“The whole point is that I’m not a journalist”

It was an appearance on The Drum earlier this year that led to Courtney Act being asked to host interview series One Plus One.

Following in the footsteps of Jane Hutcheon, Barrie Cassidy, Kurt Fearnley and Stan Grant, the drag queen extraordinaire may not seem like the likely candidate as host. But it’s just the reason she was chosen.

“Knowing that those were sort of some of the shoes that had hosted the show before me was kind of nerve-wracking at first. But then I was assured that the whole point is that I’m not a journalist. I’m not Stan Grant, I haven’t been doing this all of my life. From me specifically they were looking from that non-journalistic approach. So it was really exciting to be trusted with this opportunity,” she tells TV Tonight.

“I felt so supported by the ABC”

“I felt so supported by the ABC. I think, coming from a world of reality television mostly, I was constantly surprised at how supportive and ethical (it was) …the way life should be over at the ABC. It was really lovely to be there and to be a part of that environment.”

Act, aka Shane Jenek (Australian Idol, Dancing with the Stars, RuPaul’s Drag Race, Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras), has been interviewed herself numerous times, and even been host for TV interview spots. But One Plus One is a half hour with a single guest. There’s essentially nowhere to hide.

“I’ve interviewed Ricki Lake, Leona Lewis and other people on different TV shows. What can go wrong when you’re cutting 40 minutes down to 2 or 3 minutes?

“There’s no overlay or voice-over. It’s just a straight -pardon the pun- interview. It’s 40-ish minutes, that’s cut down to 28 minutes. It’s not a heavily-produced show, so it’s really about the conversation between two people. That’s what I really love about it,” she continues.

“You don’t get that on telly anymore”

“It’s not about someone spruiking their latest product. They’re just having conversations about their life. I’ve always really enjoyed that. Enough Rope with Andrew Denton is a show that I remember loving watching, and I just loved that they were such long interviews. You don’t get that on telly anymore.

“The thing that’s unique about One Plus One is that it’s kind of the last place on Australian television where you can see half hour interviews. Australian Story tells someone’s story but it’s not just an interview with one person the whole time.”

“Being an interviewer is a very different skill”

So what is the key to a good interview?

“It’s really about listening. I know my first question. I have bullet points, but mostly, it’s just about listening. Being an interviewer is a very different skill. There’s a bit of juggling going on, because you’ve asked the question, you’re listening really intently to what the person is saying, and then questions naturally come to your mind. But it’s not like having a conversation with a person in real life,” Act continues.

“When you’re interviewing someone, you’re listening, you’re thinking about what the next question should be, you’re also writing questions based on what they’re saying, but not wanting to interrupt them… and wanting them to get to the end of that thought that then so those those questions that have been coming to your mind, you’re now pushing out of the way. And then you’re also trying to like think, Oh, hang on, that was a really important one. I do want to circle back to that.

“There’s like a real mind management game that goes on. I think being able to do those things in the background whilst really listening, that was the real skill and challenge that I wasn’t anticipating, I thought I’d just be chatting away!

“You’ve got to ask good questions and insightful questions and hopefully get to share this person’s story in a way that honours that story.”

Act’s guests were chosen collaboratively with producers. This series they include Lisa Origliasso of The Veronicas; writer, singer/songwriter Mitch Tambo; comedian, Youtube sensation and mental health ambassador Nat’s What I Reckon; South Sudanese Australian model Aweng Chuol and social entrepreneur and Food Frontier founder Thomas King.

“Lisa and I have known each other since she was 4 and I was 6! I’ve done a video with Nat, I’d met Thomas King years ago at a junket, Aweng I followed on Instagram. Mitch Tambo was the person I was least familiar with, but I had seen his performances and was so moved by him on Australia’s Got Talent,” she observes.

“Mitch was probably the most interesting one”

“Mitch was probably the most interesting one, because we didn’t have any prior relationship. I walked into the room and maybe there was 10 minutes, as the cameras were being adjusted.

“I wasn’t aware of what Mitch knew about me but the others knew me on some level so there was that element of trust or rapport. Whereas Mitch, is a performer and entertainer, but I did want to talk about First Nations issues, truth-telling and things that were very personal and sensitive. Getting to develop that rapport in 10 minutes is something that’s really important.

“By the end of the day he messaged me on Instagram, to say he’d had a lovely time.”

One Plus One returns 8pm Monday on ABC.