Women in Comedy Festival

Are Mainstream Awards Important in Comedy?

2012-01-25T13:56:00.001-05:00

By WICF Editor Liz McKeon

After yesterday's Academy Awards nominations were announced, I was excited to see Melissa McCarthy recognized, of course, and after her Emmy win I think it's safe to say she's having an incredibly good couple of seasons. It made me wonder about other comedians and comic actors and actresses and how they've done in the general entertainment awards categories. Then, I stumbled across Scott Mendelson's piece over at "The Huffington Post." Mendelson derides the treatment of what he calls "populist" entertainment:

"With as much respect as possible for Melissa McCarthy (who did her job and got laughs as the scene-stealing clown), her nomination as the biggest representation of the film is a sign that it was mostly written off as the 'girls shit in a sink' movie. A film filled with realistic and three-dimensional female characters received its only major acting nomination for its most over-the-top and least realistic character. I'm not trying to pick on McCarthy, I'm happy she'll be getting tons more work off of the success of the film, so if you want to see her ace a more three-dimensional role, track down The Nines. Or just check out the early seasons of "Gilmore Girls.""

Read the rest of the article here:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mobileweb/2012/01/24/oscar-nominations-2012_n_1228849.html

What do you think about comedians, pop culture, and awards?

Bullish: Using Your College Skills to Succeed After College

2012-01-24T09:45:00.001-05:00

By Contributor Jen Dziura

This article originally appeared on TheGrindstone.

I always say that you shouldn’t take business advice from someone whose only business is giving business advice (Pyramids: Great shape for a pharaoh’s tomb, bad shape for a business model), and that multiple streams of income are crucial.

One of my businesses is offering educational comedy shows to universities — I do about six gigs a year — and this was how I recently found myself at sunny Palm Beach State University, where I had offered, since I was in town anyway, to speak to any college classes that wanted to have me. That turned out to be an introductory composition class.

My speaking topic is “Forging Your Own Career,” but I tend to do my public speaking a bit on the fly — you really just have to get a feeling for things once you get there. Colleges are more different from each other than nearly any other group of groups of people; there is no Chamber of Commerce that only takes the top 8% of businesses, and then some other Chamber of Commerce for people who couldn’t get into that Chamber of Commerce, and then a bunch of Chambers of Commerce full of people who were excluded from the other Chambers of Commerce for a host of financial and sociocultural reasons.

Read the rest at TheGrindstone.

Jennifer Dziura (jenniferdziura.com) writes career and life coaching advice for young women at TheGrindstone and TheGloss. She believes you can make money without being a douchebag. She believes in working harder and smarter now so you can have "balance" when you're wrinkly and covered in diamonds. She believes in starting businesses on zero dollars, selling expensive things to rich people, and laughing very hard at people who try to "manifest their dreams" without learning any real skills or shaping the fuck up. She likes to help. Jennifer also performs (sort of) educational one-woman shows about philosophy and punctuation. Her "The History of Women in 30 Minutes" is appearing in the Women in Comedy Festival.

"Bachelorette" Premieres at Sundance, Draws Inevitable Comparisons

2012-01-24T09:05:00.003-05:00

By WICF Editor Liz McKeon

Writer-Director Leslye Headland's movie based on her off-Broaday play premiered last night in Park City, and the comparisons are blowing up my inbox this morning: "Is Bachelorette a Bridesmaids rip-off? No? OK, then, will the general viewing public see it that way?" ... and so on, and so on, ad nauseam.

To be honest, I expected the next female-driven ensemble comedy to get the Bridesmaids comparison, because the movie-going audience has been trained to view comedies featuring women — hell, even all movies featuring women — as niche entries, and not as showcases for silver screen-representatives of roughly half the population. I just didn't expect the next big movie to be a movie about bridesmaids. Makes my job standing on this soapbox a little bit harder.

Photo from theberry.com.

I'll stand up here anyway, though. If a comedy can't cover the ground around what is purported to be one of life's seminal events without being called a copy, well, what I have to say is that weddings have been covered in film before, and they'll be covered again. As The New York Times reports, Headland told the Sundance press, “I admit that I am a little concerned about expectations ... My movie is nasty, dark, complicated and a little bizarre. If people come in expecting Bridesmaids they may have a heart attack. Or they might hate it and leave.”

Reuters makes their peace with the film by invoking the name of the great master of generationally iconic, yet in-hindsight-remarkably-un-P.C. '80s odes to the Baby Boomers, John Hughes. “I was mad our generation didn’t have an iconic movie, so I decided to make one,” [Headland] said at the Eccles Theater, wearing a studded black dress that could have walked out of the 1980s. “I wanted to make a movie for us, about people like us. Isla is really just a drunk Molly Ringwald."

After reading the initial responses from the press, I'm struck by the thought that they're doing exactly what I'm doing, just for a less women-centered audience. They're trying to head off the comparisons before those critiques can really take root. Comedies by and about women should be presented as comedies first, and, hopefully, we're getting to that place. In the end, I think the quote The L.A. Times' movie blog "24 Frames" says it best, "The director told 24 Frames before the festival she didn't mind the comparison as much as you might think: "I look at it a little like Bonnie & Clyde in 1967," she said. "You have a movie that gets everyone's attention and all these comparisons are drawn, and they're not always right. But then it's like, 'Thank God, let's make more movies like that.'"

Finding the Funny: Books You NEED to Read in Your Lifetime

2012-01-20T14:00:00.000-05:00

By Contributor Allison Haskins

The two things I love most in the world are reading andcomedy. When I stumble upon the wonderful gems that incorporate both, my heartstarts doing backflips and shooting off tiny fireworks. OK, so maybe I’m just abook nerd who happens to have a fantastic sense of humor … either way, I knowwhat I’m talking about and you need to trust me.

In hopes that someday you can be as enthralled with yourliterary choices as I am, I have compiled a list of some of my favoritefunnies. Do with this information what you will, but if you take the time toread them (and it should be fairly easy with computers, Kindles, iPhones,iPads, and, last but not least — actual books!), you will not regret it.

***

Hypocrite in a Poufy White Dress by Susan Jane Gilman

This book is actually a New York Times Bestseller, so if you haven’t read it, stop whatyou’re doing (after this paragraph of course) and go get it! To sum it up, it’sa memoir-style book about growing up and how ridiculous life retrospectivelywas. Susan Jane Gilman does an amazing job at portraying herself and her lifein a fresh and hilarious way, partly because her life itself has been quite acrazy ride. She covers it all — from being a conniving 5-year-old, to arebellious and hopeless teenager, and then an adult who is still just as lostand confused as she was when she was 15. Yet, through it all, she maintainshumor and hope that things will somehow turn around and maybe even reachnormalcy.

Laugh Line: “… whileother kids my age were preparing for confirmations and bat mitzvahs, I’ddeveloped a relationship with God that consisted solely of begging forbreasts.”

***

My Horizontal Life by Chelsea Handler

Chelsea Handler has been gaining celebrity by leapsand bounds over the past couple years, yet people who aren’t huge Handler fansmay have missed her first book, which she wrote before anyone even knew who shewas. As it might appear from the title, this book is, in fact, a chronicle ofHandler’s one night stands during her late teens and 20s.If you don’t laugh out loud at her crazy thoughts, actions, and debauchery,something is wrong with you.

LaughLine: “I couldn’t afford a run-in with this guy in front of my newsuitor. There were only three things he could bring up: my vagina, his anus,and his Ecstasy that I stole.”

***

It’s Not Me, It’s You: Subjective Recollections from a Terminally Optomistic, Chronically Sarcastic and Occasionally Inebriated Woman by Stefanie Wilder-Taylor

After a very young Stephanie Wilder moved to California inan attempt to start over, chaos ensued in various forms before she was able toget on the straight and narrow. She details experiences including competing ona game show, experimenting with drugs, and working as a telemarketer.Throughout the book, Wilder is bitterly honest in discussing a rough life inwhich she’s made a lot of mistakes, but each step of the way she’s able to lookback, with humor, on what she has been and done.

Laugh Line: “She made the face women make when they discoverthey’ve accidentally been drinking regular Coke instead of Diet.”

***

Such a Pretty Fat: One Narcissist's Quest to Discover If Her Life Makes Her Ass Look Big, or Why Pie Is Not the Answer by Jen Lancaster

This is one of a handful of books by Lancaster, all of whichare equally amazing. Self described as a raging narcissist, she also battleswith job problems, weight issues, relationship ups and downs, and shittyneighbors. The mix of these troubles, along with her abnormally highself-esteem, results in a hilarity that the average person never gets toexperience. Maybe I’m the weird one, but when I finished these books, I reallyand truly wanted to be friends with Lancaster and get to better understand whatgoes on in her batshit crazy head.

LaughLine: “I’m back on Atkins today. For lunch I had one and a half BurgerKing Texas Whoppers minus the bun. Shameful.”

***

I Don't Care About Your Band: What I Learned from Indie Rockers, Trust Funders, Pornographers, Faux-Sensitive Hipsters, and Other Guys I've Dated by Julie Klausner

In short, Klausner is a Jewish, redheaded, promiscuousgal who enjoys the occasional high. As a late bloomer in the guy department, shehad to make up for lost time! Her book is a compilation of experiencesincluding bad first dates, loving losers, searching for Mr. Right (or RightNow), and all the amusing mishaps that happen in between. Also, you shouldcheck out her podcast, How Was Your Week,for a dose of funny every seven days. (A tip of the hat to WICF ContributorBarbara Holm for also loving Klausner!)

LaughLine: “During my last year at college, I decided to open my horizons,which is a fancy word for ‘legs.’”

***

As corny as it may sound, I connect to these titles in largepart because all of these women talk about the issues they have in their lives —relationships, jobs, money, family — things that we all have to deal with.However, they have turned all these things into jokes, shedding light onserious and often sad, hurtful, or frustrating situations. All of these funnyladies have helped me to try to stop taking things so seriously and ultimately,to take the time to find the funny.

All book photos by Amazon.com.

Allison Haskins holds a Journalism degree and is a freelance comedy writer. In her spare time, the Massachusetts native attends as many stand-up shows as possible and listens to every comedy podcast she can get her hands on. Follow Allison on Twitter at Twitter.com/Alliehaskins.

Festival Acceptances Have Been Announced

2012-01-20T00:12:00.002-05:00

All submissions emails have been sent out. Applicants were notified whether or not they were accepted to the festival.

If you applied and do not receive an email in the next few hours, please contact submissions@womenincomedyfestival.com as soon as possible. We've been experiencing some technical difficulties and we want to make sure that no one slipped through the cracks.

We want to thank all of you who applied. We had twice the number of submissions this year which made the process even more competitive. We appreciate all the hard work and talent you've all put into your comedy.

WICF2011 was real good-looking!

That Comedian’s Girlfriend

2012-01-19T19:12:00.001-05:00

By WICF Contributor Barbara Holm

Today Eddie Brill got fired for saying he doesn't think women comedians are authentic. I don’t celebrate anyone losing a job, but I am glad that there is some accountability for sexism in comedy. The stigma against women in comedy is diminishing. The best way we can change the perception of women in comedy is to be as funny as possible, keep working and help other funny women by booking them as often as we can.

"My unsolicited advice to women in the workplace is this. When faced with sexism … ask yourself the following question: "Is this person in between me and what I want to do?" If the answer is no, ignore it and move on. Your energy is better used doing your work, and outpacing people that way." -Tina Fey, Bossypants

I'm not surprised by Brill's comment. I know the demographic Letterman caters toward. But when everyone jumped down his throat, Brill dug his own grave whilst trying to defend himself. The very funny Amy Schumer told a reporter something to the extent that it seems like he doesn't book a lot of women. Eddie Brill's response was, "That comedian's girlfriend made up facts."

That comedian's girlfriend has her own Comedy Central presents and her own album. Brill apologized for identifying Amy that way so I'm not mad at him, but more so at the institutionalized sentiment I've seen from many comedy club bookers and members of the industry. I hate that if two comedians date, the woman is viewed as an extension of the man.

A few years ago I heard a club manager say to a friend of mine that the only reason women perform stand up is to get to date a male comic. Like male comics are some sort of prize that everyone wants? I don't think anyone throws themselves into the world of painful open mics, staying out late, and getting criticized while making no money just to meet someone. I am not doing stand up to get laid. That is offensive not only to women but to the art form of comedy.

"If you're gonna risk your reputation fucking comics, I suggest you pick funny ones." -Bonnie McFarlene, Shecky Magazine

The inverse has happened to me a few times, because I'm like, so pretty. (Sarcasm!) When I first started, one comedian told me that I would do well because I could fuck my way onto shows. I am really sensitive about the idea of a comedy groupie or anyone using their sexuality as an asset to get stage time. I’m not riding on my feminine wiles to enhance any aspect of my career and it makes me uncomfortable to think that anyone could or would do that. I guess the 'who you are dating' card may hold some smidgen of weight, but just as much as the 'who you are friends with' card and neither card works long term if you aren't funny.

Many of my comic girlfriends have been asked out, hit on, or flirted with by male comics, and that doesn't make them any more or less funny. It is inevitable when you're out every single night, clumped together for hours in a green room, drinking and talking. It happens. I developed a defense mechanism: when a male comic I don’t know talks to me, I retreat into a metaphoric turtle shell. It’s effective, but I don’t recommend it.

Women should never be defined as an extension of someone they’re dating, especially in regards to their value as an artist. So, if you see two comics dating, try to bite back the gossip jumping out of your mouth. If they’re funny, who cares? Don’t talk shit, and be as supportive of women as possible. If they are however in the small tragic minority of women who aren’t funny, the small group who do ride the casting couch, just ignore them. They will go away.

I guess my point regarding dating a comic is simply to be funny. Going back to what Tina said about institutionalized sexism, just ignore it and focus on getting funnier. That’s the bottom line. One of my best friends and comedy heroes gave the best advice ever: "I get worked up about that shit and then it's like you can't control what some idiots think. So, just work hard, prove them wrong, and make them hate themselves more" -Rylee Newton.

Barbara Holm is a stand-up comedian from Seattle, Washington. She has performed at Bridgetown Comedy Festival, The Women in Comedy Festival, and Bumbershoot Festival. She has been described as clever, creative and unique.

My Life as Told by the Shit I Left in My Parents’ Basement: Why Traveling Back Home Always Makes Me Feel Kind of Weird

2012-01-19T08:53:00.000-05:00

By Guest Contributor Christa Weiss

Coming home is always a bit strange for me. Really strange, actually. The last time I visited my parents, I opened the door and immediately found my brother’s bull dog, Dudley mauling my old teddy bear, ironically, also named Dudley.

It was in this mildly traumatic way, that I was informed it was time to go through all those boxes I had left in the basement. My dad had a desperate need to create a suitable man-cave and I sure as hell wasn’t going to stop him.

Suddenly, I delved into a couple of nostalgia drenched hours, which I’m told is a thing you should care about. Say what you will about the preciousness of childhood memories and how the past might shape me as a comedian, that kind of stuff makes me feel vastly uncomfortable. My family and I are German, which means that we are largely incapable of any human emotion, aside from quiet resentment. (I thought I felt remorse once, but it turns out I was just PMSing.)

Thus I present to you a journey through my childhood, as told by the shit I left in my parents’ basement.

Ages 3-6

I discover what I’m pretty sure is my very first baby doll. He’s held up well. I should clarify something. He was born a she. And by born I mean manufactured. Ok, it had a girl’s name on the box but I, like so many parents intent on fucking up their children, raised him as a boy. I called him Harry, so it’s obvious I wanted a real man. I didn’t go for some sort of pussy name like Todd. I was a remarkably astute child.

I thought it was ridiculous for a baby to be wearing just a diaper and nothing else so I goaded my grandmother into making some clothes for him. What I got were some pink crochet pants and a jaunty Hawaiian shirt with no buttons, so you could always see his manly-baby chest. When I got older I made him an outfit of my own, which ended up being a makeshift karate uniform. I made him a black belt. Looking back, it might have made more sense if I had a Miami Vice action fig-ure instead of a baby doll but then I’d need my grandmother to crochet a matching blazer.

“Sorry Mom. This one’s a keeper.”

Ages 6-12

Various failed art projects. A scrunchi with googley eyes. The unicorn pin I used to put on my shirt every day, an inordinate amount of My Little Ponies and a Barbie winnebago. Nope, my Barbie didn’t have a sexy pink convertible and a dream house, she had them COMBINED TOGETHER in a vehicle that sucks at both of those things. My Barbies weren’t the kind of girls to spend frivolously. Even back then, the economy was shitty.

