Interview with Actress, Comedian and TV Host Kati Rausch




By Mick Michaels


COSMICK VIEW: Hello, Kati! Welcome to The Cosmick View. Thank you for taking some time out of your day to chat with me, it’s greatly appreciated.

 CV: With such a enigmatic career overseas, which included having your own prime time show on Finnish TV, what led you make the decision to pick up and to move to LA? Was it a career decision?
Kati Rausch: Yes! Many of my favorite TV shows and movies are from the US, and at some point I realized that I have to move to LA if I want to be part of productions like that. I actually moved from Germany to Finland in 2014 for exactly the same reason. There are talented Finnish comedians, directors and producers I wanted to work with. My dream was to do stand-up gigs in Finland and to work on Finnish television. It was such an amazing experience when I got to work with many of these amazing people I had dreamt of working with that I dared to dream even bigger afterwards. Without my time in Finland I would never had the courage to make the step moving to the US.

CV: Education has a way of offering people a different perspective on life...sometimes good, sometimes bad and sometimes skewed. How has having a degree in Theology affected your perspective? Do you see it as a means to better relate to a variety of world views?
KR: Yes, definitely. I grew up as part of a Christian hippie family, and that was also what lead to my decision to study Theology. I wanted to become an actress and comedian since my early teens, but when I graduated from high school, I was too young to audition at the drama schools in Germany. So I picked Theology because it fascinates me. It was at the same time that I started performing as a stand-up comedian and going on tour for the first time. My Theology studies also gave me a lot inspiration for stand-up routines. I think being Christian, being spiritual, helps me and has always helped me to stay grounded and true to myself while working in the show biz.  

CV: Comedy seems to be about walking a fine edge of being offensive to some and hilarious to others. Kati, since you are someone who works in comedy, do you see yourself then less offended by others whose behavior and comments may be somewhat politically incorrect? Where do you see yourself on a politically correct scale?
KR: I would say…it is pretty hard to offend me at all. When I do stand-up or develop a comedy web series, I like to get close to the edge. I enjoy pushing the envelope sometimes. On stage I'm the nice girl next door, that suddenly says something really heavy. Of course, my aim is that my audiences have fun, but comedy can and should also be provocative. In my opinion, comedy…no matter if it's stand-up, sitcom or sketch comedy…is a great way to bring awareness to certain topics and issues. Concerning politics… I think it is difficult to talk about politics these days…therefore I try to talk about values that I support instead.


CV: Many comedians will say they were bit with the love of comedy and making others laugh at an early age. Was this your experience?  Is being witty and funny something that has always come natural to you?
KR: At age 13 it became clear to me that I wanted to be an actress and comedian. So that was pretty early, I guess. I love to make others laugh, and it happens automatically and naturally most of the time. But my first idea for my dream job was actually park ranger. When I was 5 years old I wanted to become a ranger and live in a cabin in the woods with Bambi and a lot of other animals. I've always loved animals.

CV: Many old timers say that there is a big distinction between being a comedian and being a comic. Is there a difference? Which do you consider yourself to be?
KR: I don't…we don't have this distinction in Europe. As long as it's funny, I don't care about the label ;)

CV: I only speak English...and continue to struggle with it daily. Haha! Being able to speak five languages as you do is amazing. Out of the five languages, what has been the hardest to learn?
KR: Thank you! I think your English is pretty good ;) I love languages, and I guess I have a talent for learning them. But I'm super bad in math, and I have absolutely no sense of direction. At least I can ask for help in 5 languages when I get lost... My native language is German and I speak Finnish on a native level, as well as English, Danish and French…but the latter is pretty rusty by now...I found that learning a new language becomes easier every time. The more languages you speak, the easier you will learn the next one…because you can see the parallels between them. The hardest to learn was Finnish because the grammatical system is completely different from most other languages in the world. But it was still a lot of fun to learn Finnish… I did it to make my dream come true, to do gigs in Finnish, work as actress on TV in Finland and to interview bands in Finnish…in case you wonder now, I also do funny band interviews for the YouTube channel “Music Interview Corner”. An additional difficulty when learning Finnish is that there are basically two versions of the Finnish language: the written Finnish…that you learn in language classes and the spoken language…the slang that people use when talking to each other in everyday life. This slang contains a plethora of abbreviations and funny slang expressions that people who've only learned the formal written Finnish from the books often can't understand. Luckily, my first Finnish teacher, a good friend from Helsinki, taught me both versions from the beginning. I also watched a great Finnish sitcom everyday to learn the real spoken language. This sitcom also helped me to build a rich vocabulary of Finnish swearwords...

CV: Kati, does being able to speak a variety of languages give you an added edge on understanding what makes people laugh?
KR: Yes, I think so. I personally love jokes that are based on language. I wrote some really funny ones in Finnish and in German. It's only a shame, that they cannot be translated to other languages. I guess I have to come up with some new ones in English now...


