Florida Keys WeeklyWho can say they’ve starred alongside Rowan Atkinson, landed roles with Mel Brooks and was cast on Saturday Night Live? Pamela Stephenson Connolly.She is making an indelible and unforgettable mark on Key West's cultural scene with celebrated international dancers and Emmy-nominated talent performing with her Key West International Dance Company/Pasion Project. The company is in the midst of four Broadway-worthy shows that span more than three months at the San Carlos Theater on Duval Street. The Florida Keys Weekly Podcast recently caught up with Connolly, who details her storied acting career; what it’s like being a regular contributor to The Guardian, an iconic news outlet; how she found time to earn a doctorate in psychology — and the key to a successful marriage of over 40 years with her soulmate and famed co-star in life, Sir Billy Connolly.
Welcome to another edition of the Florida Keys Weekly podcast and show. I'm your host, Brett Myers. I have an incredible, incredible show today. We have someone in the Key West studio today sitting across from me, and I'm excited to, uh, explain who this person is.
As I always mention here in the Florida Keys, particularly Key West, uh, you just never know who lives around the corner, who, who, uh, interacts here and lives here, and that's the one of the most beautiful things about Key West is it's not about necessarily who they are because everyone is one human family here, but it's pretty damn interesting when you realize who it is and you look at that background and their passion, and we're gonna talk about passion today.
Uh, and you and you really go back into who they are, and I've got one of those people here today. You're gonna be blown away by this guest. Before we get started, I wanna thank Overseas Media Group for bringing this show to us and being our sponsor. That's the local digital marketing company that does websites, social media, all your digital marketing needs uh have a world of expertise and have the local service that comes with that. You can go to overseasmediagroup.com. And as for this podcast and other shows,
I want to thank our radio listeners out there today, the early risers at uh the FM 103.3 and AM 1600 for all your radio people and of course podcast listeners, you can get this show and all the others at Keysweekly.com, Apple, Spotify, Amazon, you name it, it's all out there. Now, without further ado,
I'm gonna do a little longer intro today because you know someone is, and she's going to roll her eyes at me, you know someone is uh incredibly accomplished when you can go to their Wiki wiki page. I don't have a wiki page, if I did, I'm afraid what it might say, but, uh, when you can go to this person's wiki page and get just some of the basic nuts and bolts, and these are more than basic, but I'm going to introduce Pamela Stevenson Connolly, Pamela Stephenson Connolly.
Um, she is a psychologist, writer, actress, comedian. She was born in New Zealand, later moved to Australia with her family, and then went to the UK.
She appeared in many British television shows with a breakout role aside somebody named Rowan Atkinson, AKA Mr. Bean for all you fans out there, Mel Smith, Griff Jones. That was a sketch show that many of you have seen, not the 9 o'clock news. Uh, she appeared in films such as Mel Brooks, History of the World Part.
One, Superman 3 and was cast in season 10 of Saturday Night Live. Uh, she's written several books about her husband, Sir Billy Connolly, yes, that Mr. Connolly, Sir Connolly, uh, has been her partner for over 40 years. She's also presented a show and written books on psychology, uh, since 2007. She's written a sexual advice column for The Guardian.
And she was a finalist, if that's not enough for you, she was a finalist in the 8th series of the BBC television show Strictly Come Dancing in 2010, and her autobiography, The The Varnished Untruth was published in 2012. Um, we're gonna talk about some of that, but the reason Pamela is here today, we're gonna talk about what she
going on in Key West. She's brought a global phenomenon of talent to Key West and some shows that we're going to be talking about, but I am overdoing this intro and let's get to why we're here. Let's talk to Pamela Connolly right now. Pamela, it is an honor to have you on the show
today. Thanks for having me here, Brett.
Absolutely.
Now Pamela, before we get started, um, you have an incredible production company known as Passion Project, and, uh, the performers, the International Dance Company performers perform, and you've got several shows going on right now. I wanna talk about some of that today. Um, before we do that, just tell me a little bit, how did you make after all that long bio I just gave in your accomplished career and we could do an entire
You know, chapter of books and documentaries about you and who you are, and then your husband on top of it, of course, I know you get asked about that a lot, um, but how did you guys make your way to Key West?
So, um, there was a, there was a point when we were living in London in the UK and Billy got asked to do, uh, he did a, he got asked to do a Warner Brothers series, TV series called Head of the Class and so it was either commute or move to America so we decided to settle in Los Angeles and so that was the first step to Key West and uh so he did that we.
Um, raised our kids there, um, I became a psychotherapist in in Los Angeles and then, uh, I at that point I kind of stopped performing because I wanted to do other things and then we moved eventually to New York and after we moved to New York, um.