“Look, I’m keeping at least one pony. I know, I know, but look how pretty her rainbow hair is. Yeah. That’s what I thought.” (I take the pony and slip the unicorn pin into my pocket in the hopes that unicorns are still lame enough to be considered cool.)

Ages 12-16

Scores of old sketchbooks. A lot of really embarrassing teenage suicide poetry. It’s amazing home many different ways I manage to put together “dies” and “your lies.”

A couple of weird photos including one of my friend Kristin laying on the floor with a bottle of sparkling grape juice, pretending to be drunk.

“Burn the poetry. Keep the photo for the purpose of irony.”

Ages 16-18

My years as a kleptomaniac. I should clarify that I specifically stole useless non-merchandise. I guess I just liked the rush. 1 Scores of aisle marker signs from the grocery store, a giant orange road pylon, one of those short cylindrical box things that they keep tortillas in and about six bath-rooms signs from the Jefferson Road Regal Cinema 8. We made of game of stealing them and then watching people who couldn’t figure out which bathroom to use get pissed off. It got to the point where the management had to start nailing down the signs at the movie theatre. It was a proud moment for me.

Next, a couple of beautifully tragic prom photos. Fate does not shine on high school relation-ships. Neither does making out for hours in your boyfriend's mom’s basement and expecting to not get caught.

“Okay most of this is useless garbage but I’m keeping the bathroom signs…and I guess those prom photos...but only the ones where I’m flipping off the camera.”

Ages 18-22

A bunch of crap from when I went to art school. About 100 rubber duckies. A couple of tragic handwritten love letters from a few misguided exes. A photograph of only a bruised bare arm and chest from the one of those aforementioned exes. I think he was showing off how punk rock he was by displaying how he got the shit beaten out of him at some show he went to. We wore bruises like badges of honor but what we really should have done was go to the hospital. Head injuries are kind of a big deal.

Another photo of my friend Kristin, drunk for real this time.

“Out go the shitty art projects. Those love notes are too pathetic to keep around so I’ll just throw them away without reading them. The photo of my bruised up ex is funny but only if you’re a jaded ex-punk rocker. I don’t want to look like a sadist, so that goes too. I’ll take the photo of Kristin and frame it alongside the other one for comparative purposes. You can really tell how the vomit dripping out of the corner of her mouth makes the second one seem so much more re-alistic.” (I find out later that Kristin is mad at me.)

Ages 22-Uugh who cares anyway? (I guess this is kind of the reflection part.)

I begrudgingly realize that at 22 years old I had much more money than I do now, at 28. Fuck it, I think. I get to perform at comedy clubs hidden in a variety of basements and attics every night, draw funny pictures for a living2 and have not one, but two different blogs. That’s right, MULTIPLE blogs. Truly, I have achieved cultural transcendence.3 My teenage self would think I was a goddess. At the very least I’m not constantly tripping on cough syrup anymore,4 so that’s something.

Looking back this way made me realize my life could have taken me in two very different directions:
1. Me, living as comedian/artist/writer/all purpose neurotic residing in Boston
2. Me living as comedian/artist/writer/all purpose neurotic residing in an asylum

All in all it looks like I’m winning.

***

I finish up in the basement and ask to borrow the car so I can the meet Kristin at Java’s, our fa-vorite coffee shop. My friends and I virtually lived there in high school.

Because I don’t drive frequently, my parents are convinced I will crash their stupid minivan into a drainage ditch and die in a fiery blaze. I explain to them that I can definitely handle driving in the suburbs because when I do drive, it’s in a large city. Cruising around downtown Boston is the equivalent of being chased by a giant tiger while walking on a tightrope.5 Also, unless you’ve been knocked into a coma, I’m pretty sure it’s impossible to forget how to drive. This doesn’t seem to make a difference to them and they insist on taking me there.

I sulk in the car like a teenager as my dad chauffeurs me to Java’s. Bah! This is more nostalgia than I can handle.

I ask him to drop me off a block away from the coffee place so the cool kids who are smoking outside don’t see that I’m being dropped off by my dad. It’s around then that I realize the only thing in my life that has changed is that I am less responsible and capable of living like an adult than when I was a teenager. The American Dream, she has been realized.

“And…uh seriously Dad, when you come pick me you can just call me. Don’t come into the cof-fee shop and yell my name really loudly, then walk around asking the hipster kids that work there if they’ve seen me, just for old time’s sake. It’s weird.”

1. Rush from stealing later replaced by drugs.
2. A living if you count unemployment.
3. Along with everyone else, especially a lot of 14 year old girls that really hate their parents, love Justin Beiber and think what that asshole Kanye did to Taylor Swift was just awful!
4. In truth, I really only did that once but let me tell you, it was unpleasant.
5. I believe that driving in Manhattan is the equivalent of being chased by a herd of T-rexes that shoot rabid flying cobras of their mouths during an earthquake, but I could be mistaken.

Christa is a comedian,artist, writer and all around snappy dresser living in Boston. Christa participated Women inComedy Festival and performs in clubs all over Boston, New England and New York. Shehas a comedy/design blog at www.shamelesspompandcircumstance.blogspot.com andco-authors a food blog at www.suppersanityclub.blogspot.com.

Bullish: Are You Thinking Too Small?

2012-01-17T09:07:00.001-05:00

By Contributor Jen Dziura

This article originally appeared on TheGrindstone.

Ever since I first figured out how a screwdriver works (you don’t necessarily need to drill holes first — you can screw stuff straight into drywall!), it has occurred to me that there are plenty of really easy things that men are “better” at for absolutely no good reason. Aside from basic tool use, these may include parallel parking, map reading, and catching a gently tossed baseball or football. While it’s possible that men and women have cognitive differences at least in part caused by biology, I’m talking about really basic skills, here; however much either gender lags behind in such skills is clearly cultural. And I’d like to talk about a specific part of that cultural divide: the power of embarrassment.

Why are most American men pretty good at parallel parking, map reading, and catching things? Because if you are a man, it’s humiliating to be bad at these things. However, it is not terribly embarrassing to be bad at these things if you are a woman. Since the natural human condition is laziness, men have more motivation to gain these skills.

I think there is a very similar “embarrassment gap” between men and women about money and business. I think many women think too small because they’re not embarrassed by it, whereas men are forced to think bigger — in part for the obvious reasons (money, glory), but in part just to avoid shame.

Read the rest at TheGrindstone.

Notifications Will Be Out by Thursday

2012-01-17T08:57:00.001-05:00

By WICF Editor Liz McKeon

We love our spiffy new applications site, but it's been experiencing some growing pains as of late. To all of the comics who applied for this year's Women in Comedy Festival, we ask you to hold tight for just a little longer. We'll have responses out to you by Thursday.

If anything changes, we'll announce it on Twitter, Facebook, and the homepage news feed. We're sorry to keep you waiting!

Geeking Out with...Elyse Schuerman

2012-01-14T15:44:00.000-05:00

By WICF Contributor Pam Victor

[“GeekingOut with….”

Elyse Schuerman is co-producer of the Women in Comedy Festival,which has grown exponentially each year thanks to the efforts and good karma ofElyse and her co-producers and festival creators Michelle Barbera and MariaCiampa. Elyse’s improv comedy roots firmly are planted in the fertile soil of ImprovBoston where she worked asManaging Director from 2003-08. In addition, Elyse has been a Mainstage ImprovBoston cast member since 1999, performed in a vast number ofshows there (such as Bluescreen, Comedia d'ellHigh School, BackStory, and Gorefest I-V),directed (Micetro, UnNatural Selection, Trail Mix), as well as taught improv to students lucky enough to learn underher sweet, knowledgeable and generous tutelage.

An IB romance got legal when Elyse married improviser and teacher extraordinaire DonSchuerman. Three years ago, they joined the IB procreation parade with the birthof their first child, and just a few months ago their son joined the ranks ofsure-to-be-funny IB babies. In order to accommodate our crazy mother-comedian-everythingelse schedules, Elyse and I sandwiched our improv geek out session during astolen hour on a Tuesday morning as the newborn on her lap held an animateddiscussion with the ceiling fan and as I monitored the studies of my15-year-old homeschooled son via Google chat and the old-fashioned method ofhollering upstairs. The hurried, hilarious experience seemed profoundly apt asthat rush-rush-improvise-rush-rush tempo is what being an improv comedianmother is all about.

Pam Victor: I'm always interested inhow people found improv - or how improv found them. When did you first get intoit? Was it love at first sight?

Elyse Schuerman: I saw a show at the SAKComedy Lab in Orlando while I was in college in Florida during atheater festival, and it was amazing. It was a Theatresports-style show and theperformers were great. Ialso remember an episode of ReadingRainbow that had Second City orsomething like that on the show. As a kid, I thought that was pretty cool. Igot involved with IB [ImprovBoston] through a friend/co-worker who got in to Theatresports.

Pam: Reading Rainbow? So Geordi La Forge turned you on toimprov?

Elyse: Exactly.

Pam: I can see how you would be powerless in the face of that.Resistance is futile. (That's a Star Trek joke that I would expect you to betoo cool to get.)

Elyse: Ha! Oh, I have seen my share of Star Trek. We all have a little innernerd, don't we?

Pam: Particularly improvisers.

Elyse: Yes!

This is Elyse.
She is very nice.

Pam: So in college you were exposed to improv, but you didn'tstart taking classes until you got to Boston?

Elyse: Well, I never "took a class.” Itwas 1999 and IB was looking to cast some women.

My friend Kristy, who was involved there,told me about the auditions. I think before that, they were in need of a techperson for a show one night, so I volunteered since I could operate a lightboard...especially an eight channel light board. (Inner geek.) So, I had donetech once, seen her perform a couple of times, and then went in to audition. Iwas a theater major, so I had done some improv games. I made it in along with afew other ladies. We rehearsed twice a week, and I learned a lot from Mat Gagneand Ron Jones, who were my directors.

Pam: How did you get from that first team to working there?

Elyse: I was on the B team at the time, whichmeant we rehearsed on our own and with the main troupe…and then Will Luera came on as Artistic Director,and that is when things got really good at IB. The B team just became a part ofthe main troupe under Will's direction, and attended the Chicago ImprovFestival. I really started to "get it."

Pam: Did you go through the levels at that point or just get yourlearning on the stage?

Elyse: Just from the stage and watching a lotof improv. Both of those things really shaped me. I think workshops are greatin the same way rehearsing is great, but to really become a good performer, youhave to perform - in front of an audience

and alot.

At my peak I was performing, rehearsing, anddirecting six nights a week.

Pam: I'm drooling.

Elyse: Sometimes seven.

Pam: Ok, now I’m doing more than drool…

Elyse: Sexy improv talk!

All that experience was great and reallytrained me. Again, practice and thinking about it all the time are keys tosucceeding.

Pam: Thinking about what exactly? What is the angle about improvthat connects you to good performing?

Elyse: For me, it was analyzing what madeother performers good. And I talked about it a lot with my roommate at the time,who was also an improviser (and then of course my husband, then boyfriend.) Inaddition, our conversations were like improv games - not all of them, but many. It's hard to turnit off, I think.

Pam: More sexy improv talk.

Elyse: To make it sexier, I will take off mypants...oh wait, there is a sleeping baby on my lap….

I came to realize that commitment was really the key to success. Nomatter what you chose at the top of the scene, hold on to it, like it's your lifeline.

I learned a lot from watching students andthe performers I directed too…and the ones that committed were the best. Andcommitment also means, "If that's true, what else is true?" So, ifyou start as a pirate and your scene partner sets you up in an office, you findall the ways to be a pirate there. After being disgusted by the copy machine,you throw it overboard, you ask for your paycheck in gold coins, etc.

Also, always be a pirate.

(No, don't really. Pirates are so five yearsago.)

Pam: LOL!

I guess I'm trying to get to the core of your improv skills set.

Elyse: Myskills or bag of tricks are trying to anchor or commit at the top. And try tocomplement my scene partners on stage.

Pam: ImprovBoston seems to be a theater that really values thecontributions of female comedians. At least from my outsider’s perspective, thetheater seems to be very successful in balancing women and men on stage, andthe whole environment there is very unified and cohesive. First of all, do youagree? And secondly, if so, how did the theater get to that place?

Elyse: I totally agree, though I don't thinkit worked too hard to do it. I think more and more ladies started takingclasses and shined just as much as the men (per capita). And then they juststarted coming into the casts. I think Will, Don [Schuerman], Matt Mosher andmy other IB contemporaries were so open to diversity too. They didn't just castpeople they were friends with.

(Hang on…baby crying.)

Pam: Sure.

Elyse: I know we were very aware of howtroupes were stacked. We all wanted to see equal balance in the genders; but asmore ladies performed, more were taking classes and getting in to troupes. Ithink now it's just a fact that 50% of the folks who audition and are good arewomen.

WICF Producer Goddesses
Elyse Schuerman, Michelle Barbera, Maria Ciampa

Pam: Let’s talk about the Women in Comedy Festival! Whatlead to its creation?

Elyse: Michelle and Maria proposed it to IBwhen I was Managing Director, and we said yes to producing it. The next year,after I left the Managing Director position, I came on as a third producer. (Iasked to be a part of it, as I totally loved it and the ladies.) It is a greatfestival, and not just for the ladies to perform in. We felt the name wouldattract female performers, and it has, but we are open to both genders. It endsup flipping the usual male to female ratio. And I am getting to meet myfavorite female comedians - that is good!

Pam: What have you learned from being exposed to all these greatfemale comedians?

Elyse: I've learned a lot more about theindustry than I wanted, but it's been fun. I think it's hard to be a womancomic who wants to write for TV.

(Sorry, major baby spit up, here...)

Listening to how it all works at the paneldiscussions, I mean. No one griped, but it's a rigorous process.

Pam: Yeah, those panel discussions are an incredibly - and to mesurprisingly - valuable part of the festival.

Elyse: Yeah, our goal is to keep them free tothe public - an important part of the festival, for sure.

Pam: I know you’re still early in the process right now, but canyou give us a sneak peek into what to expect from the next WICF (March 21-25,2012)?

Elyse: We had double the submissions, so someawesome talent will be there. We will be adding some new and exciting venues. Andone of our confirmed headliners is CarolLeifer, who I LOVED when I was a pre-teen when she had a show on A&Eand she was fantastic. She still is, but she was my first introduction to standup so it is pretty cool.

She has done so much writing for TV andproducing too, so it will be interesting to hear her talk about it.

We will have more headliners this year... Keeplooking at www.womenincomedyfestival.comfor exciting announcements! (That's my commercial in this interview.)

Pam: That's SO exciting, Elyse. What you ladies are doing is soimportant and I think it will have implications on the improv world on thenational and maybe even international scale. How do you feel about the state ofwomen in comedy today?

Elyse: I think it's the best it has ever been.I think the final glass ceiling is seeing [more] women writers and directors incomedy. We need to push our numbers there. We have plans to see that happen, orat least make some impact in that area. (We hope.)

***

Read the extended version of this interview and others in the "Geeking Out with..." series at My Nephew is a Poodle.

Photo credit: Jeff Hausthor

Pam Victor is the founding member of The Ha-Ha’s, and she producesThe Happier Valley Comedy Shows. Pam directs, produces and performs in the hot, new comic soap opera web series "Silent H, Deadly H". Pam also writes mostly humorous, mostly true essays and reviews of books, movies and tea on her blog,"My Nephew is a Poodle."

The Ideal Receptionist, As Imagined by the Older White Man on the Other End of the Phone

2012-01-12T08:21:00.001-05:00

By WICF Contributor Barbara Holm

"Yeah, I do have weekend plans. And furthermore I feel totally
comfortable sharing them with a stranger."

"Oh my gosh, you got an attorney's voicemail? I cannot believe it! The
only possible explanation is that sinister wrongdoings have
transpired. Let me scour the building, nay, the world for him! No, of
course I won't put you on hold; I have a Bluetooth, sorry, sorry I
mean a magical wizard hat. I apologize for confusing you with my loud,
brassy slang. Just one second while I train this flamingo to cover the
front desk while I find your attorney, because I have nothing else to
do."

"You're right, I do have a slight lisp. Yes, it is hilarious that you
pointed out an obvious physical handicap of mine. Hahaha!"

"Yes, it is cold outside. It's good that weather happens."

"No, I didn't just accidentally call you “Dad,” sir ... I said, “rad.”"

"I AM in fact eating something! You caught me! Now you win a prize
elephant named Albert. Yeah, I know you really wanted that prize,
otherwise why else would a stranger identify my snack consumption?"

"So, you don't know who you're calling for, you're not sure if they
have ever worked at this office, and you haven't talked with them in
40 years, but you know that he/she played golf once with an Asian man?
Yes, I know exactly of whom you speak."

