Dixie Longate is not your average Tupperware lady.
The flame-haired Alabama beauty is packing her plastic wares and tethering her kids to the trailer as she makes her way to Sydney for the Mardi Gras Comedy Festival.
Dixie is the alter-ego of Kris Andersson, but don't tell her that. As far as Dixie is concerned: who the hell is Kris Andersson? Released from prison 15 years ago, Dixie has become one of Tupperware's funniest and highest-earning sellers. “I had gotten out of prison and my parole officer, she's adorable, she says 'you need a job in order to get your kids back',” Dixie explains in her Southern belle drawl.
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“And I'm like 'I don't want 'em back' but the law makes you take them back when you get out of prison. It's the law and I think they should change that.
“So I started selling because my parole officer said it was a good way to make money, do some stuff and get work done. I wasn't allowed to do certain things because of this restraining order I had; she said 'no, I'll take care of that for you' and she did.
"So I ended up going and being a Tupperware lady doing the parties and they were so fun. I had such a good time and I got free booze.”
Dixie hit the big time when she was singled out at the company's jubilee, a massive event where top-earners are treated like rock stars. Since then, she has become a star in her own right, touring the world's comedy festivals to present the most unique Tupperware experience imaginable. “First of all, I did not even realise Tupperware was meant to be used in the kitchen, I thought for the first two years it was meant for the bedroom,” Dixie admits.
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“Then my reverend said 'what's with all this stuff on the bed' and I'm like 'why are you in the bedroom, reverend? It's not Thursday.' “All of a sudden he says 'that's a colander under your bed!' I thought it was just a big thing with a pointy handle on it. But anyway, so he's the one who said 'take that out and put it in the kitchen', so I started using it in the kitchen and I said 'ooh, this is great crap!'”
When Dixie comes to the Mardi Gras Comedy Festival, she's looking forward to meeting as many people as she can and gaining some real-life Aussie memories. “As someone from America, I love all y'all down there,” she says.
“Everybody is so neighbourly. I can walk down the street and if I have a question about where I'm going they'll give me directions. Some say 'hey, you wanna have sex down the dumpster?' I mean, there is not a moment when someone is not doing something neighbourly for me down there, I love it.”
As a mother, Dixie is also committed to providing her young 'uns with the best possible care when she goes on tour. “I usually leave them tethered to the front door of the trailer and let them mind themselves,” she says.
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“My oldest is 16 and I feel she's old enough that I can leave the younger ones with her. She has a job, she works at the Hooters, she's so talented, and when she goes to work sometimes my best friend will come to watch or I leave them with one of them frozen dinners thrown out; the sun warms that up.
“Oh my lord they love it. The little one is so cute when he fights with the squirrels to get that little peach cobbler. Sometimes he wins and sometimes he doesn't, but it's funny. I can get my neighbours together and throw some money in the pot to see who wins. It's a great way to make some extra drinking money.”
Dixie Longate performs 'Dixie's Tupperware Party' as part of the Mardi Gras Comedy Festival at Enmore Theatre (Sydney) 1 March. She also performs as part of the Mardi Gras Comedy Gala, also at Enmore Theatre, 28 February.
