Bryn Woznicki is a Los Angeles based filmmaker, writer and performer returning to the Edinburgh Fringe with her solo comedy SMUT. As a filmmaker, Bryn has directed two award-winning feature films that have screened at festivals around the world, with multiple projects screening at the Cannes Film Festival. Last year’s Fringe run of SMUT earned two four-star reviews, including one from The Scotsman. Her work blends outrageous comedy with surprising emotional honesty, exploring intimacy, vulnerability and the wonderfully messy business of being human.
How did you get into comedy/writing/producing?
Comedy and creating have always been a part of me. I remember consciously telling my first joke at age five and getting hooked on the feeling of making someone laugh. As soon as my dad let me get my hands on his camcorder, I was shooting comedy sketches and stop-motion videos making my Barbies battle each other using weapons from Cluedo.
I wrote my first screenplay at eight and have been writing ever since. I started doing stand-up at eighteen and have since dabbled in improv, sketch, clown, burlesque and drag. I began producing films in college and discovered I had a knack for it, so I’ve been producing for both film and theatre ever since. SMUT is my first theatre production abroad, and I’m right chuffed about it.
Tell us about your comedy style.
It’s a bit of a pick-and-mix bag. I love dark comedy. I believe that the only difference between comedy and tragedy is point of view, and if we can bring a little levity to life’s darker moments, why not? I also tend to go blue because there’s endless humour to be found in the pursuit of physical intimacy and the failures found within. Also the occasional fart joke. Sorry/not sorry. My work tends to blend the sexy, the stupid, the self-aware and the slightly existential. I love a tightly crafted joke as much as a terrible pun that only an uncle could appreciate.
What is your show about?
SMUT follows washed-up former burlesque superstar turned author Entendre Entendre as she embarks on a book tour for her scandalous memoir. Through song, dance, striptease, filthy poetry and audience interaction, she recounts the bizarre exploits of her many lovers and the lessons she almost certainly failed to learn from them. Fun fact: all of Entendre’s stories are my own from my little black book.
On the surface, it’s a larger-than-life character grandstanding about her spectacularly questionable life choices. Underneath, it’s about intimacy, vulnerability and the masks we create to protect ourselves from getting hurt. I wanted to make something that was joyfully raunchy that then surprises audiences by asking bigger questions about human connection.
SMUT will be at the Assembly Roxy – The Snug at 9.10pm.
Who are the funny women you would recommend seeing at the Edinburgh Fringe this year?
To name a few: Molly Sharpe’s F*cking Famous, Grace O’Keefe’s An A to Z Guide to Dating, Georgina Collins’s Succubus, Elf Lyons’s The Woman on the Edge, Cabbage The Clown’s Cinemadrome and Elouise Eftos’ Aphrodite.
Have you got any tips for comedians going to the festival for the first time?
Take care of yourself. Rest, recharge, hydrate, eat something green occasionally. I’m probably projecting because I’m still trying to get better at all of these things myself, but Edinburgh is a marathon, not a sprint. It’s very easy to get swept up in the excitement, the late nights and the post-show drinks and forget about soothing the body and soul.
I’d also encourage people to put themselves out there. Start the conversation, give the compliment, ask to be on the lineup. There are so many cool people to meet and opportunities to be had, there’s no time to be bashful.
Keep up to date with Bryn Woz by following them on Instagram, and TikTok.
Tickets and information for SMUT can be found here!