Uh, Billy was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease and at that point the extremes of temperature and so on in New York, we decided, you know, let's let's just go somewhere where we can really de-stress and really enjoy our environment and then I, I had been told some things about Key West and I came here. I arrived here, I'd never been here, uh, by myself. I was walking down Duval Street in the middle of the day one day and
Uh, it was blazing hot. It was July, and there was a woman walking down on just in front of me and she was walking her dog and she was wearing a lime green tutu and she had marijuana leaves painted on her breasts and she was wearing nothing else and she was just walking the dog and.
There were, there were people all around but nobody was taking any notice of her, and I thought this is different this is, this is an environment where people can be who they are, they can express themselves and nobody, nobody's gonna bother them. And so I started thinking and I actually just went into a real estate agent office and said what you got and, and I bought a house right away.
That was Billy was Billy part of this? Was he like, yeah, OK,
he wasn't, he wasn't then when I, when I went back to New York I said I just bought a house in Key West and um and he said, Key West, I love Key West I fish down there all the time.
See, I didn't know because he went off on these fishing trips and I didn't know where he was, so he would be like Sugarloaf or whatever. You'll be fishing with Will Benson, you know, in Sugarloaf and and and and um but I didn't sort of connect it, so it was mutually very a very good idea.
You know, we're not gonna take this show, this show's about you and, you know, your accomplishments and what you're doing in Key West. Uh, those listening would be really upset with me if I didn't ask you or just bring up one thing about you and Billy. I mean, because he's, you know, he is so he's just so beloved as well as you and considered by many to be one of the greatest, if not the greatest comedian of all comedian of all time.
Uh, so many movies we love him in, but, um, the thing that really, I, I, you know, and I've grown up with him and you and I, I remember you and Superman 3 and other stuff, but what blew me away more than anything I think I've ever read, and even had tears in my eyes, I will admit it, um, you know, you wrote an article, uh, kind of you interviewing Billy and The Guardian not long ago, and it was one of the most moving pieces.
That I think I've read between a couple, and I know y'all been together for 40 years, he's your partner, um, but in that article, the way you you two speak with each other, and of course you write incredibly and you write for The Guardian, but the way the interaction between the two of you, the geniality, the love, the humor, um, it really showed just, you know, really who you two are and who Billy is, and and not
Just who you are, but the pure optimism and everything that he's going through and what you just talked about, just the optimism of of who you two are as together. Oh man, I I love that article and I don't know if you just wanna talk about that real quick and what you know, how did you guys decide, hey, I'm gonna write an article where I interviewed my husband and put it out to the world. I thought that was incredible.
Well, I was, I was asked to write something by the Guardian and and I.
Um, I, I resist most of those kind of invitations and, and I, and I don't, you know, because I've try to keep as little stress on Billy as possible. I keep, you know, very, very little but I mean he is doing, he's, he is still working, he stopped performing live, but he's become an artist and, and he, um he does extraordinary drawing so he's always having exhibitions and I mean he still does TV stuff so I think it was like kind of to promote a a TV thing but.
Um, I, I just didn't want him to be interviewed by a journalist because I thought that would be very stressful for him, so I said, well, I'll write it and, and let's make it a conversation and that's, that's how it happened.
It
was
beautiful. It was absolutely beautiful and I think he should, I think he should interview you. I think I flip that out.
Uh, cause you're both so amazing. And, and you know one thing that jumped out again, it's not we're gonna move on and talk all about you and what's going on, but one thing that really was so poignant and poetic, you asked him early on in that article, you said something like, you know, what's one of the worst places you've ever, you know, favorite places you've traveled to and one of the worst places.
And it was so telling his answer was, I don't have a worse place because I might go back there again and love it. And when someone says something like that, you can feel the positive, you know, that that kind of person, there's no secret on why they accomplish what they accomplish in life because they're just a positive vibe,
he also has an extraordinary brain and that was true. I mean, but but I think it's true for everybody. I mean you, you can revisit something. I mean, of course we as human beings we're supposed to learn from bad experiences, but sometimes if we do have.
A second similar bad experience. It's not a bad experience. It's a much better experience. So, so he speaks truth, you know, he's, he just, he continues to blow me away with his, his, um, the things that come out of his mouth.
I think he's blown us all away. You blow us away. Recently you're blowing us away with, uh, your production company, uh, your passion project. I, I think I probably doesn't need to be said, maybe it does on why that's called passion project, your your passion.
Um, it is an incredible group of performers, writers, composers, dancers that you put together, the International Dance Company, and you're putting on shows in Key West now. It's really how I met you through my wife and some of your performers who was teaching, like trying to teach me how to dance, it's like trying to teach a three-legged cat how to dance, but poor Jorge.
