Georgia Van Cuylenburg is possibly the busiest ex-pat that Australia has ever produced. She moved to LA to pursue a career in the entertainment industry and discovered that Hollywood is more than just an industry factory, it’s a mecca for creative types. Her immersion in that atmosphere has re-doubled her enthusiasm and her commitment to her ambitions.





LA offers up opportunities in just about every aspect of entertainment, so much so that someone determined to break into the industry is almost spoilt for choice. What exactly is it that Georgia is doing in the US?

‘I’m living, laughing, smiling, and learning so much about life! And in between I am doing stand up comedy every night of the week - I am a junkie, I am teaching stand up to kids, I do kids theatre shows, I am auditioning for TV, voice overs and film, doing the odd TV, voice over or film spot doing the odd commercial, developing a number of pilot ideas with some awesome people and kids , counseling other actors on making the move into the Hollywood industry, running an Actor Talk Radio Show, writing a feature film based on a play I produced in Australia, producing two comedy shows and then every now and then I think about sleeping.’

Of course, the story is not a new one. The idea of moving to LA is now an almost integral part of the American Dream, so much so that it has provided the storyline for a hundred movies. What exactly was it that Georgia was looking for when she moved to LA? Has she found it?

‘A new life. A place where I can do all I have ever wanted, a place where anything is possible if you work for it. I wanted to be able to love my life, have fun and work every second of the day and love it. I wanted to be able to change the world.

I'm not completely there yet but everything else - yes I have got from LA! I have found the community and 'family' that I just never would have been able to find anywhere else in the world. And thanks to doing stand up comedy I now have the power of the microphone and when you have that and you use it for good I think you can change the world eventually- in your own little way!’

Most comics find themselves drawn to the idea from an early stage, whether through playground recognition or the discovery of an innate desire to make people laugh. How did Georgia decide to get into stand up?

‘I have always been a huge, huge, stand up fan - I was brought up on the best - Billy Connelly! So when I got to LA I started a stand up class and just fell in love. So I started open micing and open micing every night of the week. I wrote and wrote and watched and watched and, slowly but surely, I am now at a stage where I perform in booked shows every night of the week and people are really laughing at me I think - what an awesome feeling!’





While stand up comedy is one of the most rewarding jobs in entertainment, it comes with its legs. The anxiety that some performers go through is legendary. Does Georgia find making people laugh as nerve-wracking as it’s supposed to be?

‘For me - no! I love it, I crave it! If I go a day with out it I get all shaky! No joke! I think that same nervousness most people talk about I see as an amazing adrenalin rush - and I am a true adrenalin junkie!!! I kinda love that most people's greatest fear is my greatest love! I love that nervous energy- it makes me giggle and keeps my blood pumping. And once I am on stage it’s a blur I am just having a blast up there And when the audience laughs- oh boy talk about a rush!’’

One of the major projects Georgia worked on while still in Australia was the writing and development of the play ‘readMylips’, which was concerned with the problem of eating disorders. Georgia is working on developing it into a film - how is the process going?

‘That one has been a much slower process than I would have hoped. We are still waiting on the final rights for the DVD from the Australian production - soon, soon I promise! But the film will get written it has gone into development and I have workshopped it to a stage where the film will now be based on my experience of producing readMylips... in Australia rather than just a direct translation of the stage production to screen. I am still so excited about it and can't wait to take my self to a deserted island to get it done – soon, soon I promise!’

Aside from the consequences that it had for her working environment, the move to LA must have come with repercussions to Georgia personally, as well. Moving by herself to the US, has she ever doubted herself at all?

‘I guess I have had moments of doubt but I try not to even keep them in my memory bank. There has never ever been a moment where I have wanted to leave. Just moments when I have been presented with a challenge and I have to hold myself down and remind myself that going through it will bring an even better life than the one I was living before the hurdle presented itself.

I think to really succeed in life you have to live in constant doubt. If you aren't then you aren't really living. That risk and fear is what makes anything worth while doing so every doubt I overcome makes me feel one step closer to where ever it is that I am headed.’