By James Macaronas (interviewing from bed).

What can you tell me about the show?

The show is an exploration of what it’s like to grow up – in Luke’s case, what it’s like to grow up in country Australia and in my case, what it’s like to grow up Jewish. It’s a subversive take on typical stand-up … more of a show and less of a lecture.

How do you know Luke?

I met Luke through Mudcrabs [Melbourne University Comedy Revue Board]. He performed in one of our first ever shows, he was really good. In his first ever set, he talked making the ‘anti-election’ party, who would give out badges saying, “I already voted”. I thought it was such a good idea.

I feel like our styles complement each other, in that he’s very laid back with words, while I try to put a bit of ‘oomph’ or ‘pizzazz’ into what I do. They’re not the same, but they complement each other nicely.

You talk about growing up Jewish being a part of your comedy – do you think comedy should come predominantly from the comic or the audience?

That’s an interesting question… someone once said that doing comedy is like playing an instrument and the audience is that instrument. I think that’s a really good way of looking at it – you can’t play music without an instrument, but it still comes from the musician. No comedy set isn’t influenced by the audience – it comes from me, but a lot also comes from the audience. Sometimes jokes work one night but they don’t work another.

And where did you ‘learn to play’ your instrument? How did you get into comedy?

I remember I once overheard my dad telling my mum that my sister was smarter than me (laughs). That’s always something a bit hard to hear. But, I knew that I was funnier than all of them put together. From that, I made sure to ‘get good’ at comedy, just by always thinking about it.

The Campus Comedy competition at university – that was my first ever set. From then on, I’d do sets at the Rowdy every week. Doing comedy in the library means you have to get good – you can’t rely on people being drunk or a good MC or whatever… you have to say something funny.

I also went to a ridiculous school… things that happened were just insanity. Everyone there could be a comedian, I’m convinced.

You’ve made the RAW State Final and you’ve got a show in the Comedy Festival – where to from here?

Ooh, what a question! I want to put on more Mudcrabs shows. Hopefully do another show with someone else in the next festival with the aim of getting enough material to do a solo show the year after. That’s the plan – make a splash with a solo show.

I’m also going to try more writing and podcasting, because God knows I don’t want a 9-5 job. Anything but that!

For those of you who share your fear of the 9-5 – what advice to you have? Other than ‘come and see the show’, of course …

(Laughs) Yeah… that was what I was going to say!

I can’t remember who said it, but basically, in the modern world… just ‘get good’. If you want to be a writer or a designer, go and write! Go and design! Go to uni and just do these things, you know? If you don’t want to do a 9-5 job, you need to be really damn good at something – in a way that I’m not, I’m still ‘getting good’.

Jacob’s show, Go Get Mum, is on at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival until Sunday 3 March.