"Oh, fascinating."

“Wait a minute, are you telling me that you tried to call someone and
they didn’t call you back? WHAT MADNESS IS THIS PLACE?!”

"My voice sounds too childlike? Thank you so much for telling me!
Because I have complete control over it, so obviously I appreciate any
and all constructive feedback."

"Sorry, they aren't in the office at the moment. Oh, they're expecting
you? This. Changes. Everything."

"Good afternoon, thank you for calling- oh, er, um, Barbara ... Oh
really, that's your mom's name? How interesting. Yes, I do know her.
From the Great War."

"Of course I remember you from when you called two months ago."

"Wow, thank you so much for asking how my day is going! Someone in
this miserable world does care! I am going to telegram my mother to
tell her that I do matter. Sure, we wasted a few seconds of our lives
with small talk, but I'll make that time back tonight tenfold because
I won't have to lock myself in the bathroom and cut a tiny notch in my
arm!"

"No, TGIF to you, sir. TGIF to you."

Barbara Holm is a stand-up comedian from Seattle, Washington. She has performed at Bridgetown Comedy Festival, The Women in Comedy Festival, and Bumbershoot Festival. She has been described as clever, creative and unique.

Bullish: When To Make Massive And Ballsy Life Changes For Your Career

2012-01-10T08:16:00.000-05:00

By Contributor Jen Dziura

This article originally appeared on TheGloss.

I love talking about being “ballsy.”

Testicles are very delicate – very important, yes, but also very delicate. Like, say, eyeballs. Important, but quite fragile! Yet no one ever says “Eyeballs out, ladies! Let’s do this!”

So, when is it important to be ballsy? More specifically, when is it time to make massive life changes to get ahead?

There was once a time that I worried I was clinically depressed and would require medication I could not afford. After all, depression is a disease, right? It’s all chemicals in your brain? Clearly, sometimes, that is the case. It is especially not difficult to understand that the drastic hormonal changes related to pregnancy and childbirth might marinate a person’s cerebellum in liquid melancholia.

But, in my case, I was running a failing company in a dead-end town, I couldn’t pay my bills, I hadn’t had fun in (actual) years, my landlord was threatening to evict my startup, and I had cut out exercising and friendships in order to make more time to fail at things. So, I don’t think that was a case of my brain randomly deciding to make some depressing chemicals. I think that was a very rational reason to be bummed out.

Read the rest at TheGloss.

Women in Comedy Showcase Tonight at 8!

2012-01-10T08:11:00.001-05:00

By WICF Editor Liz McKeon

Why wait until March for your dose of funny females? Boston fans can catch the "Women in Comedy Showcase" as tonight's "ImprovBoston Presents" feature!

Tonight's host, WICF Co-Producer Maria Ciampa

Don't fret if you're not in the Bay State right now (she types from her home in IL) — we'll do it all over again March 6, a mere two weeks (and a day) before WICF2012 opens! [Edited to add: We regret that, in fact, you should fret if you didn't make this showcase, because the March 6 one is no longer on the schedule. We also regret misleading our readers, depriving them of the chance to experience this particular instance of hilarity, and whatever other various and sundry things bother our good readers, such as war, famine, and Tebow.]

Hosted by Maria Ciampa, a fabulous Tuesday night (8 o'clock sharp!) of comedy with our favorite funny people:

Theresa Condito
Kate Ghiloni
Shawn Carter
Nate Johnson
Gary Peterson
Laura Crawford
Erika Kreutziger
Shawn Donovan

For tickets: http://www.improvboston.com/shows/improvboston-presents

WICF Performers on Best Of Lists!

2012-01-09T08:30:00.000-05:00

By WICF Editor Liz McKeon

We're excited that WICF Alumnae Allison Grillo and Chantal Carerre were featured in The Advocate as two of the “Seven Funny LGBT Comics You Should Not Have Missed in 2011.”

Congrats to WICF Alumna Jami Smith, her Twitter feed for The Advocate, @Gaysayer, was featured on both SheWired.com and Gay.Net as one of the "Top 25 LGBT Twitter Accounts." You can catch Jami at Gotham Comedy Club next month, for details see her site, www.jamismithcomedy.com.

2012 is shaping up to be a bang-up year for funny ladies!

“Seven Funny LGBT Comics You Should Not Have Missed in 2011” http://www.advocate.com/Arts_and_Entertainment/Comedy/7_Funny_LGBT_Comics_You_Shouldn%E2%80%99t_Have_Missed_in_2011/

"These Lesbians Have Nice Tweets" http://www.shewired.com/lifestyle/2011/12/28/these-lesbians-have-nice-tweets

"Top 25 Twitters To Follow" http://www.gay.net/celebrities/2011/12/30/top-25-twitters-follow-2012-mindy-kaling-gaysayer-rupaul-jesse-tyler

This Year, I Gave Up On Christmas -- Or, How We Started Publishing Comic Pieces for Our Readers' Amusement

2011-12-24T10:51:00.003-05:00

My neighbors really went all out with
their rooftop decorating this year. - Liz

By WICF Editor Liz McKeon

Happy holidays, y'all! In the coming year, we're going to start running comedy pieces on the site, along with our regular interviews and columns. Email me at editor@womenincomedyfestival.com if you're interested in seeing your writing featured!

In the spirit of the season, I'd like to share some song lyrics I wrote a few years ago. This was performed during a Latchkey Kids show in 2009, at ImprovBoston. What I love about working with the same sketch troupe repeatedly is that, over time, you really get to learn each other's voices. This was written with the dulcet tones of the wonderful Ken Breese in mind, and I thought he killed it.

This Year, I Gave Up On Christmas
With Apologies to Meredith Willson
By Liz McKeon. Written for Ken Breese.

(to the tune of "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas)

It quit trying to look at all like Christmas
It's the same thing ev'ry year;
Take a look at the crowd outside dazed and hollow-eyed
With three more months of fuckin' cold to fear.

No one's smiling, all they can do is bitch 'cause
Rel'tives were a bore
Their gifts were all full of crap, they won't get off your fuckin' back
Behind your own damn door.

A nice dinner a few laughs really all that I asked
From my god damn family;
Shit's what I got and an ulcer on top
Of the ajita they gave me;

Quit askin' me when I'll be married with three kids for Christ's sake Jesus fuckin' SHUT UP.

Pause to compose yourself.

I'm really tired of trying to give a shit 'cause
Weather sucks like a 'ho;
Nothing 'til Valentine's Day, which is a made up holiday,
On Presidents' Day I've got nowhere to go.

On a diet to get rid of holiday bitch tits
'Cause I've got one foot out the door,
And I'm just getting my ass in gear knowing that next year
I'll move somewhere warm.

Geeking Out With ... Jet Eveleth

2011-12-20T11:58:00.000-05:00

By Contributor Pam Victor

“GeekingOut with … ”

is a series of interviews with well-known, highly experiencedimprovisers. It’s a chance to talk about stuff that might interesthardcore, improv dorkwads like me. For an extended, full-frontal geek-out version of thisinterview, please visit my blog, MyNephew is a Poodle.

If you have seen Jet Eveleth perform improv, you remember her. Not only does she have crackerjack improv skills, but Jet Eveleth pops on stage. Your eye follows her as she flows from character to character with a bendy physicality that often defies gravity.

Eveleth swims in a sea of improv delights in Chicago. She currently performs at iO with The Armando Diaz Experience, The Reckoning, The Deltones and The Collectibles. Additionally, she is looking forward to a possible mini-tour with Paul Brittan (Saturday Night Live) of the created-from-improv scripted show Ted and Melanie. She is also working “with some really cool film guys from MN” on the development of a pilot that, according to Eveleth, “is very inspired by my favorite documentaries (Billy the Kid, Anvil! The Story of Anvil) and Chris Lilley's work.” And that’s not counting recent forays into movies, her stand-up experience, her previous work with The Chi-Town Clown Revue, and her stint as artistic director for The Chicago Improv Festival … And I have a feeling this is Eveleth on a slow day.

Pam Victor: So how did you get into improv?

Jet Eveleth: In college at UMASS Amherst, I walked by a short-form audition and some guys called me in. I guess my first "yes and" was walking into that audition at that moment.

Pam Victor: So was that Mission: IMPROVable?

Jet Eveleth: Yes, I was in Mission: IMPROVable. It was the MI guys that convinced me to move to Chicago to do improv. I read [Charna Halpern’s book] Truth in Comedy before I moved to Chicago and I remember the first time I set eyes on the entrance of iO. I connected to the book, the philosophies, and once I saw John Lutz and Stephanie Weir do a scene my mind was blown. It was so funny and so beautiful at the same time, and all made up in the moment. I sat in the audience and thought to myself, "This is all I want to do."

Pam Victor: So you came out to Chicago and right away went through the levels at iO?

Jet Eveleth: iO was my first destination. I saw a show the first night I arrived, three days after graduating from college. I went through classes there and also [The] Second City and The Annoyance Theatre.

Pam Victor: Wow. You were really driven.

Jet Eveleth: Compelled.

Pam Victor: I had a lengthy discussion with Chris Gethard about the "game" being at the heart of the UCB philosophy. What is at the heart of your improv philosophy?

Jet Eveleth: I love analogies. So here we go ... For a while, everyone thought atoms were the smallest you could go, the building blocks, right? But then they discovered the nucleus and then the protons and neutrons ... and who knows what we will discover next?

So right now (and this will change), I think that perhaps the game (the series of actions in a unique pattern) is the atom. And perhaps the character is the nucleus, and within that is the POV [point of view] born of the moment, in this space. We can still break it down smaller ...

But it becomes very Zen-like.

Jet Eveleth, Up Close and Personal

Pam Victor: Hahaha. I have this theory that there is a hardcore science geek inside almost every improviser. You are proving the rule.

So, really? The game, rather than relationship and character, is your go-to? Having watched you improvise, that surprises me.

Jet Eveleth: I guess when I say game I don't mean it like many in the improv world. Game has a history in all performing arts. So in Commedia [dell’Arte] and clowning, there is game. In dance, there is game. But its foundation is in action and pattern. I don't separate character, relationship and game. I play as honest as I can and all three are born how they see fit. Game can be developed first; I just don't play that way. I play character-driven, and when you have wants they lead to actions falling into patterns — game is born. But without the heavy fist.

Pam Victor: You are an amazing character actress. I love Barb. Can you talk about where your basic stock of characters comes from and how you nourish them?

Jet Eveleth: Thank you. Nourishing is a great word. I think we have to nourish ourselves as people if we want all this cool art to come out of us. Or perhaps, by nourish, I mean be close to ourselves. I feel that sometimes we run away from ourselves, especially in high stakes situations, like let's say on stage for example. I mean, everyone has their comedic voice, mine tends to live in character and physical work. That is what tickles me the most to watch and to play.

I remember the first time I set eyes on the entrance of iO.

Improv has been an amazing tool for me to find out I love playing POV's far from my own. I learned early on, the more humanity these characters have, the more the room connects to them. At the end of the day we have to balance skill with joy and risk, and we have to do it effortlessly. So practice is the only answer.

And when I say brave I don't mean putting on a brave face. I mean being out of control, losing your shit because that is what is required of your character in the moment. The willingness to be flawed. I think we can get lost in the idea that we are supposed to be the prettiest, smartest, most put together person in the room because we are on stage. When, indeed, it is the opposite.

Pam Victor: Your physicality is truly unique and immensely engaging. Is that something that comes naturally to you, or have you had certain training that allows your personal physicality to really shine?

Jet Eveleth: I have a background in dance, but I think when it comes down to it I like moving around. I also study yoga and clown, but I think I'm drawn to that for the same reasons. It feels like everything comes full circle if you just do what you love. Then one day, someone asks you this question.br />
I also love being physical because it means I never have to "think" and god knows there are so many cops that live in the mind. I much prefer to fall, roll, climb and hump. It is all so lovely and primal. I guess I'm like a local saying, "Let's take the back roads, there are way too many state troopers on the highway." Besides, the back roads are prettier and everyone is taking the highway.

I mean life is short, fall.

When I say brave, I don't mean putting on a brave face. I mean being out of control, losing your shit because that is what is required of your character in the moment. The willingness to be flawed.

Pam Victor: In your job as artistic director of the Chicago Improv Festival, I would imagine you really got an insider’s view of the global approach to improv. What have you noticed about interesting cultural differences and similarities in improv?

Jet Eveleth: That is a great question. It is fun to see how right on Joseph Campbell is about the universal consciousness in the evolution of art. Even though we are thousands of miles apart we are stumbling upon the same concepts and techniques within the art form. And yet, because we have such unique histories we also grow apart, some grounded in Commedia, some storytelling and others political theater. For example, I love the way Mexico City's troupe ImproTOP becomes their world rather than just gesturing to it. This comes from a heritage of physical storytelling and clown, and their show becomes instantly physical and playful in a way we rarely see in the states.

Pam Victor: At the improv forum at CIF, I saw four of you perform what I consider to be a “Perfect Set” from an improviser's point of view. Can you tell me about the structure The Reckoning follows? Can you break it down a little for me? It’s so naturally organic that as a viewer, it looks somewhat magical to me. So much so, I want to drink it because I think it will make me more powerful.

Jet Eveleth: Don't drink it! Don't drink it!

Pam Victor: BUT I HAVE TO!!!! (I tried to lick the back of Jake Schneider's head when he was turned away. I almost got caught. Really embarrassing.)

Jet Eveleth: In a nutshell, I can tell you that most of our shows have moments that are scenic and moments that are non-scenic (anything that isn't a scene). The edits are part of the show rather than a necessary evil. So we make them cool and experimental, which lead to scenes that are truly improvised. I find I always have more fun when I believe that I do the best work in the moment and not thinking on the sides. Then we let patterns happen. We look for characters, locations, objects, stage pictures, edits or anything else that want to come back, and we are receptive to them when they appear. I rarely speak the language of beats and games because that language can become handcuffs if they become demands. Who can demand the moment?

I think I just heard God laugh.

Edited to add: Jonathan Pitts, Executive Director of Chicago Improv Festival Productions and Co-Founder/Producer of the Chicago Improv Festival, has been booking all the international teams for CIF since its inception and continues to do so today. Much to my delight, it was Jonathan who brought ImproTOP to CIF 2011, and I was blown away by their performance there. I'm looking forward to interviewing Jonathan for this series, so he can share his perspective as someone who works with improvisers around the world as well as his other unique insights from deep inside in the Chicago improv scene.

Read the rest of Pam's interview with Jet Eveleth at My Nephew is a Poodle.

Photo credit: Jeff Hausthor

Pam Victor is the founding member of The Ha-Ha’s, and she produces The Happier Valley Comedy Shows. Pam directs, produces and performs in the hot, new comic soap opera web series "Silent H, Deadly H". Pam also writes mostly humorous, mostly true essays and reviews of books, movies and tea on her blog, "My Nephew is a Poodle."

Bullish: Thinking More Productively About Money

2011-12-20T00:10:00.001-05:00

By Contributor Jen Dziura

This article originally appeared on TheGrindstone.

When I was nine-years-old, I discovered that my allowance was the lowest of all the girls in my class (embarrassing!) and sometime later, started a small business making friendship bracelets and also reselling all the best (i.e., grossest) Garbage Pail Kids trading cards.

My classmate Crystal was rifling though my wares, which I kept in a Ziploc bag in my backpack. She questioned my business model – how come I was selling the good cards for more than they would cost in the store? (Seriously, don’t people’s parents explain these things to them?)

I said that, obviously, when you buy a pack of Garbage Pail Kids in the store, you don’t know which ones you’re getting, and also that marking things up was how all businesses operate. Stores, of course, buy things and then sell those things for more than they paid.

“That’s not true!” she said, incensed.

“Of course it is,” I said. “How else would they pay the rent and the people who work there?”

“You’re stupid,” she said, leaving without Harry Carrie, Adam Bomb, or Babbling Brooke.

Read the rest at TheGrindstone.

Good Books by Funny Women!

2011-12-19T10:25:00.000-05:00

By Contributor Barbara Holm

I love books so much that, when I was a kid, the only thing I wanted more than “to be a Monty Python” (Source: Me, Age ten) was to work at a bookstore. Funny books are usually my favorite, because I am a human and humans like laughing. Here are just a few of my favorite books by women in comedy:

***

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) by Mindy Kaling

A few weeks ago someone asked me what my favorite book was, and I said it was this one without hesitation. My friend said, "That doesn’t count because your favorite book is always the last book you’ve read." However, I have since read a few books and this is still my favorite! It's a charming collection of essays ranging stylistically from true-life memoir stories to adorable anecdotes and lists.