CV: How do you view American comedy compared to European comedy? Is there a difference or is “funny” funny regardless of country or language?
KR: As a stand-up comedian, who has worked in Germany, Switzerland, Finland and LA, I feel that there is a big difference between German comedy opposed to comedy in Finland and the US. Because in Germany we have a very strong censorship…especially when it comes to gigs on TV. In Switzerland my experience with censorship was similar like in Germany. In Finland on the other hand, there is almost no censorship, and I also haven't been censored here in the US yet. But to be fair, I only had gigs in LA so far, and I have heard from other comedians that the audiences in other parts of the US are very different. Many Germans are shocked when they see Finnish comedy for the first time. 

CV: What makes you laugh?
KR: The sitcom…I watched to learn Finnish! It's an animated sitcom about the Finnish police called “Pasila.” Pasila is a district of the Finnish capitol city Helsinki, in which the headquarters of Finland's police force is located. The animation style is similar to “South Park” and the humor is similar to “The Simpsons”, but the jokes are connected to the Finnish culture. There is even an English voice-over version of “Pasila“ available. It' goes by the titles “The Police Station” or “Jefferson Anderson,” but since the Finnish voice actors are so amazing, I would recommend to watch the original version with English subtitles. After all, that's how I learned Finnish ;)  

CV: You describe yourself as "the dreamy, naive girl next door, who is crazy
in a cute way and has a secret..." What's the secret?
KR: I have many secrets...

CV: Now that you are in the Mecca of entertainment, what do you look to achieve...what's the primary goal? Is there a star emerging?
KR: Oh, I hope so! And I'm working on that part ;) My dream is to be a lead or regular on a really cool show…either comedy/sitcom or sci-fi/mystery.

CV: Do you see your move to the United States as a long term thing or will it depend on how your career blossoms? Can you see yourself making permanent roots here?
KR: Yes, I can imagine staying here in the US permanently. Of course, I miss Helsinki and my wonderful friends there. But I also made some great new friends here in LA. Helsinki is my home…and LA is my new big adventure. I am very grateful for the opportunity to work in the US! And I guess when I miss my friends and family in Europe too much, I will have to make the airlines rich...

CV: So Kati…now that you are settled into living the LA lifestyle, what has been some of the highlights so far?
KR: There were actually quite a few highlights! In October 2018, after I was here for 2 month, I had my very first stand-up gig in the US at “The Comedy Store.” Since that I also had multiple gigs in the comedy shows “Speakeasy Bar” in Santa Monica, and “A Night of Comedy - Miska and some Eccentrics” - the show of the Finnish comedian Miska Kajanus, with whom I've had comedy gigs together in Finland since 2013. Another highlight is that I was cast as the second lead in an amazing horror comedy short film, in which I play a unicorn. The film, “THE EX,” was written by the renowned comedian and actress Christina Marie Leonard and is directed by Neil D'Monte. I am very excited to be part of it.


CV: If you were to land your dream gig, what would it be?
KR: My dream role would be the comic relief in a sci-fi show. I adore the work of Eric Kripke, especially the shows “Supernatural” and “Timeless.” I am obsessed with the topic time travel. I also would love to work with the Duffer Brothers because “Stranger Things” is one of the best shows I've seen so far. When it comes to comedy, I would love to work with Chuck Lorre, the god of sitcom, and Lorne Michaels, who created “Saturday Night Live”. I would love to be part the cast of a great sketch comedy like “SNL” or “Mad TV.”  

CV: What's next for you?
KR: Soon we are gonna wrap the filming for the horror comedy short film “THE EX,” in which I play the unicorn, and I'm looking forward to the first screening! I also had callbacks for some very interesting projects, I cannot talk about yet. And there will be more stand-up gigs soon. I also have a lot of fun with my YouTube comedy vlog “Kati's Crazy Diary,” where I mostly make videos that are elated to my work as an actress and comedian, and my life. I just started a new series that's called “Exploring LA,” in which I grab one of my friends and we explore each week another part of this beautiful, crazy, fascinating city. This is a lot of fun, and it gives me the opportunity to show my friends and fans in Europe what I'm doing here. And speaking of webTV, there will also be some more funny band interviews...

CV: Thank you again Kati for spending some time talking and sharing with our readers. I wish you all the best and continued success.

Check out Kati at:
YouTube: 




Like The Cosmic View on Facebook at:
www.facebook.com/TheCosmickView   
My name is Mick Michaels...I'm an artist, music fan, songwriter, producer, dreamer and guitarist for the traditional Heavy Metal band Corners of Sanctuary. Writing has always been a creative outlet for me; what I couldn't say in speech, I was able to do with the written word.  Writing has given me a voice and a way for me to create on a multitude of platforms including music and song, articles, independent screenplays, books and now, artist interviews. The Cosmick View is an opportunity to raise the bar and showcase artists in a positive and inspirational light. For me, it's another out-of-this-world adventure.










Want to see your logo here? Contact The Cosmic View for details and rates

Comments

Post a Comment