And that's how I got to know you guys, and they said, you know, uh, this woman's kind of famous and she's doing this dance thing and we do have incredible, incredible art scene here in Key West, so all of it's great, so do not get me wrong, but you know, he said, you know, she's doing this thing and I said I, you know, I bet it's pretty good, and I remember going to Bummarddo, the show that you put you produced and and and wrote and put together, and I remember going to that show a few years back.
And I thought, man, this is just different, you know, it was at Broadway, it was it was just different. And then I got to know you and realized that you had assembled this cast of dancers and people from all over the world, and I just wanna talk about that for a minute. So you've got some shows going on right now, but to be able to do what you do with the performers that you have here in Key West, how did, how did all of these people, these incredible dancers from Tango and Lambada,
World class dancers, if you talk about that as well, how did you go out and find this group of people because when y'all are together, whether it's on stage or I see y'all doing things, it's a family and it is amazing and you're doing something amazing here if you can just talk about that.
It really is a family and it's a family that goes back um in some cases 1215 years um it's it's really bound up with my own journey because I, you know, I used to dance when I was really small. I've danced from like 5 years old.
And um you know I did sort of child roles in in the UK with um a a major company there and uh TV roles when I was a kid and so on um but I sort of stopped dancing at a particular point when I um became a psychologist and and I didn't realize how much I would miss it and um I.
I, I, I got back to it I suppose I'm just trying to remember what what year it was but it doesn't even matter um I got back to it because as a psychologist I got asked to travel to the Democratic Republic of Congo and and I had just the worst.
You know experience in my life there because as probably people listening know it's it's a terrible situation what's going on there and I I was um interviewing people um who had you know had atrocities perpetrated upon them and I came back and I was writing a speech to give to a Wall Street group who might be able to um help these people or um try to get some information out about what was going on there.
And I, I think that when you have a really, really dark experience, you, you just, um, you don't, you, you become depressed yourself. You, you really can't see the light.
But there was, um, my TV was running in the background and Dancing with the Stars was on so I'm writing this dark, dark, dark, terrible the world is going to pot, you know, nothing good is happening. Oh my God, they're having so much fun dancing. Oh terrible so it it went like that and then two weeks later I got a call from Britain because I have a profile in the UK and they said, you wanna dance.
Dancing with the Stars in the UK, Strictly Come Dancing, and I said, hell yeah, and everyone said, don't be ridiculous. You're a serious psychologist now. This is gonna ruin your career. And I said, no, I'm doing it. I'm doing. This is gonna save my life. So I went on it and I had so much fun. I was on the show for about 2 years and I rediscovered, reconnected with dance. After that, it was like, alright, now I'm all about dance. So I went to Buenos Aires. I was studying tango.
I went to Brazil. I started studying Lambada. I fell in love with Lambada. I fell in love with everybody I met who was um dancing Lambada. I put together a big international show of Lambada, and that was the beginning, um, of all the shows that I began to do and gathering this this family of of.
Amazing dancers because they weren't known. They were to me, they were every bit as good if not better than the people who are known on Dancing with the Stars, but they were not known internationally. And I felt they deserved to be brave, brave dancers. They will freestyle lift. I mean, incredible athletes, as you've seen, yeah.
No, you're doing shows now. You just, uh, completed, you're doing shows at the famed San Carlos Theater here in Key West. It's season right now. Uh, you just wrapped up, uh, Gate 54B, um, incredible show. Uh, right now Bumfardo is running through October 26th. Upcoming, you have the Dark Knight of the soul.
Then you have Lambada is Dead, which I'm very familiar with. Uh, my wife is in that one she's
incredible. She's amazing. She's narrating it and she's doing such a good job. Uh, you're gonna be really happy when you see that. I'm,
I'm really proud of her. I, uh, and, uh, I know she's made for this stuff. I always have, she's incredible. And then, uh, Fiesta de Navidad, uh, November 19th through early December is coming out. So right now Bummfardo is out. That's when a lot of people.
About, uh, for our listeners out there, Bumfardo, if you don't know the story in Key West, it is a folklore legend, actual character, so but the, the stories around Bumfardo are our fire chief in the 70s and the drug trade and what might have happened to him and where he went is one of the most talked about, well-known stories in Key West. You took that story, turned it into a musical with these performers, world class, I mean, literal world-class performers.
What how do you know, here you are in Key West, you've been around the world, you live here now, you took one of the most interesting stories we have and you turned it into something that appeals to everyone. How did you come up with this? What you were you inspired by? I
don't
think
you could do anything else with because it is such an extraordinary crazy story. I felt that it needed an elevated type of stage production that where you could just fly with crazy ideas, you know, all the, the, the tap dancing square fish, you know, I mean things like that.