I identified with a lot of the awkward stories of her childhood and was inspired by her work ethic. My favorite part was when she discussed writing the Off-Broadway play Matt and Ben, which turned out to be the door that led to The Office. I think this chapter humbly downplays how talented, creative, and driven she and her friend were to write, produce, direct, promote and star in a comedy play. Mindy writes, “Because no one would hire us to act or write, Brenda and I decided to create something to perform in ourselves.” It also showed me that if you have a dream (for example, to write for TV), don't wait for the dream job to fall in your lap, start working at it now, because if you don't, it might never happen.

***

Bossypants by Tina Fey

I've read a few books about SNL and a many that were autobiographies of comedians, but few that were this laugh out loud funny, thoughtful and charismatic. The different stories weave together to depict the amazing life of a woman who is passionate, ambitious, strong and hilarious.

My favorite part of the book was the chapter "I don't care if you like it." The story is about Jimmy Fallon telling Amy Poehler one of her jokes wasn't "cute," and she said, "I don't fucking care if you like it." Fey says this embodies her outlook on sexism in comedy: If old, unfunny men tell the media that women aren't funny, she doesn’t care if they like it. Fey writes, "Is this person in between me and what I want to do? If the answer is no, ignore it and move on." It’s wonderful advice for anyone (not just women) in an artistic profession.

***

I Don't Care About Your Band: What I Learned from Indie Rockers, Trust Funders, Pornographers, Faux-Sensitive Hipsters, and Other Guys I've Dated by Julie Klausner

This dating memoir cracked me up, and I'm usually bored by dating memoirs. The stories are as ridiculous, loud and funny as Julie Klausner herself. While I don't take everything she preaches as gospel, I love the main theme of the book. Throughout so many dating horror stories, Klausner consistently insists that women should be confident, strong and not bend to a man's wishes. She encourages against girls who infantalize themselves for men, and girls like Miss Piggy who beg and plead for an indifferent Kermit. It’s a fast, funny read calling on women to unabashedly be themselves. (Klausner is a WICF alumna).

***

I Totally Meant to Do That by Jane Borden

I had the pleasure of meeting Jane Borden (a Women in Comedy Festival alumna!) a few times, and I always thought she was genuinely kind and I really liked her. When her book came out, my admiration grew into: “holy crap this girl is funny and awesome.” The book is a collection of memoir-style stories about a southern girl moving to New York. It’s hilarious and well written, with a distinct voice. “I totally meant to do that” is charming and quirky and reminds me of David Sedaris, or a happier Augusten Burroughs.

***

The Bedwetter: Stories of Courage, Redemption, and Pee by Sarah Silverman

I didn't expect this book to affect me the way it did. Sarah's stand-up is slightly impersonal, fiction-based and relies on a character. So when I picked up her book to casually browse through it, I was surprised when a full hour later I was fully engrossed and so touched I was fighting back tears. While hilarious, the memoir is nakedly sincere and honest, employing a courage that many comedy books lack. I loved learning about her early forays into stand-up and was impressed with the way she threw herself wholeheartedly into the craft at a young age. One part I liked was the chapter "Make it a treat," where Sarah says if something is incredibly special she tries not to overuse it, which is a strategy I then applied to my own comedy writing.

***

All of these books are wonderful and changed my life in tiny ways through giving me comedy or life advice. I think it’s important as an artist to read as much as possible, to fill oneself with creative input. More than anything, reading all these hilarious books by women just inspires me to one day hope to write my own.

Barbara Holm is a stand-up comedian from Seattle, Washington. She has performed at Bridgetown Comedy Festival, The Women in Comedy Festival, and Bumbershoot Festival. She has been described as clever, creative and unique.

Happy Thanksgiving! How About Those Gender Roles in Improv, Eh?

2011-11-24T13:40:00.001-05:00

By WICF Editor Liz McKeon

Happy Thanksgiving, ladies of comedy! Happy Thanksgiving, fans of comedic ladies! Happy Thanksgiving, everyone outside of the U.S. who has to work today (my apologies).

I'd like to direct your attention to a brilliant podcast hosted over at our sponsor ImprovBoston's site, "Fireside Improv." You know the wonderful WICF Contributor Rachel Klein, you love her. Now you can hear Rachel, along with the brilliant David Marino and Andy Short, expound on all the improv geekiness you've been missing in your life.

On the most recent episode, "Gender and Improv," the group tackles the important questions about women's roles in improv and how gender roles play out on and off the stage.Check out "Fireside Improv 9 - Gender and Improv" on the ImprovBoston Radio page.

For some choice quotes to share around the dinner table, my money's on: "I came back to improv as a married woman, mother of two. I noticed the difference that made as to how some men in the improv world would look at me versus an attractive single female counterpart of mine ... less onstage than ... you know how, when a man meets a women — you tell me if this is not true — they think maybe there's a chance I'll sleep with her? The quotient of that goes down with certain attributes." -Rachel Klein
"Is Being married one?" -David Marino
"Being married is one, but, like, ugh, she's had babies. That's a whole scary world. So there's this whole bed-able quotient that reduces [our chances onstage.]"

Or chew on these two bon mots from Rachel:
"Men don't have to be representative of all men when they speak, but women represent all women."
"People are more willing to look at tubby, middle-aged men than at tubby, middle-aged women."

I'd like to make a shout out to Patti Jane McCauley McLoughlin, for the deviled eggs and conversation. Happy holiday!

It's Not a Competition

2011-11-17T12:20:00.001-05:00

By Contributor Barbara Holm

A few days ago, I worked the door at a comedy club and I also did a short guest spot on the show. The good thing about working the door at a comedy club is that you get to hang out and talk to other comedians a lot. The bad thing about working the door is that you’re stuck in the box office for an hour so you have to talk to other comedians a lot. As I was setting up the cash register, a more established road headliner comedian walked through the doors. Let’s call her Sally.

I said, “Hi, Sally,” (No I didn’t, because that’s not her real name, but just leave the fourth wall alone and go with me, okay?) politely as she came in.

Sally’s face went white with horror and her eyes grew big and she yelped back cheerfully, “Hi!” She disappeared into the show room and came back five minutes later and said, “Hey, Barbara.” I figured she’d forgotten my name earlier, which was fine. We didn’t know each other that well. With an overcompensating smile on her face, Sally said, “I guess I’m closing out the showcase. I’m doing my [regular] set. I’m sure you alternative hipster comics will hate it but you’ll be too busy talking about your ironic hoodies to worry about it.” She winked.

What I should have said was, “No, you’re great. We love your set.” What I actually said was, “This isn’t an ironic hoodie; it’s a UCB hoodie.”

There are not a finite number of spots for female comedians on a show bill.

I don't respond well to catty girl comments. I can’t digest an insult wrapped in a compliment burrito, especially not from people I don’t know that well. Admittedly, I can be incredibly self deprecating, but I try to draw the line when it makes others feel uncomfortable.

Sally blinked. “What’s UCB?”

My face fell, devastated that I would ever have to answer this question. “The Upright Citizen’s Brigade. You know … Amy Poehler, Matt Besser-”

Sally interrupted me, “Oh yeah, of course I know.”

Another comedian, one of my very funny friends, Jesse, approached the ticket booth and quietly started rifling through his notebook while mumbling something about feeling frustrated. “Don’t worry, Jesse,” Sally said, loud enough for the entire bar area to hear. “Barbara here will be your comedy groupie!”

My eyes went black with rage, and I felt an Eowyn from Lord of the Rings-style vehement anger as I looked at her and quietly said, “I ain’t no fucking comedy groupie.”

A comedy groupie is a woman (notice there is no derogatory word for it if a man does it) who is a fan of comedy and has sex with headlining comedians. This person is usually not a comedian herself and has also been referred to as a “starfucker,” “chucklefucker,” and other horribly offensive names. Cute young girl comics will occasionally have this title incorrectly thrust upon them. I am a comedian; I am not riding on my sexuality to get booked on shows, nor am I in comedy for any reason other than to get funnier.

A group of audience members came up to the box office so I turned my attention to them and Sally went down to the green room. When the audience members left, the show started and the box office became very slow. I picked up my copy of Mindy Kaling’s book “Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?” (which is wonderfully well written and hilarious) and started reading. Sally came back to the box office.

“I’ve been asking about you downstairs,” she said. I looked up from my book, raising my eyebrows. “They say you’re really funny, but I said you’re too thin to be funny.”

I closed my books and folded my arms. This was another backhanded compliment designed to make me feel insecure about my comedic abilities. Deadpan, I said, “Oh, there’s a weight requirement to writing a good joke?”

I can’t digest an insult wrapped in a compliment burrito, especially not from people I don’t know that well.

Sally didn’t answer this and instead indicated my book. “Oh my gosh, that book is too cute. The cover is sickeningly adorable. Of course you’re reading something that cute.”

Defensively, I said, “What could you possibly have against Mindy Kaling?”

“I don’t know who that is.”

I gasped in horror. I was disturbed by the fact that anyone in comedy, let alone someone with a swagger, could not know who Mindy Kaling was. Luckily, before I could say anything, the manager came to tell me to come down to the showroom and get my butt on stage. I packed up the cashbox and headed down. I did really well on the show. Sally, however, bombed. As she was putting on her coat after the show, I said, “Good seeing you, Sally.”

“Good set, Barbie!” she said, in a nasally sarcastic voice.

“What is your problem with me?” I asked.

“I don’t have a problem with you,” she said, her voice rising to a higher pitch to imitate mine.

I shrugged and turned to leave. I hate that female comedians can be so passive aggressively competitive. We aren’t in competition with other women in our profession; we’re in competition with everyone. Men might try to pit us against each other so that they don’t have to compete with us, but we should never do it to ourselves. Women in comedy should work together, help each other up. It’s easier if we support each other instead of using high school passive aggressive backstabby language. There are not a finite number of spots for female comedians on a show. It’s hard enough for us to learn the complexities of the beautiful world of joke writing without having to compare ourselves to every other woman in the show. Also, the people who make comics feel jealous or competitive are exactly the people you should be friends with because they’re funny and ambitious and will push you and support you to be your best. We don’t need to put each other down to look better. I don’t know what’s going to happen with my or Sally’s careers, but I do know that I will never treat a younger funny female comic as a threat when I could be trying to make a friend.

Barbara Holm is a stand-up comedian from Seattle, Washington. She has performed at Bridgetown Comedy Festival, The Women in Comedy Festival, and Bumbershoot Festival. She has been described as clever, creative and unique.

Geeking Out With ... Keisha Zollar

2011-11-16T10:30:00.000-05:00

By Contributor Pam Victor

“GeekingOut with … ”

is a series of interviews with well-known, highly experiencedimprovisers. It’s a chance to talk about stuff that might interest onlyhardcore improv dorkwads like me. For an extended, full-frontal geek-out version of thisinterview, please visit my blog, MyNephew is a Poodle.

When I saw the all-African American troupe The Jamal at this year’s Del Close Marathon, I was excited by the much-needed cultural expansion they bring to the improv world. I couldn’t help but to be particularly awed by Keisha Zollar’s firecracker performance. In addition to her total commitment, she added verve and vivacity to every scene. Zollar improvises with such apparent fearlessness that no boundary seems safe in her realm. And I, for one, am grateful for that.

Keisha Zollar has been performing improv since her college days at the University of California (San Diego) when, on a whim, she tried out for the short-form troupe “When the Script Hits the Fan.” Upon graduation, Zollar decided to pursue a career as “a serious actress,” so she moved to New York City to attend the MFA program at The Actor’s Studio in The New School. But the lure of comedy always beckoned her, so her first audition upon graduation was for the short-form group Chicago City Limits. She got a callback and took that as a sign to get back into improv. After two and a half years touring with a short-form troupe, Zollar trained at the Upright Citizen’s Brigade Theatre and the People’s Improv Theater. In 2009, she became the Diversity Coordinator at the UCBT. These days, Zollar divides her time hosting The Soul-Glo Project at UCB, and performing with Nobody’s Token, Doppelganger, and an indie, all-female Harold team called 8GH, to name a few of the many comedy pies Zollar has her fingers in.

Pam Victor: Well, let me say thanks for doing this interview. Just so you know, I've been doing improv for almost a decade. I founded my own troupe in western Mass. over eight years ago, and I produce a comedy show up here among other things. So that's where I'm coming from ...

Keisha Zollar: I kinda stalked you.

Pam Victor: So you know how many guys I fucked in high school?

Keisha Zollar: Hmmmmm.

[Um, seriously, Pam? Awkward much? My ability to start an interview off on the weird foot is almost pitch perfect. Alas. Enter immediate, quasi-professional, backpedalling mode.]

Pam Victor: So when did you find long-form?

Keisha Zollar: About 2006, Itook my first class with Ari Voukydis at UCB…[but] I dropped out at level three. I felt isolated.

Pam Victor: That'sintense, Keisha. I'm sorry you had that experience.

Keisha Zollar: Eh. It wasn'tmalicious. It was just people going towards what they were used to. I was thisearly twenties, black girl, and there were very few women and even fewer peoplewho weren't white.

Pam Victor: So you'vehit upon a very important point here. Improv is predominately a young, white,male show.

Keisha Zollar: Itis, even more so in NYC. It’s also the economics of it all, so middle class toupper, and rich, white men. In NYC, you have to have the money to take classesor the free time to be an intern. I see the financial [issue] as a barrier toentry ...

The lack of females in improv has always been the greatest mystery to me personally. Growing up, my mom was and is one of the funniest people I know.

Ithink [the lack of diversity] is a perfect storm. Improv is a personal thingwhere you pull from your experiences, and if people can't relate to you, theykinda discredit you — not intentionally. And if you can't afford to take theclasses, you cannot even be discredited!

The lackof females [in improv] has always been the greatest mystery to me personally. Growingup, my mom was and is one of the funniest people I know.

Pam Victor: Well, I'mquite certain the fact that there are fewer female improvisers than male hasnothing to do with whether women are funny or not.

Keisha Zollar: YES!!!! Ithink there is an inherent laziness in humans to go for what they know.

Pam Victor: I think you hit the nail on thehead, Keisha. I think that since men started out dominating the improv scene —and since improv requires so much trust and intuitiveness — the men wouldrelate more to the men. They would subtly reject the women's offers.

Keisha Zollar: Men have hadan unfair balance of power in the history of this country. Shit, we are stillfiguring that out.

Pam Victor: Seriously.I almost never improvise with men. Not by design, but by circumstance.

Keisha Zollar: I tend toperform with either women or other black performers.

Pam Victor: In addition to the fact that Ithink you guys are incredibly skilled improvisers (and I’m not just blowingsmoke up your ass — I really mean it!), I personally love the culturaldiversity The Jamal and Nobody’s Token brings to the festival circuit. What arethe advantages for you of playing with an all African-American troupe?
Keisha Zollar: Well,the best part of being in an all African-American troupe is not having toexplain any cultural things. Yes, I listened to R&B more than pop. Jesus isbig with black people, gospel too, [plus] church and music and food and more.We have the same cultural rhythm, and it's pretty bad ass.

I think there are scenes that can expose painful truth through humor, but you really need the diversity to do them justice.

I started playing with a great group of womencalled Mrs. Jones, a group of black women, and the shared experiences AREawesome. First off, I LOVE playing with ladies. I don't feel weird making ajoke about my body or feelings. Also playing with black women ... whensomething racial comes up, no one's buttholes tense up. There tends to be alevel of sensitivity because we know what it's like to be the outcast. So if wepush an issue, it is because we are intentionally doing so!

Pam Victor: Well, andyou have the advantage — so to speak — of being able to go there. Know what Imean?

Keisha Zollar: YES!!!! Womenhandle rape scenes differently, in my experience, than men. And black peoplehandle a slave scene differently. I think there are scenes that can exposepainful truth through humor, but you really need the diversity to do themjustice.

Pam Victor: ABSOLUTELY.But here's the thing, we are talking about how it's more fun and easier andmore comfortable to do improv with people who share common experiences withourselves. But if we only do improv with people who are like us, then how isimprov as a big unit going to become more unified?

Keisha Zollar: Well, I thinkit is a balance. I also try to play with people VERY different from me wheneverI can. I think you find your voice and empowerment when you are playing withlike players, and you find freedom and the stretching of your abilities andthoughts when you play with people vastly different from you.

Keisha Zollar

Pam Victor: Well said. And please don't thinkfor a minute I'm saying it's your responsibility as a black woman to unify theimprov world. It is a two-way street. I'm talking from my own experience as afemale improviser who often feels more comfortable working with other women,but also frustrated by those same limitations.

Keisha Zollar: I think it's a constant balance. Ithink the male-heavy or -only groups have the same tendencies — there are justa lot more of them. They form groups from people who are similar, and then theystart going for the people who are most different for the creative challenge.

