By Nina Livingstone
It was one of the first Moth storytelling events I attended and Bethany Van Delft was onstage. I’ll never forget the audience’s response — thunderous applause and infectious laughter.
It was easy to understand why Bethany was voted Best Comic by Boston Magazine for 2019 and 2020. She’s got a persevering edge and unbeatable drive to regale the audiences with stories even through the darkest days of the pandemic. (And when she’s not making people laugh, she is mixing another winning recipe for her family of four.)
Bethany Van Delft, Boston’s favorite funny lady – Photos by Karin Dailey
NINA: Rewind all your onstage performances, which one was your favorite?
BETHANY: OMG, is this just comedy?? Because one time a swing band pulled me up onstage to dance and I didn’t fall off the stage, follow along pretty well and also had cute tap shorts under my dress. Doing a set on the stage of Studio 8H (where “Saturday Night Live” is broadcast) was a dream come true, but I don’t actually remember if I was any good LOL. I really appreciate any time I get to perform, it’s pretty amazing I get to do it for a living.
NINA: If you could invite four celebrities to your home for dinner, who would they be and what would you serve?
BETHANY: Are they all coming at the same time?? To my little home?? Are we just meeting for the first time?? OMG this is so stressful! Rosario Dawson, Keanu Reeves, AOC, The Rock and I’d serve pernil, arroz con pollo, red beans & tostones and warm chocolate pudding cake for dessert. I can nail these dishes in my sleep which is helpful because I’d probably pass out if these people were coming to my house!
NINA: Picture it, the mic is yours, you are onstage, where and what stage would this be ….?
BETHANY: Radio City Music Hall.
NINA: What is the one thing you can’t live without?
BETHANY: Besides the humans in my life, trees.
NINA: Haute couture, have it or not? What’s your favorite fabric, color, and designer?
BETHANY: I love the artistry of haute couture, but I don’t like that it’s only for the 1%. I love designers that are intentionally accessible like Telfar Clemens. Aesthetically I love Rodarte, Max Mara, and pretty much every single thing in AllSaints Spittlefield.
NINA: What do you like most about yourself?
BETHANY: I don’t let my crushing fear and anxiety stop me from doing things I really want to do, like comedy or learning to drive late in life. Only from the things I don’t really want to do, like skydiving or camping.
NINA: What should someone know about you before meeting you for the first time?
BETHANY: Whatever it seems like on the outside, I am probably freaking out inside.
NINA: What would you like your life to look like 10 years from now?
BETHANY: Having unlocked the mysterious work/life balance by then, I would like to be doing what I love and loving what I’m doing professionally, have healthy loving relationships and lots of quality time with my children and the adults in my life, and be in good health.
NINA: What is the one thing you can’t live without?
BETHANY: Trees.
NINA: What is your most treasured possession?
BETHANY: My children. I don’t own them! But I made them! OMG this sounds creepy.
Okay. A bowl from a small creperie I worked at during an intense transitional time in my life. The owner was a friend, a larger-than-life French man who had incredible stories and the biggest heart. I have at least one meal a day in that bowl. Sadly he has passed on, but I think of his stories, his joy of life, his quiet kindnesses, while eating from my bowl every day. And I’m reminded of the fleetingness and significance of our lives.
© Nina’s 9