So, um, it actually happened that I, I actually started writing it during COVID and um I like everybody else was, you know, bored and scared out of my wits and.
I think sometimes um when you're in that kind of place, amazing things can happen and um it just suddenly started it just came into my mind you know I'd heard the story, I didn't believe it at first, then I started doing some research you guys, um, the Keys Keith Weekly they you you published amazing articles by David Sloane, the investigative reporting that he did and so I read everything there and I thought, wow.
They they're actually this actually happened no way and I started writing it. I, I finished the outline for the script and I wrote all the lyrics and then I didn't know who was gonna ask.
Let
me,
let me interrupt, let me just ask because you just said something that baffles the the laymans, the normal people, that's mortals. You said I wrote it and I wrote the script. How long did that take? Like you you just kind of moved on, but how, what's that process? You wrote the script and did you write the music at the same time, or does that come?
Well,
um, I'm just trying to remember, but usually when I, when I get, you know, I worked with Mel Brooks and he always said to me, the first thing is if when once you get the correct idea, then it's gonna flow and and that's always been true, um.
That once I thought it's got to be a musical and I think because I had to create some characters um so some of the characters that are in it are based on um you know periphery characters but you know I've kind of taken license with it so once I had those fleshed out, it just started writing itself it it just kind of happened.
I wrote lyrics and which was really fun because I knew I wanted to write crazy lyrics like um smoke your tuna here and um bum needs more blow and you know stuff that worked for the show and
Living down the road because my kids, some of my kids were um in New York and I wanted them out of New York because New York was terrifying during COVID and my middle daughter Amy uh had moved down the road um with her boyfriend Dan Crezer who happened to be an amazing composer and he and he's an Emmy winning Emmy nominated composer.
2 Emmy,
he corrected the other day, 2 time Emmy nominated just to Dan, just I'm I'm here for you brother, 2 time Emmy.
Just a little thing, 2 Emmy nominations,
you guys, OK, so, and so I, you know, I said, Dan, you wanna try writing some music to this and so he took one of the songs. Now normally if somebody.
Uh agrees to write some some music for you. They, they send something on a guitar or something like, you know, a piano or something like not very well produced. Dan sent me back this perfectly produced, fully orchestrated um music. I was like, OK, let's go. And so he he wrote it all and
It, you know, it it for me that was, uh, the silver lining of COVID that I, I was so scared. I was scared about keeping Billy safe. I was scared about the whole family and everything so.
But, but to me to be able to disappear into this crazy world of the 70s in Key West and, and do the research and, and write it with um with Dan writing this amazing music. It was, it was such a joy we tried it out uh at the Key West Theater first, then we did one at the um another run at um.
At the San Carlos Institute and and now recently it's a it's it's every time it develops and this is the best one yet and
it's amazing I I can sit here and try to pump people up, but if you haven't been to it, most people have at least once if not more, it's it's one of the most beautiful just fused like, well, the writing's great, but oh yeah, the writings.
Great, but so is the acting. Oh, the acting's great, but so is the music. So is just every little nuance and it is and it's a credit to your professionalism and your background, but just everything comes together. And and of course, we're not even talking about the dancing. I mean, these people, it's unreal. I mean it's mesmerizing to watch them perform on stage. And can you just, and I know we could.
Talk for an hour about who each one is and who they are and they're just they're as beautiful people off the stage as they are on the stage, but can you just talk about a few of these people and where they came from and their background and even all the way up to your composers and writers, but these this cast is just mind blowing.
They're they're amazing and and what has been great for them coming to Key West and living or or staying for large portions of the year is that they've had a chance to develop other skills, for example.
Um, you know, Tybalt, uh, Ulrich, who plays, uh, um Farto, and he's amazing. I mean, he was born for this role. Now Tybalt, I met, uh, because Brazto Santos, Master Brastos Santos, who is the leading Lambada dancer in the world, he has been here for about um.
I don't know, about 9 years uh here in Key West because I brought him here to um to do Lambada courses for people from all over the world come and do Lambaa courses. So Tibble came one day.
To do one of these uh 50 hour courses which took a week and I met Tipelt. I was impressed by him. Then I saw him in uh a show in New York and I thought, wow, he's really, he's got charisma on stage and then I started thinking about bum. I think he, he could look a little bit like Bumm. I called him out and I said, Can you sing Tibbalt? And he said, Well, you know, I haven't sung for a long time, you know, I did a little bit in college, OK, you get down here, get down here.
So he came down and and we started um working with him, Dan and I, and then it turned out he could carry a tune very, very well and actually had a really nice singing voice and since then he has had lessons he's developed and he's a really good singer and he can't really sell that. Uh, another one is um Lena theme. Lena Lena I've known for I guess 12 years. Um, she plays uh agent, um.