Pam Victor: So who areyou performing with these days? Where can we see you?

Keisha Zollar: I am stillperforming with Nobody's Token and Doppelganger. I also play with 8GH, which isan eight-lady Harold team (indie). In addition, I actually host a showhighlighting diversity in comedy called the Soul Glo Project. The Soul GloProject is a UCB show.

Pam Victor: It seemslike UCB is very supportive of your efforts to diversify the improv scene.

Keisha Zollar: THEY ARE! AndNate Dern, the new AD, is amazing. He cares about diversity. He's made moreconsiderations and has supported and welcomed, and is welcoming, diversity. Hesees that diversity isn't about the minorities getting a chance, but about fosteringthe best comedic talent, and giving diverse talent ways to express that. Hesees the struggle.

Pam Victor: So thereare reasons to be optimistic about the coming diversity in the improv world.

Keisha Zollar: Yes. Nategives me a lot of hope. And others, too.

Read the rest of Pam's interview with Keisha Zollar at My Nephew is a Poodle.

Photo credit: Jeff Hausthor

Pam Victor is the founding member of The Ha-Ha’s, and she produces The Happier Valley Comedy Shows. Pam directs, produces and performs in the hot, new comic soap opera web series "Silent H, Deadly H". Pam also writes mostly humorous, mostly true essays and reviews of books, movies and tea on her blog, "My Nephew is a Poodle."

Bullish: How To Make Money From Being Hip As All Fucking Hell

2011-11-15T12:23:00.000-05:00

By Contributor Jen Dziura

This article originally appeared on TheGrindstone.

When I was a kid, I assumed that everyone on television was rich. Because showing off your dancing beagle on whatever program was the ‘80s equivalent to The Ellen DeGeneres Show obviously represents both a huge financial windfall as well as a sustainable business model.

We now live in an era in which it is painfully clear that fame does not equal money. Ashley Hebert made $30,000 for The Bachelorette (a tiny fraction of what she’ll soon be making as a dentist). All the other Real Housewives are jealous that Bethenny Frankel actually had a business plan all along, and a product (Skinnygirl Margarita) that other human beings would actually like to purchase for their own pleasure and consumption. I was in a pilot for a TV show on a major network and was to be paid a few thousand dollars per season if it took off – the idea being that, obviously, being a logic expert who helps people figure out how to steal cake would help me to advertise similar services in real life.

I’ve written before about how being attractive is helpful, but does not translate into money as readily as a person might think. Being awesome (or hip, cool, popular, famous, etc.) also does not just convert itself into money the way one might assume.

Read the rest at TheGrindstone.

Good news -- You can still apply for WICF through Friday! Giddy up!

2011-11-14T18:55:00.001-05:00

Applications for shows are now open through Friday, November 18th at 11:59 pm EST. Go to womenincomedyfestival.com/apply to submit — and good luck!

How To: Reintegrate Into Society After Doing the Comedy Thing

2011-11-14T12:44:00.000-05:00

By Contributor Maggie Maye

After taking a year off to focus on comedy (i.e. after not being able to find a job for a year), I've officially suited up and rejoined the workforce. It's been a bit of an adjustment, to say the least. The following is my experience so far. This shouldn't be taken as a decision map; if you get offered a job, by all means take it before they realize you're a comic and horribly unqualified for the position. I'm still crossing my fingers to make it past the 3-month probationary period.

Pro: Money, obviously.
Con: I work in sales, so that money doesn't come without a hustle. Additionally, since I have to talk to clients all day, I don't have time to look at cat videos on YouTube like everyone else does at their day job. As a side note, if you or any of your friends want to get your business on the front page of a search engine, hit me up. I can help. I work for the industry leader in search engine optimization and I'll hook you up with my discount (end shameless promotion).

Pro: I have to be more responsible. Since I have to fit more into my day, I have to make sure I'm not wasting a ton of time during the day. Also, since I'm working so hard for this job, I feel guilty unless I'm putting in the same effort for comedy.
Con: That responsibility hasn't exactly permeated every area of my life. Today, I had pretty much run out of deodorant, so I scraped the last remnants out of the container and rubbed it on my armpits like it was lotion. My pits still smell shower fresh, but so do my finger nails.

Pro: It's a full-time, 8-5 job, so I am awake way more.
Con: I'm awake way more.

Con: Since I spend 8-10 hours here, it cuts down on my writing time.
Less of a con: When I wasn't working, I wasn't writing for 8-10 hours. So, technically, this job is cutting into my Roseanne reruns and Cheeto-eating time. So I have to train my mind to make time to write. I write during my lunch hour and will jot down things as they come to me during the day. And they have Cheetos in the vending machine, so I'm good.

Pro: There are a bunch of people here, which is cool. It's an untapped resource of new people to invite to shows.
Con: If they go and talk during the whole thing, you'll have to answer to the other comics about why your work friends can't behave.
Other Pro: For the most part, they'll behave and be really nice. Nice enough that you'll happily agree to perform at their barbecue this weekend.
Another con: You'll end up performing at a barbecue.
Better pro: They'll probably let you eat some of the barbecue. And it's going to be delicious.

Maggie Maye. Photo Credit: Dustin Ashcraft

Maggie Maye has always had a knack for making people laugh. From her first time on stage, she knew she loved stand up even more than she loved candy. Well, actually, it’s a tie, but still, that’s a whole lot.
Maggie has been called "one of the hottest up and coming comics in Austin." She's been a finalist in the Funniest Person in Austin contest and was featured in Austin Monthly magazine. I'll bet you can probably guess where this broad lives. She's also been a featured performer at Fun Fun Fun Fest, Art Outside, the Out of Bounds Comedy Festival, and the Ladies are Funny Festival.
She has had the opportunity to work with some comedic badasses, such as Pablo Francisco, Felicia Michaels, and the legendary Paul Mooney, who not only told her she was funny, but gave her the nickname "Black Barbie." Also, this 6-year-old once told her she was the funniest person ever. So she also has that going for her.
If you see her perform, expect for Maggie to use her charm, wit and backhanded form of observational humor to make you laugh and think.

WICF Takes Manhattan Tours to The PIT - WICF w/ The Scene Tonight at 9:30

2011-11-10T14:36:00.001-05:00

Last night of WICF Takes manhattan — join us for a night of improv with "The Scene" at The People's Improv Theater (The PIT) at 9:30!

Improv Comedy Featuring:
First Act: Cathleen Carr, Maria Ciampa, Leah Gotcsik, Rachel Rosenthal, Elyse Schuerman, Rachel Wecht
Act Two: Michelle Barbera, Micah Sherman
The Scene Players: Nicole Byer, Grace Helbig, Dan Hodapp, Bob Kulhan, Sasheer Zamata, Keisha Zollar
Buy Tickets ($5)

WICF Takes Mahattan was produced by Aaron Haber, Charlie Prince, Geoff Sargeant and Steven Scott in Association with Michelle Barbera, Maria Ciampa, Elyse Schuerman, and Hillary Buckholtz of the Women in Comedy Festival, and Micah Sherman and Dan Hodapp, Co-Producers of "The Scene", at the People's Improv Theater.

I’m the Scared Woman Who Saw the Awful Ashley Madison Ad on the Floor of the Subway

2011-11-10T13:15:00.001-05:00

By WICF Performer Mindy Raf

Reposted from Mindy's tumblr.

This Ashley Madison ad on the back of a New York Metro greeted me this morning on the train.

Sorry it’s a crappy picture. The slogan reads, “Life is Short. Have an Affair.” I’m sure there’s a better version of this on Whe web somewhere. In fact I went looking for one and found this Jezebel article, "I’m The ‘Scary’ Model In That Awful Ashley Madison Ad."

The message, “look airbrushed/have ribs removed to earn/keep man,” “you’re only worth your weight,” isn’t a new one. I see it all the time and I don’t snap pictures, or look up the company, or feel so dirty after. So why did I find this one especially disgusting?

Maybe it was what the "scary" model, Jacqueline, said about “female body shaming” and knowing that “this sort of behavior [eating disorders] can easily be triggered from the careless cruelty of advertisements like the one in question.”

Maybe it was the check boxes, itemizing women like some product to be thrown out.

Maybe it was the asinine, hacky, cringe worthy slogan, “Life is short. Have an affair,” the uninspired fat vs. skinny, ugly vs. hot angle.

Maybe it was because the ad wasn’t just the message; it was a blatant, literal call to action of that message.

Maybe it was because it took me back to my fourteen year old self crossing her arms over her stomach every time she sat down, putting her mom’s foundation on the sides of her underarms to look like the girls in the magazines who didn’t have any lines on their skin (no side boob creases at all!), and my mother telling me over and over again I was beautiful and me thinking, “Yeah, but not perfect.”
I guess it was all those things. And I guess it’s always going to be a struggle, as a woman, to feel like a whole person and not some flat image next to a check box.In time, though, I was able to see myself the way my mother saw me, beautiful because of so many things not having to do with the size of my body or how flawless my skin looked over it.

I hope the young girls who see ads like this can too, someday.

Mindy Raf. Photo credit: Anya Garrett.

Mindy Raf is a writer, comedienne, and musician based in Brooklyn, New York. She has written for CollegeHumor, VH1, TNT's "Embrace Your Grace," The Daily Comedy Network, and was a contributor to the My Parents Were Awesome anthology. Mindy is also a soon-to-be-published novelist with Dial Books for Young Readers, a division of Penguin. She was nominated for an ECNY award as "Best Musical Comedy Act" as her popular alter-ego Leibya Rogers, and recently released a full length vinyl comedy album, "LeibyaFair Live!" Mindy was thrilled to be a part of the 2011 Women in Comedy Festival, SketchFestNYC, and the Bridgetown Comedy Festival where she was named a “stellar surprise” by The Portland Mercury. She currently writes/records new songs weekly with her Web project Mindy's Music Mondays.

Geeking Out With … Chris Gethard

2011-11-09T10:42:00.000-05:00

By Contributor Pam Victor

Introducing “GeekingOut with … ”
This will be a series of interviews with well-known, highly experiencedimprovisers. It’s a chance to talk about stuff that might interest onlyhardcore improv dorkwads like me. And probably you (and I mean that in the mostsincere, loving way.) For an extended, full-frontal geek-out version of thisinterview, please visit my blog, MyNephew is a Poodle.

The first time I met Chris Gethard, I was handinghim a demi-cup, lace bra in the ImprovBoston green room. He and his troupe wereembarking on a cross-country comedy road trip in an RV, and I asked if he woulddeliver the bra to another comedian I hardly knew in L.A.

“Did you put perfume on it?” Chris simply asked inresponse to my request.

I blushed and snatched the bra out of his hands tosmell it in confirmation of what I already knew. (Why did I need to smell myown bra in front of Chris Gethard?! To this day, I still can’t answer thatquestion.)

“Actually, it’s essential oil,” said thefragrance-free gal from western Mass., before choking out, “cinnamon.”

And that was pretty much the sum total of ourinteraction.

The whole bra/RV stunt was an attempt to performagain with a comedian who once plucked me out of the audience to have adate on stage during the Del Close Marathon several years ago.Believe me, it’s not a pro-feminism story I will be writing in to the Smith College Alumni Quarterly any time soon. But I will say that, to his great credit, Chris Gethardsuccessfully transported my lingerie across the continent.

Since the age of 19,Gethard has been at UprightCitizen’s Brigade Theatre, where he teaches classes and performswith The Stepfathers. He has a host of choice gigs on his resume, such as guestwriting for SaturdayNight Live and the "OnionNews Network," multiple appearances on LateNight with Conan O’Brien, and last year, starring in Will Ferrell and AdamMcKay’s sitcom on Comedy Central, Big Lake, which also featuredHoratio Sanz and Chris Parnell. These days, he has his own cable access show The Chris Gethard Show, billed as “themost bizarre and often saddest talk show in New York City.” Recently, we sat down to chat virtually about improv. And neti pots. Gethard was suffering through a sinusinfection.

Pam Victor: Sorry to hear you’re sick. I’m just gettingover something. I’m a neti pot user.

Chris Gethard: Oh, I do the neti pottoo. I’m at the point though where I know it will hurt really badly. You everhave that? Where the sinuses get so bad that the neti pot is like pouring glassinto your own head?

Pam Victor: Yes. That’s when I stop doing it usually.

(Opening an interview with neti pot stories: Worseor better than smelling your own bra? You be the judge.)

Pam Victor: How did you get into improv? What’s your training?

Chris Gethard: Well, I started in high school. A teacher who knew I was kind of a wise ass sort of twisted my arm into signing up for her drama class, and we just did improv the whole time. I was pretty immediately obsessed. [Then] I went to Rutgers, auditioned for their short form troupe, and had a year of just desperately trying to get into this short form group. I fought and fought to get in … took me three semesters to get in. Then was like ... obsessed with it, but [short form] burned out fast. I enjoyed short form, but I figured out very quickly that there were tricks to it, and I felt the ceiling of it fast.

Chris Gethard!

So after my sophomore year, I started takingclasses at UCB. My first class, I think, was a week before my 20^thbirthday … and from there I was just obsessed. I’m lucky; my group in college wasgood and motivated. Everyone was good, but there was a crew that all went toUCB, to long form, that I lead the charge on. And I think all of us are stilldoing it professionally.

Pam Victor: I get the obsessionthing. What about improv obsesses you so much?

Chris Gethard: The thing aboutimprov that obsesses me so much is that any show could be your best show ever.Every time you step on stage, you might hit a rhythm you’ve never hit before,say something funnier, connect harder with your teammates, whatever. It’saddictive, but I find myself chasing it even after eleven years of doing it atUCB.

Pam Victor: Are you a risk-takerin real life?

Chris Gethard: Yeah. Bigtime, to a stupid degree. I am mocked for it.

Pam Victor: Sothat’s where your style of comedy come from, you think? That sense of, “Let’sget Chris to do it ... he’ll do anything”?

Chris Gethard: I don’t know. It’sdefinitely hard to know how you’re viewed on stage, but I actually think onstage I tend to be the one more in control. I think I lean more straightman/pointing things out. I’m not very good at characters or object work. Mostof my characters are very similar to me. But that’s where being a semi-strangeperson gives me an advantage, because I think I’ve had a decent amount of lifeexperience, so playing close to myself isn’t a hindrance. I am pretty good atadjusting and playing most situations with a certain degree of integrity.

Opening an interview with neti pot stories: Worse or better than smelling your own bra? You be the judge.

Ithink, eleven years in though, I focus more on taking my attitude from improv[than performing it], the things I’ve discovered with it, and putting them intothings like storytelling, my talk show, and stand up. Improv is my base that Iapply to everything.

Pam Victor: That last sentence makes me smile. Ok, The Chris GethardShow, your cable-access show. Tell me about what you’re going forthere — it’s so unlike anything that’s out there right now, sort of Theatre ofthe Absurd, sort of Fellini, sort of Howard Stern. It’s fascinating.

Chris Gethard: Thank you! We’ve definitely all builtit together over time, all the people on camera and organizing it on myend … when you’re comfortable with each other and you let your guard down andrealize that the people up there with you are your safety net, your limits canreally get stretched. So we get really revealing. We sometimes get violent. Wesee how far we can push each other.

Pam Victor: UCB seems very masculine energy. I don’t knowif you read theWICF piece or not, but Joe Bill and I have been going back and fortha lot lately on masculine vs. feminine improv.

Chris Gethard: I would sayone of the biggest assets of the UCB is that I think it’s unquestionably thepunk rock theater. It’s a little dirtier and less polished, but very, veryballsy and in your face … if you divide comedy up by masculine/feminine, it’sprobably fair to say that UCB is on the masculine end of the spectrum.

Pam Victor: Can you tellme about how you are trained for that there?

Chris Gethard: You know,the game is at the core of the UCB style and philosophy, the idea that you canisolate one central core funny idea in each scene, that each scene can have itscomedy defined by one core principle that you then make a pattern out of. And Ithink on some level, there’s a math-like quality to that … on some level I wonderif that might give UCB that more masculine energy. It’s based on patterns andthere is something of a formula in the way they teach people to communicate.

Pam Victor: So that’s yourgo-to on stage? You’re listening for the game of the scene?

Chris Gethard: It’s not even a go-to. Game isn’t a go-to, that’s not even the way to phraseit. It’s a language.

Pam Victor: Ok. So for me, personally, defining and develop the relationshipbetween characters is what I think of as my go-to. How would you phrase it?

