want them to feel and
why? What secrets do we share? These days, I want the audience to laugh, but to know there is
some melancholy behind it all.
What’s your show about and where can we see it?
My show is called Bean vs. The Robots and it’s a sci-fi solo show musical epic exploration of
grief. That was intentionally a lot of words because it makes me laugh. In the show, the
audience gets trapped on the spaceship of a character named Bean, who travels the galaxy
singing sad little songs from her weird little show. She once worked for robots on Earth, but now
journeys through space and time, searching for something. Bean has lost most of her memories, which pop out at her when she sings. Her best friend is a keyboard, and the audience becomes an integral part of her journey as she begins to uncover her memories.
You can see Bean vs. The Robots at theSpace at Surgeons’ Hall in Theatre 2 between 7th and 29th August.
Any advice for those starting out / taking their first show to a festival?
I think when one is starting out, and even after years of experience, we often focus on the end
goal of a project. And sometimes that end goal can hold us back from the million different paths
a project can take. The best discoveries can be made when you’re simply in the moment, writing your heart out, thinking of bits that make you laugh.
But after that, the hard work is taking those moments and putting them out into the world. Put
them out there even if you don’t feel ready. You will never feel ready. At least, I know I never do.
But, only good can come from failure. If you haven’t failed, you probably aren’t reaching far
enough. Especially with comedy, it must be worked out in front of an audience, and that is one
of the hardest things to do. But you must.
Who are your favourite Funny Women?
My first comedy obsessions were Carol Burnett and Lucille Ball. I learned comedic timing from
watching them. I dyed my hair red like theirs because I thought that would make me funnier. It
did not make me funnier, but I felt cool.
These days, I love anyone who is doing something that challenges what solo work has to look
like. I loved Kate Berlant’s solo show Kate for its ability to break down typical solo show tropes
and rebuild something new that was funny and real. Recently, I was absolutely blown away by
Courtney Pauroso’s Vanessa 5000. I don’t even have words for what I saw, and wouldn’t want
to spoil it for others who haven’t seen it, but I loved that performance.
What do you love about comedy/writing/producing/etc?
I love live theatre. I live for the lead up to producing a piece, when you look around the room at
a group of humans who have all decided to drive themselves mad by bringing a new script to
the stage. And there are tears, and there are triumphs, and it’s just life itself.
I especially love the chaos of a festival. Anything can happen. Live comedy can pop out of
nowhere. I once performed in a dusty old room with a broom closet as my dressing room in
Australia, and it was one of the happiest moments of my life. I once fell through a trapdoor in a
stage while delivering a monologue, and all I could think about was how best to finish my
monologue from under the stage. I once saw a life changing show in a dry cleaning shop in
Brooklyn. Even a rat who had somehow gotten into the shop stopped to watch the show. That’s
the magic of live theatre.
Tickets for Bean vs. The Robots and more information can be found here!