Uh, the, the, the female agent,
the name is Blake they're searching for they're,
yeah,
she's
incredible she's incredible, and she and she, I, um, I had in my first Lambada show and she, but I met her, she was a ballet teacher in Los Angeles. That's how I first met her. Then I kept seeing her at congresses and I was always impressed by her because she could do everything.
And I and I had to fight for her to be in um the Brazuca show that I did because some people thought you know um she she wasn't up to par but she developed and she was amazing now she's singing and acting in the show um then then there's um.
Uh, there's, uh, um, Romina, um, unfortunately sometimes, you know, dancers, they, they have issues and, and she got injured, so Romina Hidalgo, who's the top Lambada, uh, dancer, female dancer in the world, she's now a stage manager for a season while she recovers from an injury, and she's amazing stage manager. I mean she's just fantastic, um, uh, Ronnie Detra used to show up at my.
Um, at my, um, apartment in New York every single day because I wanted to learn samba Gafia, which is a very difficult Brazilian dance, and he used to show up every day and dance with me and teach it to me and now he plays Agent Silver in the show and he's amazing, amazing. I didn't even know he could sing before, so it's just kind of all, it's all just, you know, organically happened and I'm I'm so happy about that.
It's, it's just and again yeah I use these terms and for lack of better words it is mind blowing to watch them come together and just, it just, you know, and even as professional people you've been around, I'm sure sometimes things don't always click. This group just clicks, everything clicks and and they you can tell they love doing it. I mean it's it's positive, it smiles, um
one of the differences between what
What we're doing and the the normal route like for for like a Broadway show or most musicals is they start with the singers they choose the singers first and it's a happy accident if they can dance and so often the dancing isn't particularly high level. I mean they have amazing choreographers of course but.
You know it's not and then they they get some dances, but usually you don't, you don't get real um real dancers. So I did it the other way around because I love dance so I prioritize dance and then we tried to create singers. Of course I brought in Erin Lavigne who is like a huge Broadway star who was a friend of.
Dance.
I wasn't even name dropping that Jesus Christ, yeah, I
I I went to Miami to see him in that show and I was like, OK, he's got to play Brutus and and you know it wasn't an arm twist. Hey man, you wanna I said actually after the show I said could you just get in the car? I'm just taking you to Key West. This is a true story.
He came to Key West for that he was free the next day he came to Key West and he sort of hung out and had a had a good time and then he he said, OK, alright, I'll
do
it. You you you're so gracious with your time and them to be as incredible as they are and you'll you'll show up at a rotary or you'll show up in something in this and I think that's what Key West is all about, but you, you live it and you define it too, you'll happily let them come perform.
To open up a fundraiser for a nonprofit or come to Rotary, and these people will show up and then like he'll come sing, for example, he he sang at Boardo and started singing and I looked at Kirby and I said, is he, is he actually I mean I knew it was his voice, but I'm like he is so good and so just resonated throughout the theater. I thought, is he that must be a voiceover and he's just sort of lip lip syncing, and she said no, he's actually singing right now and I just wonder how many people would know like oh he's actually singing.
That's him. Those people are just world renowned and everything you're looking at is just a bunch of people who are with with great humility but great talent just performing for us here in Key West. I just don't know how many people realized that.
Singing and dancing at the same time, which is a sound nightmare, um.
And especially since you know the thing about the gorgeous historic San Carlos Institute, it has perfect acoustics which you think would be a blessing, but it's not when you're trying to electrify sound it it's not we we've had to, we've really had to work hard to try to make, you know, those lyrics pop and all the rest of it and balance the drums and so but, but yes, you know, I, I thank you for um what you said about, you know, um being available to come around to nonprofits and rotary and so that is our pleasure. I mean.
It's trying to give back to the community of Key West because what I have, I'm incredibly grateful to Key West. What I found is that this is a community that truly does support artists which I was told about early on and I've see that for myself, um, there's you know it's it's sort of one of the foundations of this um.
Of this community and and it's it's just beautiful how that how that happens and and people get it you know you can do something as different as the tango show which was very different and you know maybe the Tango maybe some of the people who came and never seen Tango before but they really got into it they they they were a very smart audience, very um sophisticated audience and and I'm just enormously grateful.
Well, I wanna spend the next, you know, our last 5 minutes or so talking about you a little bit, um, because, but for those who maybe live under a rock, or if you don't live in Key West and you and you're listening to this, uh, you can look at Pamela's website, The Dance Company, uh, tickets that is at uh KW Dance Dance Company, KWdco.com.