Chris Gethard: I kind of don’t get when improvisers say relationship is at the core of theirscenes. I literally don’t understand it because that’s like saying thatbreathing air is at the core of living. That’s a starting point. People knockUCB, knock the game style, say relationship is the alternative, butrelationship is a given. Game basically says, “Focus on what’s unique aboutTHIS relationship.” What’s interesting or weird or funny or unique about thisparticular relationship? And how do you extend that to apply to all otheraspects of the world these characters live in? And on top of that, I think ifyou only think about relationship, you cut off the part of your brain that doespresentational things, abstract things, all the things that happen in improvthat don’t even happen between two characters …

The thing about improv that obsesses me so much is that any show could be your best show ever.

I get defensivesometimes. I think sometimes we get a bad rap in the improv community … but Ithink sometimes people say, “UCB is aggressive and loud and fast and no onelistens,” but I don’t think that’s true. You have The Swarm, one of the mostpatient teams ever. You have Respecto [Montalban], balls to the wall rockstarimprov, and they all have at their core this engine driving things, calledgame.

Pam Victor: Youwrote on Facebook once, “The question behind every comedic choice I make onstage, every joke I write is, ‘Would this make teenagers in northern New Jerseylaugh?’”

Chris Gethard: Yeah. I justwant weird kids to like what I do, anything I come up with, that I put my nameon or whatever. That’s in my head, “Would me and my brother have liked this ifwe randomly found it in 1995?” Like we used to find shows on the UHF channelsand public access channels.

Pam Victor: You consideryourself to be a “weird kid?”

Chris Gethard: Oneof the weirdest!

Pam Victor: Last question: You gallantly transported mycinnamon-scented, ivory, lace, demi-cup bra from Boston to L.A. First of all,thank you. I envisioned the bra ending up in a truck stop somewhere in Texas orgathering road dust on the side of the road in Nevada. But you got it there andinto the hands of its intended. Where did it travel?

Chris Gethard: Your bra wastucked away safely and secretly in the bag where I store my laptop. My laptopis where I keep everything I’ve ever written, every project I’m working on,every outline for a show idea for my talk show that I have. What I am tellingyou, no bullshit, is that for some reason I took the cross-continentaltransport of your underwear VERY SERIOUSLY. I put it where I knew it would besafe.

Pam Victor: Wow.The treasure chest of hiding places. I really thought it would be hanging fromthe rearview mirror with shit written on it. Thank you.

Chris Gethard: No, no. Yougave me a mission, and I executed it. It was my pleasure.

Read the rest of Pam's interview with Chris Gethard at My Nephew is a Poodle.

Photo credit: Jeff Hausthor

Pam Victor is the founding member of The Ha-Ha’s, and she produces The Happier Valley Comedy Shows. Pam directs, produces and performs in the hot, new comic soap opera web series "Silent H, Deadly H". Pam also writes mostly humorous, mostly true essays and reviews of books, movies and tea on her blog, "My Nephew is a Poodle."

WICF Takes Manhattan Starts Tonight! AND -- Last Day to Submit for WICF 2012!

2011-11-08T17:19:00.002-05:00

Have you submitted your show for WICF 2012 yet? You have until 11:59 PM EST TONIGHT!

www.womenincomedyfestival.com/apply

Also, just a reminder — WICF Takes Manhattan starts tonight! And coupon code WICF gets you $5 off when you purchase tickets online for Wednesday's show at The World Comedy Club - www.theworldnyc.com/wicf

The Lineup

Tuesday, November 8th, 9 PMThe Friars Club (Private Show - Friars and Guests Only)
Stand-Up Comedy Featuring:
Hillary Buckholtz, Maria Ciampa, Cory Kahaney, Kelly Macfarland, Glennis McMurray, Kate Wolff, Jenny Zigrino, Plus Special Guests

Wednesday, November 9th, 8:30 PM

The World Comedy Club

Stand-Up Comedy Featuring:

Michelle Barbera, Jane Borden, Hillary Buckholtz, Maria Ciampa, Gaby Dunn, Erin Judge, Asie Mohtarez, Phoebe Robinson, Plus Special Guests

Buy Tickets ($15)

Thursday, November 10th, 9:30 PM

The People's Improv Theater (The PIT)
Improv Comedy Featuring:
First Act: Cathleen Carr, Maria Ciampa, Leah Gotcsik, Rachel Rosenthal, Elyse Schuerman, Rachel Wecht
Act Two: Michelle Barbera, Micah Sherman
The Scene Players: Nicole Byer, Grace Helbig, Dan Hodapp, Bob Kulhan, Sasheer Zamata, Keisha Zollar
Buy Tickets ($5)

WICF Takes Manhattan! Check Out Three Nights of WICF Shows Nov 8th - 10th

2011-11-07T10:55:00.000-05:00

The Women in Comedy Festival is thrilled to partner with the historic Friars Club to present a WICF stand-up show on November 8th, at 9 pm. WICF will continue its tour of Manhattan with a second stand-up show at the The World Comedy Club on Wednesday, November 9th, and a night of improv with "The Scene" at The People's Improv Theater (The PIT) on Thursday, November 10th.

UPDATED TO ADD: Coupon code WICF gets you $5 off when you purchase tickets to Wednesday's show at The World Comedy Club online - www.theworldnyc.com/wicf.

Please join us for an early taste of WICF, which will be held March 21st - 25th, 2012 in Boston, MA. Come by, meet the co-producers, and check out some of the great talent from WICF past and future. Don't forget, there's still time to apply to be part of WICF 2012. Submit your show in the categories of improv, musical comedy, sketch, stand up, or storytelling here.

The Lineup

Tuesday, November 8th, 9pm
The Friars Club (Private Show - Friars and Guests Only)
Stand-Up Comedy Featuring:
Hillary Buckholtz, Maria Ciampa, Cory Kahaney, Kelly Macfarland, Glennis McMurray, Kate Wolff, Jenny Zigrino, Plus Special Guests

Wednesday, November 9th, 8:30pm

The World Comedy Club

Stand-Up Comedy Featuring:

Michelle Barbera, Jane Borden, Hillary Buckholtz, Maria Ciampa, Gaby Dunn, Erin Judge, Asie Mohtarez, Phoebe Robinson, Plus Special Guests

Buy Tickets ($15)

Thursday, November 10th, 9:30pm

The People's Improv Theater (The PIT)
Improv Comedy Featuring:
First Act: Cathleen Carr, Maria Ciampa, Leah Gotcsik, Rachel Rosenthal, Elyse Schuerman, Rachel Wecht
Act Two: Michelle Barbera, Micah Sherman
The Scene Players: Nicole Byer, Grace Helbig, Dan Hodapp, Bob Kulhan, Sasheer Zamata, Keisha Zollar
Buy Tickets ($5)

Produced by Aaron Haber, Charlie Prince, Geoff Sargeant and Steven Scott in Association with Michelle Barbera, Maria Ciampa, Elyse Schuerman, and Hillary Buckholtz of the Women in Comedy Festival, and Micah Sherman and Dan Hodapp, Co-Producers of "The Scene", at the People's Improv Theater.

Comics Coming Up ... From The Grave

2011-10-26T16:18:00.000-04:00

Looking for something horrifically entertaining to do tonight? We recommend WICF alum Matt Kona's show "Comics Coming Up ... From The Grave" — check it out at Grandma's Basement!

It may or may not be Jess Sutich's last show in Boston. We'll leave you in suspense — find out tonight at:
9 pm at Grandma's Basement inside the Howard Johnson
1271 Boylston St. Boston, MA
$5Matt Kona hosts: Benny Bosh, Jess Sutich, Sean Wilkinson, NickChambers, Rob Crean, Robbie Goodwin, Tom Dunlap and Shaun Connolly

Matt Kona - Credit Paris Visone

Should You Improvise More with Your Vagina?

2011-10-14T09:18:00.002-04:00

By WICF Contributor Pam Victor, with invaluable contributions from Joe Bill

“And I don’t mean that in a dick versus pussy way.”

This is improv legend Joe Bill talking to me about two camps of improv. He was contrasting the testosterone-infused, wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am, my-dick-is-bigger-than-yours style with the more Kumbaya emotional connection with scene partners, deep-like-a-womb, scenic improv style. In short, we were discussing the masculine-feminine polar extremes of improvising, but not necessary male and female improvisers.

Can improv technique be classified along a gender-stereotyped spectrum? It’s tempting to chalk up stylistic disparities as stemming from the physical differences of what parts we’ve got under the hood. Penises simply beg to be whipped out and flaunted. And they have the propensity - in my experience - of growing larger before your very eyes. Ta da! Who doesn’t love magic (as long as it’s not performed by David Blaine)? The penis, instant audience pleaser. Add to that the evolutionary need to spread one’s seed over many fields in a relatively short period of time, and you’ve got a metaphor for a certain style of improv: fast-paced, short term oriented, somewhat aggressive and competitive and instantly gratifying. Very fun to do in the moment, but sometimes leaves me feeling somehow empty inside afterwards. (Granted, I’m a dopey-eyed chick, so I guess that figures.)

The penis: instant audience pleaser.

The vagina, on the other hand, requires a more concentrated and immeasurable dedication in both its pleasure and its up-keep. By its very nature, a vagina is a long-term commitment. With time, focus, and refined skill, a vagina can yield many gifts, the greatest of course being the neat trick of creating life — more miracle than magic. Thus, we have the other end of this improv spectrum: a focus on emotion and relationship, a willingness to allow the scene to open up, reveal itself and develop (might I say, to blossom?), a relaxed pace, a deep exploration, and lots of eye contact.

But it’s important to resist classifying these two styles, in Joe Bill’s poetic words, as “dick versus pussy.” This is not about male improvisers and female improvisers. In fact, in my kinky opinion, I love to watch a woman who performs like she has a dick and to perform with a man who approaches the scene with his vagina. These delightful blends across the spectrum yield enchanting results on the stage. It’s not about which naughty bits you’re packing down below, it’s about which naughty bits you improvise with.

Thus, we have the other end of this improv spectrum: a focus on emotion and relationship, a willingness to allow the scene to open up, reveal itself and develop (might I say, to blossom?), a relaxed pace, a deep exploration, and lots of eye contact.

So I asked Joe Bill himself, a self-proclaimed wielder of an “improv vagina,” to read this piece and share his thoughts about the possibility of a masculine-feminine spectrum of improv styles. He generously responded:

Here's the thing ... and by thing I mean, here's the hermaphrodite ... the masculine sensibility is goal-focused and the feminine sensibility is process-focused. The proposition as artists is, “Can we play with both or either, when called upon to improvise?” Yes, there is dickprov and there is pussyprov, but can we be in possession of both sensibilities, even when playing in the prevailing context?

Why bother? Dynamics ... to give yourself and your show the gift of diversity of declaration and possibility in any given moment. If there's a man and a woman and a hermaphrodite standing on stage, the person I want to know more about is the hermaphrodite. It's probably because with a man or woman I can think, "Go fuck yourself" and be done with them ... but with a hermaphrodite I can think that, and then immediately arrive at, "WOW, I hope this can happen!" [Dear hermaphrodites, this is a metaphor, I love you.] Isn't that Improv? Wouldn't it be great if we could all go fuck ourselves in either context, with theatrical skill and artistry, and deliver fearlessly on the proposition? My improv vagina will be over in the corner with Susan Messing's improv dick, reminiscing about that one awesome scene we did about a thousand times.

So there you have it, folks. Joe Bill gets the last word on the pussy-dick improv spectrum. Now go fuck yourself.

###

Premiering today! Pam directs, produces and performs in "Silent H, Deadly H," a comic soap opera web series that revolves around an evil chicken farm baroness and her attempts at taking over the competing organic, CSA farm ... by any means necessary.

Lust. Betrayal. Mini-weenies. The 12-episode show debuts at noon EDT today, October 14, and can be watched at www.silenthdeadlyh.com and www.youtube.com/user/SideOfToastComedy. Get up-to-the-minute drama behind the drama at www.facebook.com/silent.h.deadly.h.

Photo credit: Jeff Hausthor

Pam Victor is the founding member of The Ha-Ha’s, and she produces The Happier Valley Comedy Shows. Pam directs, produces and performs in the hot, new comic soap opera web series "Silent H, Deadly H". Pam also writes mostly humorous, mostly true essays and reviews of books, movies and tea on her blog, "My Nephew is a Poodle."

Funny Women Bosses

2011-10-10T13:35:00.000-04:00

By WICF Contributor Natalie Baseman

“I can see people misunderstanding me and sending me evil tweets,” laments a slightly worried Jen Kirkman, one of WICF 2011’s headliners, as she explains the differences between working for a woman versus a man in the comedy world (specifically, writing for TV) on the “A Bit of Chat with Ken Plume” podcast last Monday. To a woman working at any level in the field of comedy, Kirkman’s observations are well understood as a sincere plea to the men we work with (and love working with) to take a second look at the ways they interact with the women comics and actors around them.

Kirkman is perhaps best known for her work on Chelsea Lately, where she was a staff writer and roundtable regular. Kirkman's entire bio. can be found on her site.

Skip to 15:00 (continuing until about 23:10) of the audio podcast to hear the conversation:http://www.asitecalledfred.com/2011/10/03/jen-kirkman-ken-plume-chat/

Kirkman surmises that in some writers rooms, her male comedy peers, along with network supervisors, often let a pretty face get in the way of quality product:

I really love working for a woman … Chelsea [Handler], or women in charge, they don’t turn their heads when a handsome or pretty someone walks by, it doesn’t distract them from what they’re trying to do. It doesn’t change their mind about the job they’re doing ... I saw a lot of guys in my lifetime be influenced by a pretty girl that worked for them, and they chose to be around her rather than to make good comedy ... Working for a woman, I just never see sex or, like, attraction, get in the way of any decision making.

I have seen it in many experiences ... There was just this one moment where I worked on a show and let’s just say the actress was not getting it right … she just wasn’t a very good comedic actress and the network had problems with her … I’d hear the way my bosses talked about her - they were bummed out by her abilities ... The issue never got corrected. She kept just charming them and flirting with them and they just kept saying, “Maybe we’re wrong.” ... I like to see someone who says, “I don’t care how cute you are, honey, you’re not fucking funny. You’re not delivering this line right. And stop wearing a shirt without a bra on set!”

Male comics going gaga for a pretty face (or no bra), rather than for her talent (or lack thereof) is a pattern I’ve noticed emerging quite distinctly on the improv comedy circuit. Of course you’ll see a spattering of all-female and gender-equal teams at improv festivals these days, but the improv team you will see over and over again in any age group is, as I dub it, a Skirt team.

A Skirt team is made up of five to seven handsome, (over)confident (white) guys and one very beautiful young woman who performs… in a skirt (metaphorically or jean). Although she might possess some talent, it is overshadowed by the way she is treated by her male improvisers onstage. We’ve all seen it before. She’s the mom, the wife, the bitch and the slut, but nothing else. She is never the comedic foil in scenes, and cannot grow in that group. The men endow her with these roles so much that they’re all she allows for herself. From the outside, I cannot even imagine how she could be happy in her position. Maybe she doesn’t know any differently? Maybe she likes the attention (i.e. the skirt)?

"The improv team you will see over and over again in any age group is, as I dub it, a Skirt team."

It’s not for me to judge, but I do. I have been in many conversations with fellow female improvisers after seeing a group like this where we very bluntly denounce her abilities. We judge her more harshly than the male improvisers, for sure. I think the judgment comes from a place of anger towards her teammates and towards her complacency. Many women comics (even some very talented ones) have been forced into a Skirt team or a Skirt Team Situation before. Mine was at an improv competition at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival where I was endowed as a non-talking cow whom the male improvisers took turns “milking.” It was a unique and horrifying experience in my early improvising years.

In an environment that fosters objective talent, a new female improviser on a Skirt team would either grow and get better, or be swept aside for someone else with stronger skills. This positive learning setting requires teachers and directors to give negative feedback to everyone, pretty faces included, so issues are corrected early on. Teachers and directors are doing every student a disservice by ignoring these performance weaknesses that could easily be corrected (i.e. don’t wear a skirt; flashing your vagina distracts the audience, or put your hair in an elastic; looks great, but I can’t see your face).

Kirkman believes that her male peers have trouble confronting a beautiful woman because of their innate nerdiness. She explains,

A lot of writers were kinda awkward … self-proclaimed. ‘I was awkward. I didn’t get laid a lot growing up.’ And even though they’re great guys, and they have families, and they have wives, and they would never cheat or anything like that … it would always weird me out, any time I’ve worked for a man to see them completely lose their composure around a beautiful woman. Which, if you’re working in TV, even if you’re working on a sitcom where it’s, you know, crazy wacky characters, everyone is beautiful. And to see them kinda lose it, it bothered me. It made me scared … It made me feel like a little kid and I saw my dad not know how to drive a car. I was just like, I’m in your hands, and I’m here to work for you and learn from you.

