Michelle Buteau's been to Austin and had the brisket — now she's back for Moontower

If you listened to the recording of our interview with comedian and actress Michelle Buteau, you'd just hear a lot of laughing.

Even when discussing her career and what topics she plans to cover during her show at Moontower Just for Laughs Austin next week, Buteau had us giggling and forgetting we were interviewing a star.

She'll headline the Paramount Theatre stage at 9:30 p.m. on April 22. If our 20-minute conversation with her was an appetizer ... we are definitely ordering an entrée.

This interview with Buteau has been edited for length and clarity.

American-Statesman: I read that you wanted to be a journalist in college. So, help me out here. What would you ask you?

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Michelle Buteau: What would I ask me? What would 44-year-old Michelle ask 44-year-old Michelle? You stumped me, bitch! I always go to a "why," like, "Why does something make you feel this way?" This week, I would definitely ask me what I thought about Will Smith and Chris Rock.

Oh, yeah. What did you think?

There's a lot of layers. There's just nuance. It's not as black and white and cut and dry as saying someone lost their temper. There are a lot of things going on, I don't ever condone violence. That was horrible. No one wins, especially Will Packer (Productions), the first Black production company to produce the Oscars, (or) the Williams sisters. (Editor's note: Smith won an Oscar for playing Richard Williams, father of tennis stars Venus and Serena Williams, in "King Richard.") There are so many people disappointed.  

We should be having really important conversations around this. Also, we shouldn't be making fun of people in a hurtful way. We also have to rethink comedy and roasting jokes and also be mindful that we've been in quarantine for two years, and now we're just out in public and we're supposed to just go back to normal? We can't. 

All the work that everyone's done to even be in that room (at the Oscars) or in that chair is pretty spectacular. The isolating, the missing the family, touch, money, just so we can keep each other safe. 

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You’ve been in the movies "Always Be My Maybe," and "Marry Me" as an assistant to Ali Wong and Jennifer Lopez's characters, respectively, and as the "before photo" of Gina Rodriguez in "Someone Great." But I think you are super underappreciated, and I want to know when we're getting a Michelle-focused rom-com. Is that something you want to do? 

I want a whole-ass movie with just me, too! I'm not tired of doing a couple scenes here and there. It's very fun. I honestly feel like there's no small scene. In standup comedy, if you get three minutes or 30 minutes, make them the best minutes you have, because that's your time.

When I had this scene in "Someone Great," I had actually auditioned for a bigger role and didn't get it. But they liked my take so much, they were like, "Will you do this subway lady thing?" I said, "I will do the subway thing if we can give her a name. You know? At least give the lady a name. I don't want to be 'subway woman.'" I come to play. If I'm putting on a bra and fake lashes, I am coming to play, honey.

I've been really fortunate to be on sets where everyone is like, "Do that thing you do." And I'm like, "Oh, just listen? And be in a room?" Absolutely, I would love to. I'm really lucky. I've been fortunate enough to do that and to work with really talented, diverse women.

Can you talk a little bit about how you became a comedian and why you wanted to be a comedian? 

Sure, like you saw on my Wikipedia page, I really wanted to be an entertainment reporter. I love pop culture and entertainment. I loved watching Mary Hart with her shoulder pads and John Tesh deliver the news (on "Entertainment Tonight"), but the news that I was in to. I thought there would be a very fun, kitschy way to deliver it. So I always had this producing mind and didn't know until years later.

As I was going to school for TV production, we were going around the room in one class and said what we wanted to do with our TV production degree. When I said that out loud in class, "I want to be an entertainment reporter," my professor said, essentially, I was too fat or too big to be on TV. My body was hot. I was definitely embarrassed. But I wasn't even mad, because I didn't see anyone like me on TV. So I was like, "Oh OK, I guess he's right." 

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Now, obviously, I'd flip a table like Teresa (Giudice) in "The Real Housewives of New Jersey." My mantra now is, "Don't ever tell a young mind they can't do something." My talented friends are always talking themselves in a corner, and they don't want to show any of their content. Don't tell yourself "no" before people tell you "no," that's crazy.

I went down the production route because I thought, "OK I still want to be part of this crazy business, because I want every day to feel like a different day, and I love community, and that's what it's like being on a set." I was an editor and a field producer forever. I would have co-workers and camera guys and writers tell me, "You're so funny. Why don't you do standup?" I would see standup comedians and be like, "That's not me," because they always talking about being broke and not having sex. And I'm like, I'm happy, I love money, I love sex, I love my body, clearly I'm not cut out for comedy.

And then, when 9/11 happened, that was just a crazy (expletive) tragedy that I did not know would affect me so deeply. My news director at the time said they were getting everybody therapy and I said, "No, I don't need therapy, I'm just going to start standup. This is a good time, because we all might die." What was I even thinking? ... Sure it was a rush, but I was like, "Oh wow, what a fun way to communicate." And so, I just never stopped.

Were you in New York when 9/11 happened?

Yeah, I was working at NBC when it happened.

Not only was I in New York, I was editing the footage. 

How old were you when that happened?

I'm so bad at math, honey. I was like, 23, I think.

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What advice do you have for women who want to get into comedy?

I would say, do your own thing, and you don't have to ask people's advice. Get into it for the right reasons. Don't get into it for money. If you want to make money, you can go get a job where you get a steady paycheck. This is about finding your inner voice and sharing a gift, your gift, with people. It's more of an affliction more than anything else, but I would say definitely do you.

When I see up-and-comers ask people for advice all the time, that's not the research you should be doing. You should be doing every (expletive) show until you become so confident you're ready for the big stage.

What topics can audiences expect from your Moontower show?

This new hour that I wrote in quarantine is a little darker than my other hour, "Welcome to Buteaupia." I definitely talk about living in quarantine, existing in the crazy bubble. The good things happening within a bad time.

Of course, you know, I've spent so much time with my husband and twins, so I do talk about them.

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Also just the state of the world. You know, it was recently Trans Visibility Day and ... it is really interesting that, at a time where we have to relearn science and what being safe and healthy means, that we also are learning about different orientations and perspectives and fighting for equality.

So yeah, I get into it. Basically it's like a big-titty TED Talk, but with some laughs, honey, duh.

Did you say "big titty?"

I said "big-titty TED talk." You can quote me.

I just wanted to make sure.

What a great follow-up question.

What was I going to ask you next? I got distracted by the "titty," which, don't we all?

Look, no truer words!

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Have you been to Austin before? Done Moontower before?

I have done Moontower, gosh, so long ago. Totally went, had the brisket. Got the meat sweats. Did some comedy, no big deal. I've been to Austin. I've also been there for South by Southwest with Nick Lachey when I was co-hosting "Big Morning Buzz Live" on VH1. Have you heard of it? Probably not. No one has.

My husband is coming, and it's his first time in Austin, so it'll be cute.

Are your kids coming?

No, bitch. I'm trying to have fun. If you're a nanny for twins, then yes.

If you go

Michelle Buteau at Moontower Just For Laughs Austin

When: 9:30 p.m. April 22

Where: Paramount Theatre (713 Congress Ave.)

More information: Single tickets to Moontower shows, as well as festival badges, can be purchased online. Go to austintheatre.org.