So all the tickets, the shows, our key texts, of course, our keys texts for you local people, you know that Keysts, so everything is there, check out the website and look at the shows. Uh, I do wanna mention this, you did, uh, for, for the, the local, uh, listeners that knows Key West for some time, they all know Camille's, the the the restaurant that was there for years and years.
And then that property was empty for a minute and you, you recently took over Camille's. You purchased Camille's and that is now going to be your headquarters, I think, for this team and all things you're doing. Can you talk about that a little bit about what's going on at that location?
Yeah, I know it it was a I know it was always a favorite for for locals and and uh some famous people that beginning to hear about the Beatles and all the people who who showed up there.
Um, but, um, you know, I just needed headquarters and I needed to run a studio, a dance studio, so, um, you know, lessons, uh, with, with people there and eventually I mean I've got to do some construction but eventually it's gonna be kind of a night spot with entertainment and.
Um, it's gonna be really fun. Um, can't do it right now. It'll probably be open next year, so that's, that's that's that's the plan.
So people can come dance a place where amateurs can come to see what we can do just
come enjoy the evening, you know, and, and maybe like see a show. I'll incorporate a small theater and.
Um, but, but at the moment, uh, half of it is costumes. I mean, we're opening Dark Knight of the Soul, um, on next weekend, and oh my God, this is, this is a magical Halloween show with, uh, sort of dark 16th century, um, mysterious sexy, and the costumes. I mean there are so many costumes. I don't know how we're gonna fit them into the.
The San Carlos, but anyway, they've just taken over Camille's.
Well, I said we're gonna move on from the shows, but I better mention I'm glad you said that because you do have Dark Knight of the Soul coming up after that one. Lambada is dead, which is
amazing. Oh, I'm so excited for this because this, this is just a very quirky with amazing, amazing dancing and of course amazing narration by Kirby Meyers and
Um, but the dancing is exceptional. It's many different styles, but Lambada and samba and all kinds of things, and it tells a story. It's, it's a very, very extraordinary story of this dance, um, the rise and fall and rise of this dance.
It is and you wrote this entire thing as always and then after that for the holidays from again if you go to KWdco.com or
it's a holiday, um, uh.
Dance show um mainly Latin dance but it's for everybody. I mean kids will love it you know it's got um crazy dancing Santas and elves and fairies and all kinds of things in it but also for adults, you know, very high level dancing and um and and it's it's an ideal um Christmas party show like corporate Christmas if you want they'll bring the whole family um and that and that goes until December 7th.
Uh, they're all they're all amazing.
Um, I do wanna ask you about this because it's intriguing to me that you're such an accomplished, you did all this acting and singing and you, you, you did in your career what most people aspire to, whether it be breaks or right place, right time, or just talent and all those things come together. But on top of all that, you you became an incredibly celebrated and recognized psychologist. Um, I just wanna ask you, you know, a, you know what
What made you decide to do that in the midst of your career, to have that career path as well? And what there seems to be, there has to be some natural fit behind acting and writing and human nature and doing all this in psychology. I have to think that has to be a part of a lot of performers.
Um, just something they're interested in and they have to be sort of somewhat attracted to it, you took it to another level and you and you made that another career path. Um, what, how did you decide to go down that road with everything else going
on?
I, I'm not even sure about that, Brit. I mean, I just was really drawn once I got to LA I, I, I sort of done everything that I wanted to do. I'd, you know, I've done Saturday Night Live, which is the top comedy show in the world. I mean.
I, I'd been in top movies. I'd done, I've done big things and and I'd done, I was actually by that point, I was a stand up. I was doing my own one person shows um all around the world. So it was like, alright, I've got a family, I've got Billy to support, you know, do I really want to keep being in LA and, you know, getting jobs and no, I didn't want to do that. And I didn't really enjoy doing movies because of all the waiting around and so on.
Um, so I decided I was gonna go back to school and I did. I, um, I got, got a doctorate and a license and I began to practice and teach and, and write and um that went on for a certain number of years, um.
Um, and it's still important, for example, Dark Knight of the soul, you know, has really come from my psychological, psychological experience. The Dark Knight of the soul is really based on the notion that you know that many of us go through very dark times and we come out the other side and and create something amazing, um, and, and based on Spanish mystic poet and I'm very interested it's very Jungian uh idea and so I do incorporate a lot of psychology into everything that I do.
I, there was some, some, uh, beautiful banter conversation between you and Billy and the article of The Guardian you wrote, and it just came back to me as you were saying that, and I, I wanted you to tell me how it goes again because you guys are going back and forth in this loving, humorous way.
And and you're talking about your psychology and he says something like, are you judging me right now? And you say are analyzing, you say no, I'm judging you and you said the difference between judging and analyzing one call so much an hour. Can you, can you tell me that one again real quick? It was a it was a fun one to read. I could just see you two talking that way.