It’s a great letdown when we see the flaws of our mentors. I don’t want my boss’ eyes and heart to pop out of his body like a cartoon when a pretty woman enters the room, nor do I want the same reaction for myself. But if it does happen, I just want us both to be held to the same level of accountability when it comes to our performances.

"Teachers and directors are doing every student a disservice by ignoring these performance weaknesses that could easily be corrected (i.e. don’t wear a skirt; flashing your vagina distracts the audience, or put your hair in an elastic; looks great, but I can’t see your face)."

When Kirkman was asked if she was equally as disappointed by the actress as by her gawking male bosses, she responded fairly matter of factly, “No, I don’t care. I know actresses have to do what they have to do.” And she’s absolutely right. The actress, or in my example, the Skirt, might be perfectly aware of her own position. Maybe she thinks it’s the only way to survive the comedy (or sitcom) world until she can write her own parts and take control. And how can I blame her? Those endowed with beauty should feel empowered to wield it to their advantage for as long as they can get away with it. It might go without saying, but not all beautiful women are Skirts. Plus, most, if not all, of the extremely talented comediennes on TV and in movies, including Kirkman, are gorgeous.

The thing about Skirt teams that has always stuck in my mind is that, as a team, they are rarely very good or interesting. They rarely gain the notoriety of other popular teams on which both genders are represented by funny performers. Their shows are not nearly as compelling or transcendent as an improv show can be. That’s most likely because Skirt teams are usually beginner or college teams.

And there are many of them. I surmise that they exist as an echo of the relationship dynamics and character types we know from TV and movies. Each green improviser takes the archetypes and stereotypes we see in the media and just spits them out on stage. It can be a cathartic and comically rewarding exercise that quickly grows stale and sexist when left unexplored by a higher level of analysis. Each Skirt teammate can play out scenes with a bitchy wife just like they’ve seen on any network sitcom (Everybody Love Raymond) or a slutty mom of any evening soap opera (Desperate Housewives). Sometimes they switch it up and they play a slutty wife (Modern Family) or a bitchy mom (Everybody Love Raymond). And unfortunately, audiences eat that hack up because it’s what they have been taught is the only kind of comedy. The Skirt team gets their positive reinforcement, and therefore sees no reason to change.

"Male writers need to get their tongues off the ground, grow some balls, and give an honest critique to an actress who needs it."

What happens when those Skirt team players get hired to write for TV? We get boring, sexist programming in which the staff does not see the merits of hiring a talented comedic actress over a pretty face. We all want to be on or write for TV or the movies, or both. That desire is the same regardless of gender. So, how can we break the cycle of producing comedy in which the women are solely moms, wives, bitches and sluts when that’s what the audience is willing to accept and then replicate? There are plenty of great examples on TV from the last five years that have successfully stood outside that cycle (for at least long enough to get talented women comics in the fold) starting with Chelsea Lately, 30 Rock, and Mike & Molly. Not to mention Parks and Recreation, starring Amy Poehler, one of the most prolific and hilarious comedians of our age who, from her days as the sole female performer in the Upright Citizen’s Brigade (UCB), stood out. In New York Magazine’s article "And… Scene," a history of the UCB from those who lived it, Seth Myers, current head writer at Saturday Night Live, described Poehler as “probably the most feminine and most masculine performer. Masculinity — that’s probably not the right word. She’s an alpha performer. I think that’s ingrained in her, but it got trained very well.”

Poehler was trained very well. It is firstly the responsibility of the improv and comedy community at large to create a teaching and learning environment where talent and merit is valued above marketability. It’s then the responsibility of talented women to make sure they thrust themselves into that environment and help it grow by becoming teachers and directors. Women comedians must make themselves indispensable. We cannot give up when we see good things happen to bad comics. The Hangover may not have made any more or any less money at the box office if they hired better comedic actresses, the hilarious Rachael Harris excluded, but they would have had a better product. If the producers hired a pretty comic, like Amy Schumer, instead of a boring pretty actress as the front desk clerk when the Wolf Pack checks into Caesar’s Palace, that bit part could have been as brilliant and memorable as Kristen Wiig’s bit part in Knocked Up. Now Kristen Wiig is a movie star bringing in lots of money at the box office, and that pretty woman is … probably still on a high from playing a flight attendant in Due Date. I’m sure any audience member, given the choice, would go with the funny.

"Women comedians must make themselves indispensable. We cannot give up when we see good things happen to bad comics."

Of course, the audience doesn’t have the choice. The producers, directors, and sometimes writers have the choice, and they need to choose the funnier of the two. It is the responsibility of those with the power to take initiative. Male writers need to get their tongues off the ground, grow some balls, and give an honest critique to an actress who needs it. And the women close enough to witness these events happening need to say something about it to their male bosses and friends. Kirkman, I don’t want to see an actress flirting her way through a scene anymore than you do.

On the greater industry scale, we need more funny women as the decision makers. More funny women at the helm of shows, more funny women writing comedy screenplays, and more funny women ready to buy and produce them. We need more funny women as bosses, and we need our male bosses, male teammates, and male friends to pick us over the Skirt for the roles that matter.

Natalie Baseman is a sketch and improv comedian, and writer, living in Boston. She attended UMass Amherst, and has studied comedy with teachers from the Annoyance, I.O., Upright Citizens Brigade and The Second City. Natalie can currently be seen at ImprovBoston's Harold Night as a member of the harold team Maxitor, and as part of the sketch team The Dowry. See more of her work at www.nataliebaseman.com.

Amy Poehler Thinks the Best Roles for Women Are On TV

2011-10-07T15:15:00.000-04:00

Meredith Blake reported this week on NewYorker's website that Amy Poehler had some great soundbites concerning her opinions on roles for women in television and in movies. During a conversation held as part of The New Yorker Festival, Poehler said, "I think films are kind of catching up in a way to where television has been for a long time. Television is still, in my opinion, the best place for female characters."Read more about Poehler's conversation with The New Yorker's Ariel Levy here: Amy Poehler: Why Television is Good for Women Let us know what you think!

Poehler last spring giving a speech at Harvard University

What Did You Think About Melissa McCarthy on SNL?

2011-10-02T15:08:00.000-04:00

By WICF Editor Liz McKeon

Hey, fans of funny ladies, the delightful Melissa McCarthy hosted Saturday Night Live last night! One of my favorite moments from this year's Emmy Awards broadcast was the dénouement of the already-brilliant Best Actress "pageant," which was perfectly topped off with Melissa McCarthy's unbridled joy and look of surprise upon hearing her name called for the award, and her acceptance speech. The lady is all class and talent.

What I loved about last night's show was that McCarthy just went for it. She pulled no punches, and I love to watch her work. Hell, she even warned us in her monologue. I do think, however, that the SNL writers don't know what to do with an actress — let alone and actual comedian of McCarthy's caliber — who isn't thin. For me, I'd be happy just to listen to her give dramatic readings all night. Now I want to hear your take: What do you think about Melissa McCarthy's hosting gig? Do you think it was a perfect use of her talents — or do you think too many of the jokes hinged on her weight?

What Jezebel has to say, with video: http://jezebel.com/5845838/melissa-mccarthys-snl-makes-everyone-giddy

And what The A.V. Club thinks: http://www.avclub.com/articles/melissa-mccarthylady-antebellum,62380/

Get In The Mood with OBV! and Somebody's in the Doghouse - Will a Wet T-Shirt Contest Help You Out? I'm Not Watching You!

2011-09-30T14:20:00.000-04:00

By WICF Editor Liz McKeon

Happy Friday, WICFers! Have you submitted your show yet? To inspire you, we're bringing the funny from two favorites of the Fest - Marty Johnson and Leah Gotcsik, better known as Somebody's in the Doghouse with "Wet T-Shirt Contest" — and Megan Goltermann and Chris Cuddy of OBV!, with "I'm Not Watching You." Seriously, get your creative juices flowing. We want to see you on our stage, too!

Somebody's in the Doghouse — Wet T-Shirt Contest

Somebody's in the Doghouse will be performing at UCB in NY on October 3rd at 8 PM - for tickets, go to the reservations link at UCB.

OBV! — I'm Not Watching You

Catch Megan in Explosion Bus, tonight at the Vancouver Inerenational Comedy Festival, and in January with The Ruckus in SketchHaus at ImprovBoston — shows are Fridays at 9 PM, go to the ImprovBoston site for dates and tickets.
See Cuddy as part of the ImprovBoston Mainstage — shows are Saturdays at 8 and 10 PM, go to the ImprovBoston site for tickets, or see them at the Philadelphia Improv Fest on Friday, October 7th; hosting "Comedy On Tap" at The Burren in Somerville, MA every third Sunday of the month with fellow WICF alumna Shannon Connolly, and co-hosting the ImprovBoston podcast, "Wicked Funny."

Be sure to submit your show or workshop to WICF 2012, running March 21st-25th in Massachusetts!

Want us to give a shout out to your video? Email editor@womenincomedyfestival.com!

Women in Entertainment on the Web -- And the Girl on Girl on Girl Comedy Show Live at Oberon!

2011-09-30T13:37:00.000-04:00

By WICF Editor Liz McKeon

I know, I know, you're looking for some reading material to get you through your last few hours at the office, right? Well, check these out! Did you miss these articles about women in entertainment from around the Web?

UCB's Kate Spencer writes over at HelloGiggles about one of those quirks women seem to display, maybe all too often: "All Apologies: We Don't Have to Be Sorry for Everything"

The Huffington Post, together with Witstream.com, bring us: "18 Funny Women You Should Be Following On Twitter"

Hank Stuever at The Washington Post talks about parts for women in this fall's TV lineup, touching on, among other, "Whitney," "2 Broke Girls," "New Girl," "Pan Am," "Charlie's Angels," and "The Playboy Club" in: "Bunnies, babies and broads: What is TV trying to tell us about women?"

The brilliant Maureen Ryan at Aol TV. breaks open the industry and how female writers play a part: "Why Is Television Losing Women Writers? Veteran Producers Weigh In"

"Girl on Girl on Girl Comedy Show"

Oh wait — you want something to actually go out and DO this weekend, do you? Well, for the Bostonians, at least, don't ignore this ringing endorsement: WICF Contributor Kate Conner wants to make sure you all know that "Montreal comics (the FABULOUS) DeAnne Smith and Jessica Salomon will be performing this Sunday in Boston."

Check out the show's Facebook page, or buy tickets on Oberon's site - the show is this Sunday, October 2nd, from 8:30-11:30 PM.

Canada does Boston!

Giulia Rozzi Already Knows Women Are Funny

2011-09-24T09:30:00.000-04:00

Reblogged from WICF Alumna Giulia Rozzi's tumblr, My Brain Is Made of Glitter

And now some thoughts on TV, gender, the offensive use of drag, and other shit.

To start, can the media please stop with the “are women funny?” and “chick comedy rules the new fall TV season” articles and shit. Just stop.

The short response to this nonsense is yes, some women are funny. And as far as “chick comedy” goes, why do we need to specially label shows when women are the stars and writers? When men star in and write shows, do we call it “dude comedy?” No, we just call it comedy.

There’s so much buzz about Hollywood’s new found love for funny women, especially “edgy brunettes” (oh good, maybe I’ll get work. Oh wait, I’m “too ethnic” so maybe not). Apparently quirky (gorgeous) women are TAKING OVER THE WORLD, so much so that ABC had to combat this horrible problem with Work It (Clip above. Yup, that’s a real show.).

Great. Fine. TV is all about ladies being ladies and men being men.

Am I angry at these shows? No. If done well, jokes about gender can smart and insightful and after watching a full episode or two of a show I can then, formulate an opinion. My own personal opinion. Because I understand, especially as a comedian, that humor is personal. So I’m not mad, well except when it comes to Work It because, COME ON! So many people are hating on Whitney and yet I’ve heard little criticism about Work It which revives the hack “men in drag” shtick in response to the oh-so-realistic problem of women controlling the work force. Why is no one Tweeting about how offensive that is?

Maybe these ”chick” and “dude,” or whatever they’re called, shows will be great. Maybe they will suck. I don’t know and I don’t really care.

What I do know and what I do care about is all this non-stop hullabaloo (God, I love that word) regarding women and humor. As if women being funny is something new.In case we’ve forgotten, funny women have always been killing it on TV. Realistic looking, strong, amazing funny women like Lucille Ball, Vivian Vance, Carol Burnett, Carol Channing, Joan Rivers, Roseanne Barr, Phylicia Rashad, Bea Arthur, Rue McClanahan, Estelle Getty, Betty White, Gilda Radner, Joyce DeWitt, Suzanne Sommers, Phyllis Diller,Isabel Sanford, Jean Stapleton, Valerie Harper, Mary Tyler Moore, Vicki Lawrence, Candice Bergen, Penny Marshall, Cindy Williams, Dixie Carter, Annie Potts, Delta Burke, Jean Smart, Shelly Long, Kirstie Alley, Rhea Pearlman, Jackee Harry, Marla Gibbs, Julia Louis Dreyfus, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Kristen Wiig, Ana Gasteyer, Maya Rudolph, Cheri Oteri, Jane Curtin, Rachel Dratch, Molly Shannon … and so so so many more.Talk to me about edgy when something like the Golden Girls is back on the air.

Four women over the age of 50 starring in a hilarious show about being over 50?

Now that’s edgy.Or Good Times, Family Ties, Who’s The Boss, or Roseanne. These shows touched upon gender differences as well as class differences without beating you over the head with it. And they starred relatable looking people. Some were even about, gasp, black people!

Where are the sitcoms about other races and ethnicity’s this fall? And I don’t just mean tossing in a wacky Asian boss with an accent or wacky Indian cab driver with an accent or the black BFF or gay BFF. [In] American sitcoms, we constantly fail to share the true American experience. The diverse, flawed, sometimes ugly, American experience. (Ugh, if only American Girl had been given the proper chance.) And now I’ll shut up, like a good not-rich, not-perfectly white, unfunny woman should.

Credit: Francine Daveta

Giulia Rozzi is a NYC based writer, comedian, actress and producer raised in Boston by two adorable Italian immigrants. Her very personal, blunt, and animated comedy has earned her the honor of being named a Moth GrandSLAM champion, one of the Frisky's "Top 15 Comediennes You Should Be Laughing At" and a two-time ECNY Best Female Stand Up nominee. She's appeared on MTV, Vh1, Italian MTV, CNN and in her original web series themessage-board.com. She co-hosts/created the highly acclaimed humorous sex-themed storytelling show (and now also a podcast) Stripped Stories and the bi-monthly Brooklyn-based comedy show Dive Comedy. She has written for Playgirl, BUST, Glamour, XOJane.com, TheGLOC.net, NY Press, Lifetimetv.com, Lemondrop, AOL.com, Takepart.com and the MTV series Silent Library where one of her ideas (licking cocoa butter off a mans hairy back) made Snooki vomit (so proud!) She has also contributed essays to the anthologies My Parents Were Awesome and Mortified: Real Words, Real People, Real Pathetic. She is currently working on her first memoir about her depressed, drunk, divorced quarter-life crisis. More at www.giuliarozzi.com.

Jackie Kashian Has Mass Appeal

2011-09-24T09:00:00.000-04:00

By WICF Contributor Barbara Holm

Having arrived at Laugh's Comedy Spot (laughscomedy.com) an hour and a half early, I nervously drank about ten glasses of water while sitting in the back of the room. One of the bartenders, Aaron, sat next to me and asked what my napkin had done to me to deserve being shredded into confetti. I told him that I was anxious about hosting because the headliner, Jackie Kashian, was really awesome and funny and I didn't want to do poorly as an MC. He laughed and reminded me that Jackie was super nice, and told me I should stop being a scaredy cat and act like a grown up adult, which I am.

Jackie Kashian, WICF 2010 Headliner

Both shows went really well. Jackie, who has had a Comedy Central half hour special, has been doing stand up for 22 years. She's one of the strongest headliners I've had the pleasure to work with. She's likeable, funny and smart, with very engaging, interesting stories replete with ample punchlines. A past headliner of the Women in Comedy Festival, she was nice enough to give me a little interview in between shows. Jackie started in comedy in Wisconsin, and moved to Minneapolis after completing college. Six years later, she did the Aspen Comedy Festival and then moved to L.A.

About moving to L.A., Jackie said, “Whenever you move to a new town, you have to prove you're funny again and you can't be too cocky about it; that was the downfall of several comics I met who moved there after me. They were like, "I'm huge in Chicago." Yeah, but there's 10,000 comics. You gotta reintroduce. If you're super funny it helps. It'll be easier.”

