Is bathroom-wall graffiti the purest form of art? This form of self-expression doesn’t pay, doesn’t have any praise attached, and is completely anonymous – so perhaps it is the truest mirror we can hold up to humanity. This is the driving thesis behind Caitlin Cook’s new Edinburgh Fringe show The Writing on the Stall, which takes scribbles and quotes from stall walls and turns them into comedic songs. We spoke to Caitlin about her new show, the art of turning drawings into funny songs, and Instagram virality.
What do you think is the main difference between doing a ‘bit’ in spoken word vs song, and how do you decide which one will be the best way to deliver a joke?
Usually when I think of a funny idea, it very quickly becomes a whole song. It's sort of like a stand-up building on a premise and adding tags to a joke, except I'm adding verses and pre-choruses. That being said, I also love writing stand-up, and sometimes a joke is just a joke—usually just a one-liner that is punchier when spoken and/or isn't worth building out into an entire song. I love figuring out how to weave the two together. With The Writing on the Stall in particular, I wrote almost all the songs first and then had to figure out how to weave them into a cohesive show, packed with jokes and bits and stories.
Can you talk us through your data collection process? Do you recruit family and friends to send you pictures of memorable toilet stall art?
At first, it was just me seeking out bathroom graffiti and taking pictures, but as my friends and family caught on, they started looking as well and would send me pictures. Then, when I started to perform some of the songs, audience members would show me their own bathroom graffiti pictures or send me photos after shows. But since my songs have gone insanely viral, I get hundreds of DMs a day of bathroom graffiti from all over the world. It's incredible, and I'm very appreciative of anyone that sends me new bathroom graffiti. It's enough that I'm now working on a new full ensemble bathroom graffiti musical!
Your debut album Zinger-Songwriter was recorded across twelve different venues – what was behind that decision, and would you do that again?
I might do that again! It was a decision made from necessity at the time: I was touring a ton, opening for the hilarious Sean Patton on the road, honing these songs over and over again at different venues. I started showing up to the venues early to plug my field recorder into the mixer so I could get direct vocals and guitar and then I'd place another field recorder onstage to get the room sound and audience response. So, I then I had some high-quality audio recordings from all over the place and could pick the best ones and mix them. It worked for me, and I thought it was cool to have snapshots of different shows, venues, and audiences from all over.
Do you consider yourself primarily a singer-songwriter or a comedian, or do the two work in harmony?
I consider myself both, but not always at the same time. Sometimes, I'm working on music that isn't comedically driven. Sometimes I'm working on comedy that doesn't have musical elements. But my favourite thing to do is combine the two, and I think both are important parts of my identity.
If you could form a musical comedy duo with any artist, who would match your vibe best and why?
I'm actually already part of a musical comedy duo with A.J. Holmes called 2/3rds of a Threesome! We've had a bunch of songs go viral and are planning on releasing more music this year.
Caitlin Cook: The Writing on the Stall will be performed at 21:50 at Pleasance Dome (10 Dome) from 14th-25th AugustBooking Link: https://www.pleasance.co.uk/event/caitlin-cook-writing-stall
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