Yeah, no, I said, yeah, he was talking about um the difference between, you know, judging and analyzing. He said you were analyzing me like was I trying to shrink him basically.
And, and I said no, there's the difference between judging and analyzing is $150 an hour.
Oh, that's, uh, you mentioned Saturday Night Live. I, you know, and I know we're talking about your shows and incredible talent you have, but considering the movie just came out and it's out right now and I, I can't wait to see it about the origins of Lorne Michaels and Saturday Night Live, um, you know, that obviously your career came to New York and, and you were cast on that show. Can you just talk about that show for a second, how that came about and did was it a great experience part of your life or just something it was a
tough experience. Um, I, I don't think anybody would find.
You know, going out, doing live comedy in front of, you know, 40 million people, um, every week, uh, an easy experience, um, uh, but it was very exciting in the sense that, um, I guess before this happened, the show had been going down a bit.
And they just for one season they put together a group of people that was uh myself uh Billy Crystal, Harry Shearer um Chris Guest, um Marty Short, I mean just a bunch of quite well known comedians and and we all just did one season none of us went back but but we had.
Um, I found it was enormously stressful, um, and, um, but at the same time very, very thrilling and I, you know, it was like, um, you know, sort of fighting for space on that show with so many good people and I had to find a niche. My niche was doing rock parodies, so every week I would do a rock parody and um and then be in other sketches and so on, but it was um it was yeah it was uh boy.
Yeah, Rockefeller Center, I still get uh.
I still start shaking when I walk past there.
Well, it's just a it's just a it's just a small, you know, it's a huge accomplishment but it's just a small element of your career and all the things you have done. Um, what what are some of the stuff you're aside from what you're doing right now, because I know that's up there, I guess I know you, I know this is one of your favorite accomplishments, but other than your passion project and the International Dance Company here in Key West, what's some of the highlights of your career that you look back on with fond memories and that you're really proud of?
Well,
I guess that um it was important for me to be helpful to people when I was a psychologist and and maybe I've I continue that with my company.
Um, uh, uh, I suppose I've written, um, I published 7 books and, and that that is something that I'm proud of, um, and, um.
Uh
You know, I, I, I guess the the things that.
You know, right from from early from early on I mean when I was a kid um I was a bit of a weird kid and I, I didn't kind of just play normally with the local kids I organized them into companies and made them do shows.
So, so even.
And I think they thought I was just, you know, terrible like the worst kind of nerd and yeah and and so I was kind of a bit friendless because once they realized that you know and I was writing plays and I I I actually wrote a musical when I was, I went to a stage school in London, um you know one of those schools where you do um.
Dance and stuff in the morning and then your school work in the afternoon. I wrote a musical um during that school which was performed and so all my life I've been interested in what I'm doing now, but I didn't actually focus on doing this until relatively recently so you could say that Key West has allowed me to do what I should have been doing probably all.
Absolutely,
um, a couple of last questions for you for fun and, uh, and we've have Pamela Stephenson Connelly here. I can speak to you for another 2 hours and bug you to death with all kinds of fun questions and and things I know everyone will be interested in across your career, but just for the Key West, uh, listeners and fans, what's your perfect day in Key West when you're not working? What what is it? What's what's a good day in Key West for you?
OK, um.
So I get up early and.
Take my dogs for a run and have breakfast by the water. Then I get on my kayak and I go, uh, I guess I go somewhere around like maybe I go into the salt ponds or somewhere around and stop a bit and have a swim and then I might.
Um, I don't know, have lunch somewhere, somewhere at the beach or downtown or, um, and of course I'd have a rehearsal in the afternoon.
I knew
would come back at
night.
Uh, good stuff, and then I'll ask you this one, what, what 1 or 2 or 3 if you want to, what, what books should every human on this earth read in their lifetime? What what's the 1 or 2 books that everyone should read?
OK, so nobody's going to take my advice.
Nobody, um.
Uh, because they tend to be psychological books, um.
Um.
And I put you on the spot here, so I did not I did not give you this ahead of time, that's my fault, but uh no, no,
I, I, I, I just can't remember the name of the uh the discovery of the unconscious, who wrote that I've forgotten. Um, then there's um.
I guess they should read books about their all the books about the shadow side of the human psyche like Yong Yin books they should read Yong, they should read um.
Uh, books about, about childhood trauma, how that can relate even small trauma, how that can relate to choices that we make as as adults, um, you know, people should look at their own struggles and probably know that there's something they can read that will help them with that, um.
