NEW PODCAST EPISODE #54 — Comedy writer Declan Fay on speaking to kids in schools
Declan Fay has cowritten narrative comedy gems like Crossbread and Ronnie Chieng International Student. He also speaks to teens in schools about motivation and a creative life.
I love chatting to Declan, and perhaps more than any other Speakola episode, this is two friends chewing the fat over shared interests and passions, which range from sport, to When We Were Kings, to writing, to Jon Stewart and The Daily Show, to speeches and public speaking.
Declan’s feature speech for the episode is his 2023 valedictory for Year 12s at Eltham High.
But more generally, we talk about speaking in schools and the challenges that can confront a speaker.
I had a confrontational one this week when a Year 10 kid who’d whispered and giggled throughout my talk, put up his hand to ask a question at the end. ‘Um, one problem I have with my writing is I keep on being racist.’ [grins to mate]
‘What do you mean?’ I said, unable to quite believe this was happening.
‘I dunno, I keep writing stories where people with dark skin are sent off into space and stuff.’ [another grin to mate]
I teed off, said that I didn’t believe him, and that this was transparently an attempt to show off to the class and and to try to make a guest speaker uncomfortable. I think I might have rounded out with ‘and if it is true, you’re disgusting, and you’ve lost my respect, the class’s respect, and I’m guessing you’ll eventually fall out with most of society.’
That story isn’t in this podcast, it happened after we recorded, but Declan does share tips and stories from his years in the high school furnace. True to form, he also shares some great yarns generally:
The day he kept Matthew Pavlich goalless for nearly three quarters;
The day he interviewed comedian Rich Hall
The day Ronny Chieng introduced him to Jon Stewart;
The story about Norman Mailer punching out Gore Vidal at a literary party;
The day his father died
It’s a great episode, and hope you get to have a listen.
Declan Fay’s narrative comedy podcast ‘Crossbread’ is for mine one of the funniest and most musical podcasts ever made. It features Megan Washington and Chris Ryan, and it’s about a rap duo who find stardom in the Christian community with religious themed hip hop.
It’s Declan’s lifelong commitment to the Wu Tang clan, brought to comedy fruition.
Hopefully it becomes a television series.