Odessa Primus is quickly becoming a name that will be easily remembered. The stand-up comedian and singer is also a Toastmaster, which is how she was pushed into stand-up comedy.
A member of the Cacique Toastmaster’s Club, Odessa won the club’s national humorous speech competition and the opportunity to represent Guyana competing in the international leg, hosted in Barbados. While she emerged as the best speaker, she lost the first place trophy because she went over the standard time by six seconds.
However, her creative mentality and ability to think on the spot had caught the attention of known comedian, director and producer Linden ‘Jumbie’ Jones. Soon after the competition he coerced her into performing in his new show, ‘Uncensored.’
“I had a lot of doubts because I was afraid… [that] people would boo me, which would make me lose focus and stumble,” she told The Scene. Did they boo? No! The response was what she described as “fantastic!” And a new stand-up comic was born.
And this is a comedian with a big heart. She loves to write stories and plays and is currently writing pieces for children’s theatre focused on social issues like human trafficking and persons with disabilities. “It’s not just about comedy for me,” she said.
But what is it like being a stand-up comedian?
“I think it is extremely hard because even off stage people expect you to be funny,” she said. “They stop you on the road and be like ‘Gimme a joke! Gimme a joke!” But you don’t want to disappoint them. Going up on stage is even harder, every performance must top the last and at times I don’t think I have a lot more but so far people have been pleased and I am grateful for that,” she said.
Odessa’s style of comedy is straightforward, direct and very critical but well received by the masses. When asked how she comes up with material, she said, “I’m a Guyanese, with that being said I don’t need to say more. Funny things happen in Guyana all the time — just by looking at the news I can get several months of material with that single episode of news.”
She continued to say that most of the jokes come from her personal experiences, and “… from family, they’re going to be mad at me but I’m going to laugh at them!”
Her biggest supporters are the people who are excited just by knowing she will be performing. “People would be sending me messages and calling and giving me encouragement and that is what [urges] me to go on, the excitement I hear in their voices. I always encourage them to come out because sometimes you need the humour in life to make you relax, take your mind off everything; to make the best out of your situation.”
What is her best performance to date? Well the answer to that is debatable, but Odessa believes it to be ‘Uncensored 2011’, where she went on stage dressed as a pussycat. The cat costume was hilarious but the entire piece was awesome and she said the performance did not have a dull moment.
To expand as a comedian, she eyes venturing out to regional performances and earning a spot on the international scene. She will soon be heading to St Maarten for a show and will be staging her comedy plays in the very near future.
The beginning
Born and raised in the ‘Gateway to the Interior’, this Bartician grew up with a very closely-related family as a result of a tragic story.
Her mother died while giving birth to her sister, but her sister survived and joined Odessa and her brother to make up an inseparable trio. Odessa’s mother’s last wish was that her children should be raised by their aunt. So Odessa’s aunt, Marina ‘Ann’ Charles raised the three with her husband, Primus sees her aunt as one of two mother figures in her life, because she played a dominant role in decision-making. The second mother figure in her life was her aunt Veronica Charles, simply because she is the person who was always there for everything like guidance.
“My childhood was very interesting!” she laughed. “Why? Because I was adventurous! A little mischievous you can say. My adventures landed me quite a few lashes because I would go places I was not supposed to; do things that were not expected of me. I guess I was trying to see how far I can go without a few lashes, but I don’t regret it because it formed a guideline for me growing up.”
As a child Odessa was actively involved in everything public – modelling, poetry and singing from nursery school all through to her Secondary School years. She described herself as a creative child and very imaginative, given the active childhood she had and the artistic life she now leads.
As a child, she would climb atop the ‘cow pen’ and “go into another country”. She would catch fish and gallivant in the fields.
Since her aunt Veronica loved to cook, a picnic was always around the corner and together the family had the best of the country life experience.
Odessa attended Second Avenue Nursery School then went on to St Anthony’s Primary before attending Bartica Secondary for a little while. She was brought to the city for a more grounded education and completed her secondary education at Queen’s College and School of the Nations Sixth Form.
Throughout her school life, Odessa also participated in debating and the junior calypso competition opened many doors for her.
The future
Odessa will continue her artistic pursuits, but never on a full-time basis because she has bigger fish to fry. She is a social worker who represents very serious issues and works on community development with organisations like the United Nations Development Programme where she once worked and now Merundoi. She is currently in the process of starting an organisation to assist single parents (both men and women) in Sophia. The aim is to ensure that children can get the required necessities to attend school comfortably. “It is not just a social venture… it is about academics mostly,” she said when asked to describe her cause.
Since 2010, Odessa has been singing with the Georgetown Chamber Choir which is directed by Trinidadian diplomat Musheer Kamau.
Her hobbies include interior decorating, drawing, painting, floral arrangements and nature photography. She also loves to travel and play pools. Odessa and her boyfriend Maqsood Puran recently moved into their new home with their newborn baby.