Something that you know, for example, if you have um if you suffer from depression, there's something you can read that will help you with that obviously going to a psychologist would help but but there there's this education that you can have if you're struggling with um let's say substance abuse. There's things that you can read there if you have anger, if you have anxiety, there's all kinds of things that you can, you could read and so it's not hard to find those books, um.
Um, the Confederacy of Dunces is my, my husband's favorite book, and I think he's right about that. It's an amazing book,
Confederacy of
Dances of Dunces.
OK, I have not read it, so I, I will read that one. And, uh, do you remember the first play or show you that you ever went to in your memory? Do you do you remember falling in love with the stage or anything like that from uh early on?
I think the first show I saw I was actually in. I was um and I played a bear and I know I had to pee when I went on stage and I peed in my bear suit. It was not appreciated. Well, that's
a
good story. I pee in the bear.
I hope no one had to wear the bear suit after you.
I, you know, I, I didn't really listen to I didn't really go to rock concerts when I was a kid because I had a father who was like a a classical um uh musician and and a zoologist and and so I I just did classical um but by the time I went to um rock concerts uh I I was I was very badly educated about rock and and I didn't know you know who people were was it was uncomfortable.
I made a lot of mistakes. I think I was telling you earlier, I, I actually mistook Freddie Mercury for his hairdresser.
And and waxed lyrical with his hairdresser about him, how amazing he was on stage. To be honest, he did look like Freddie Mercury. How
long did he let you think he was Fred
he never, he never said anything. That's awesome.
He
never
said anything. I bet it wasn't the first time. I bet just to give you a little break, I bet it wasn't the first time. Um, did you get a chance to chat with Freddie after that and tell him how great he was,
um, I did, but I, but I, I didn't say anything about the hairdresser because I'm pretty sure he was gonna find out, um, but I have mistaken um.
Ben Kingsley for um Patrick Stewart. I told Ben I asked Ben Kingsley if he was going to do another movie, another Star Wars movie. That that's how bad it was not Star Wars. See, see, I don't know what I'm doing. It's not Star Wars, is it?
It's um Trek,
yeah, and it makes it even better, because if you're gonna be a bear, be a grizzly. I think that's a psychology thing. If you're going to be a bear, be a grizzly, just go all out, just do it yeah and uh.
So I will, uh, I will take you off the hook. I'll ask you one last question. It is sort of a psychology question and then we'll wrap this up, but you and Billy have been partners together for over 40 years. Uh, best advice to those out there, marriage is hard, relationships are hard, and you guys have been in the limelight of the public and probably all the things that come with that that I would never even dream of understanding the pressures and stuff you have to put up with.
What's the secret? What is the advice you have for people in relationships to to live a long and happy and a loving relationship as as you two have?
Don't spend too much time together.
Yeah.
I mean, most of us we look at our lives. I mean, Billy was touring, I was touring, you know, so we managed to maintain our individuality, you know, and and then it would be exciting to be together and so that that happened most of us.
And it still happens because we still have our individual interests so you don't want to get so connected that you're always finishing each other's sentences, you know what I mean? You've got to maintain who you are and and be comfortable with each other going off and doing your thing. Who's
he's OK. I was making sure I thought you might say that. I just wanna make sure I can tell you to inspire each
other
when I tell you that even my kids say, Mom, leave the comedy to dad.
Well Billy is a genius
and so are you and and again remarkable couple, but what you're doing in Key West and bringing the Key West um for us and for others, especially in times like this, and we're gonna wrap up with this, but how important is the arts right now in this time of the world and and and being able to escape and enjoy beauty and enjoy talent and what you guys bring to the stage? How how important is that for you and for others right
now?
It's it's what will save us. It will save us from from everything, um.
Everything dark that comes our way, you know, we, we connect with it's it's, it's a way to have our human experience validated, you know, even if it's just crazy and silly or it can be, you know, deep and meaningful, but it's, it's still making sense of our lives and and putting things in perspective it's, it's paramount.
Pamela, I could spend, like I said, the next hour speaking to you on this show. I know the listeners would love it too. Uh, everybody, you've got a great, uh, moment here with Pamela Stevenson Connolly, uh, all the great things she's doing through her career and in Key West right now on these shows are cannot miss shows, um, just another great addition to the art scene here in Key West, a beautiful place with beautiful people. You can grab tickets.
Uh, at Key West Danceco.com or Keysticks and look for the shows, as I said, Bomarto is happening right now. We have the Dark Knight of the Soul coming up, followed by Lambada is Dead, and then the Holidays Fiesta de Navidad, all back to back to back, incredible.
Nights, incredible shows. Don't miss out because they will sell out. Grab those tickets now. Pamela, absolute honor and privilege to have you come on the show, and I
can't wait to see me. Thank you for having me. Thank you very
much.
Absolutely, have a great week and check out these shows. Thanks so much.