Jackie said her favorite up and coming comics/best kept secrets in comedy are Erin Foley, Aparna Nancherla, Mary Mack, and Dave Ross. Her all time favorites are Maria Bamford and Dana Gould. She tried to name every comedian in the world but we had to move on. Earnestly and sweetly, she said she felt bad because she knew she was forgetting people.

I asked her if she had any advice for new comedians. Jackie said that the best advice she ever got is posted on her website (jackiekashian.com), and came from Vanda Michaels:

1. Never compare yourself

2. Be yourself

3. Take risks

4. Don't go for the obvious

5. Be patient a. With your creativity, and b. With your career

6. Have fun

Jackie thoughtfully added, “The most important part is the have fun part because I know people who keep doing it and they're angry and I'm like, stop doing it, there's other work, there's easier work ... It's comedy. It's so supposed to be fun."

Jackie has been hosting a popular podcast called "The Dork Forest" for six years. The premise is that Jackie and her guests talk about all things dorky and anything they may feel nerdy about. It's based on a hilarious joke she does about the dork forest:

“Now everyone's like, 'I have a tree in the dork forest.' Then they'd tell me that they knit. And I'd be like, 'I don't think of knitting as a dorkdom' but it is, because everything is, whatever weird - 'Oh, you collect sneakers? Okay.'”

One of the many things I love about Jackie is that she appeals to alternative comedy crowds, but also to a mainstream audience. Most comedians seem to be one or the other. She can work vegan coffee shops in Portland, and also comedy clubs on the road. About this concept, Jackie said, “About four years ago I was worried about it, but then I kinda embraced it ... I would describe myself as the golden retriever of stand-up comedy because basically any room is on board. For a while I was worried about it. I called Maria (Bamford) and I said, "Does that make me a hack?" And she said, "No, it just means for some reason that you're accessible.'” Jackie said she wasn't trying to appeal to any specific niche. She was just trying to talk about what she found funny in an honest, real way. This effort is clear in her act, which is comprised of intelligent, sincere, truthful and hysterical anecdotes. “So I don't know how I'm doing it, but stand-up comedy, as you keep doing it, you find what you want to talk about and you find out how to talk about the normal stuff that everyone talks about. Like I talk about being married, oh my god that's been addressed. But part of it is my discovery of it, which makes it my own angle.”

Jackie Kashian is an amazing headliner with smart, punchy, tight stories and a likeable delivery. She was a delight to chat with and an inspiration to work with.

Jackie is headlining the Laughing Skull in Atlanta, October 6th-9th. For more information about upcoming dates, check out jackiekashian.com.

Barbara Holm is a stand-up comedian from Seattle, Washington. She has performed at Bridgetown Comedy Festival, The Women in Comedy Festival, and Bumbershoot Festival. She has been described as clever, creative and unique.

‘You Must Go and Win’ … Or At Least TRY to Make Some Kind of Effort

2011-09-22T12:13:00.000-04:00

By WICF Contributor Allison Haskins

THIS BOOK HAS PICTURES!! I don’t care how old you are, it makes a book more exciting. I wanted to get that out there first and foremost in case you were having doubts about this kick-ass book review.

Alina Simone’s first novel, You Must Go and Win reads like a text book … if the text book were about castration and Eight Foot Brides (don’t worry — there are no castration pictures, but there ARE Eight Foot Bride ones!). There are parts of this book that are laugh out loud funny, parts that teach you about the Russian spiritualist group the Doukhorbors, and no shortage of Alina’s personal anecdotes which always manage to read as gloomy, comical, and inspirational, all at the same time.

Soon after her parents emigrated from Kharkov, Ukraine to a small town in Massachusetts when she was only one-year old, Alina became itchy to find her niche in the world. Music seemed to stand out to her and she thoroughly describes the personal struggle that it takes attempting to attain a successful music career — or for that matter, any big goal in life. She moved many times, lived in less than ideal places, often had audiences of a handful of souls, or even fewer, and finally toyed with the idea of throwing in the towel on indie rock music altogether.

After finishing You Must Go and Win, I was comforted to know that I am not alone in my overwhelming “Pessimistic-optimism”, as I like to call it. Alina, like me, seems to spend every waking moment having gigantic dreams and doing her best to accomplish them while simultaneously nitpicking and doubting every action. Alina chooses to fight the battle of pessimism by using some rare sources of inspiration. Of course, her Ph.D.-holding father is a man of few words, who, when he does speak, has some top notch insights to pass along – but then, too, the slogan of a courier service in New York is another area of inspiration for Alina, as well as…. Britney, bitch. (That’s right — Miss Spears can teach positive life lessons too!)

As said by the “Punk Monk” who is an actual real-day Monk who moonlights as Alina’s guru: “When you are not working on yourself, the world starts to work on you instead … you must acquire the skill to be yourself.” I love quotes like these because you can apply them to practically any situation and I honestly feel that any person could get something out of it. Go on, re-read that quote then take a minute and get lost in your fancy schmancy thoughts. You feel good now, right? Inspired? Told you!!

Another source of motivation for Alina was a Siberian punk-folk singer named Yanka Dyagileva (disclaimer: this book is not short on unpronounceable names). Alina was so touched by the songs and the life story of this artist that she has actually created a whole album covering her songs, ‘Everyone is Crying Out to Me, Beware,’ and has devoted several years to learning about and even living in Siberia. New England winters are cold enough for me, thanks, but good you for, Alina!

I don’t want to have to include any spoiles in here, so just do yourself a favor and read the book. Or, if you’re not a fan of reading, yet you’ve managed to make it to the end of this review, you should at least take your tech-savvy butt to alinasimone.com.

Mini Podcast 11.5 Is Up! Submissions, Midwich Twins

2011-09-21T09:42:00.000-04:00

Co-host Michelle Barbera's seven-year old twin niece and nephew join Michelle for a very special mini episode to announce the opening of submissions for the 2012 Women in Comedy Festival.

Or find it on the podcast page.

Faith Solloway, Tonight's Emmys, and Secrets!

2011-09-18T17:04:00.005-04:00

By WICF Editor Liz McKeon

Friend of the Fest Faith Solloway is writing for tonight's "Emmy Awards" broadcast, and, coincidentally, it so happens that she and WICF collaborator Ian Brownell have relaunched their Web series "Secrets" on FunnyOrDie.com. Haven't seen "Secerets"? You're missing out! The vignettes are witty, short little glimpses into a certain type of Cantabrigian-style sensibility, are LGBT-friendly, and comedically insistent.

Faith, along with her sister Jill, also a writer for tonight's broadcast, worked with tonight's host Jane Lynch during their time at The Annoyance Theatre.

The "Emmys" air tonight at 8 PM EDT. Secrets" can be seen at FunnyOrDie.com. Also, check out this Chicago Sun Times article on tonight's awards!

Boston-Area Fans! Check THIS Out! Robin & Marcy's Comedy with Wings! This Sunday, Sept. 18th!

2011-09-16T17:21:00.004-04:00

Robin Maxfield and Marcy Sacks are putting on one of the most innovative nights in the neighborhood - "COMEDY WITH WINGS" is the hot new place in Boston to see innovative and hilarious female comedy.

Find them on Facebook, see the ladies as part of the "Our Bodies, Ourselves 40th Birthday Bash" at Oberon at the A.R.T on Sept. 22nd, and, of course, come see the show! "COMEDY WITH WINGS: A Female Comedy Lab" happens on the third Sunday of every month, from September-May (second Sunday in October!) in Jamaica Plain, MA, and tickets for the September 18th show are available at http://comedywithwings.eventbrite.com.

Sue Costello Needs Your Money!

2011-09-16T16:47:00.003-04:00

Fresh off the heels of her role in The Fighter and an acclaimed solo show, Friend of the Fest Sue Costello is kicking ass and taking names - but she's still a lady. Stand up, improviser and actor Naomi Ekperigin recently chatted with Costello about her return to an industry that "didn't know what to do with her," dealing with disappointment, and speaking your mind on stage and off.

She's currently spearheading a Kickstarter Campaign to bring her solo show, "Minus 32 Million Words," to New York City. You can make a pledge and learn more about the show here.

We'll be featuring feature an interview with Sue Costello on our new website soon - keep an eye out!

Image via www.SueCostello.com.

Do You Know Aliza Shapiro? You Should!

2011-09-16T15:29:00.005-04:00

By WICF Editor Liz McKeon

Aliza Shapiro's Truth Serum Productions has been running "TraniWreck" in the Boston area since 2004. After this year's July show, Shapiro was admitted to the hospital having suffered a stroke caused by a cerebral hemorrhage. "Traniwreck" continues, and tonight, Friday, Sept. 16, 2011, Boston's own award-winning, "rabble-rousing, hot gender-blending mess of a cabaret variety show" will also be a benefit for Shapiro. They promise drag, burlesque, performance art, aerials, and "other uncategorizable, inexplicable phenomena." Local artists and performers have donated raffle prizes, and the proceeds benefit to Aliza's Brain Trust.

"TraniWreck: a Benefit for Aliza at OBERON"
TONIGHT
2 Arrow Street - Harvard Square
Cambridge, MA
Doors: 8 pm Show: 8:30pm 18+
Advanced tickets as low as $15
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=232626383441962
http://www.cluboberon.com/events/traniwreck-benefit-aliza-shairo

Image from TruthSerum.org

Submissions For WICF 2012 Are Open - This Time We Mean It!

2011-09-15T19:55:00.000-04:00

That's right, you guys, submissions are open for the 2012 Festival! The dates for The 4th Annual Women in Comedy Festival have been set as March 21-25, 2012.

The new format for online applications is ready to go, and we are open for submissions!

Please go to the applications page of the WICF site to apply!

Show application deadlines and fees:

Regular: Tuesday, November 1st, 2011 ($30 submission fee)
Extended: Tuesday, November 8th, 2011 ($40 submission fee)

Instructor application deadlines and fees:

Regular: Tuesday, October 18th, 2011 ($10 submission fee)
Extended: Tuesday, October 25th, 2011 ($15 submission fee)

Note: All deadlines are at 11:59 p.m. (U.S. Eastern)

Good luck!

Meeting Amy Schumer at Bumbershoot

2011-09-14T12:10:00.002-04:00

By WICF Contributor Barbara Holm

After watching ten hours of stand up in three days at a festival, a normal human might be tired or ready to go live in the real world. Luckily, I’m not programmed that way. Instead, I found myself weaving quickly through hundreds of festival-goers enjoying the last days of warmth before 10 months of rain. Ignoring the sun-kissed populace, I made my way into a dark indoor theater. I snagged a front row seat in what was about to be another sold out comedy show.

Bumbershoot, Seattle’s Labor Day weekend performance arts festival, is in its 40th year. I saw a lot of amazing stand up, including but not limited to Hari Kondabolu, Amy Schumer, Anthony Jeselnik, Andy Haynes, Rory Scovel, and Baron Vaughn. On the local stage (which was booked by Seattle’s People’s Republic of Komedy) my favorites were Rylee Newton, Ian Karmel and Mike Drucker.

Amy Schumer was wonderful in the festival. Her writing is so tight; she had a punchline in practically every single sentence. Relying on garden path sentences and misdirection, she established herself as a clever one-liner comic, without being obvious about telegraphing in which direction the punchline would go. She is a very witty joke writer with cheerful, confident delivery.

After the show I just happened to run into Amy, completely on purpose. I was shy and awkward, but she was nice, sincere and even let me ask her a few questions about comedy! Amy has been doing stand up for seven years, which is impressive considering she has a super funny Comedy Central Presents and has performed on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. She placed fourth on Last Comic Standing when she was only three years in. I asked her if she was scared on that show and she said, “No, I knew I just had to have fun with it and enjoy every minute of it.” It was such a positive message that I am going to try to apply it to my own approach for work.

Video of Amy Schumer taking on a heckler. For more videos, see her website www.amyschumer.com.

Amy grew up on Long Island and began her comedy career in New York City. I’m always interested in how people feel about starting out in such a large, competitive scene. Amy articulately and sweetly explained, “I equate it to learning how to surf. If you learn how to surf on the short board, you can surf on anything. If you learn on a long board, you can only surf on that.” And New York City is definitely the shortest of the comedy surf boards.

A question I love asking headliners is whether they have any advice for new comedians, and they almost always say some form of the same thing — so it must be true. “Stage time,” Amy said confidently. “That’s it. There’s no shortcut.”

Amy Schumer was hilarious and smart on stage, establishing herself as one of the stronger comedians on the festival. She was extraordinarily friendly, funny and earnest in conversation and overall delightfully inspirational for me.

Amy’s album Cutting (which is great!) was released in April of this year. She has a recurring role on the new season of Curb Your Enthusiasm. For more information, go to www.amyschumer.com.

Barbara Holm is a stand-up comedian from Seattle, Washington. She has performed at Bridgetown Comedy Festival, The Women in Comedy Festival, and Bumbershoot Festival. She has been described as clever, creative and unique.

Explosion Bus Premieres!: Megan Goltermann and Misch Whitaker Get Drawn in a New Internet Show with Jonathan Katz, Tom Snyder, and Tom Leopold

2011-09-13T11:26:00.006-04:00

Explosion Bus (The world's last animated hope) premieres tonight, Sept. 13, at 8:30 PM EDT. It's a four-season, animated, online show, and you can see it only at explosionbus.com. Created by Jonathan Katz, Tom Snyder, and Tom Leopold, the show features Boston and NY comedians who are effectively ambushed by the writers immediately before each recording session — they see their lines immediately before delivering them in the booth. Afterwards, Artistic Director Robert Keough and Artist Steve Davies create the Explosion Bus world in Sketchy Vision™. And the rest is history!

Watch the Explosion Bus preview here!

WICF performers Megan Goltermann (OBV!) and Misch Whitaker (Three Hole Punch) are featured as "Tanya" and "Katie," respectively. Of working with comedy legends and being "sketchified," Megan says, "Tanya is proof that if I was hot I'd be a bitch." When we asked Misch what she wanted her adoring fans to know, she told us, "I'm really excited to play a cartoon character after years of being told how much I resemble one."

Explosion Bus premieres tonight at 8:30 Eastern — explosionbus.com. With Tom Snyder, Jonathan Katz, Tom Leopold, Misch Whitaker, Megan Goltermann, Chris Cook, Jonathan Wilson, Ahna Tessler, Jayson James and Dan Weber.

Misch Whitaker currently writes and performs on the mainstage cast at Improv Asylum in Boston. She is also a member of the all female improv troupe Three Hole Punch and the all-singing, (some-dancing) musical improv group Hidden Falls. She can be heard as the voice of Katie on the animated series Explosion Bus (explosionbus.com). Misch recently cowrote the script for Gorefest 9: MASSacre General Hospital which will debut this October at Improv Boston. She lives in Cambridge, MA in an apartment decorated almost exclusively with beach rocks and tea lights. Follow her online @MischW on Twitter.

Megan Goltermann has been a cast member at ImprovBoston for eight years. After performing with Friday Night Face-Off for five of them, she began directing the Ruckus sketch comedy show. Her voice can be heard as Tanya in the animated show Explosion Bus (explosionbus.com) and as the gritty Corporal Cup in Fizzy's Lunch Lab (lunchlab.net). She is currently co-writing and performing a two-woman show entitled OBV! (Abbr. obviously!). When not on stage, she moonlights as a sculptor (www.megangoltermann.com) and obsesses over whom to put on her apocalypse team.

Marty McFly and Doc Brown on the Newest WICF Podcast!

2011-09-12T18:16:00.001-04:00

Marty McFly (Rob Crean) and Doc Brown (Dennis Hurley) join WICF Producer Michelle Barbera on the newest WICF podcast! Our intrepid trio discusses Van Halen, the odd ubiquity of the Tannen family, and the consequences of constantly tampering with time. Check it out on the podcast page!

Can't afford Marty's sneakers, but want to help a good cause - and laugh your ass off? ImprovBoston will donate $2 from every ticket purchased for this Friday's performance of "1.21 Jigowatts" to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research. You can find show details here.

Robby Hoffman: She Doesn't Need (Much) Money, She Just Wants to Make You Laugh

2011-09-09T08:52:00.001-04:00

As the seventh of ten children (yeah, that's right, TEN), Montreal comic Robbie Hoffman had (hmmm, what's the best way to put this…) an "accelerated" childhood. As a four-year old, she was changing diapers (no, not her own … gross!). When she was six, she remembers strolling her two-year old sister all alone through the streets of Brooklyn. Coming from a poor family, with nothing outside of herself to offer, Hoffman recognized at a very young age what her gifts were: a big mouth, intelligence and humor, and she quickly learned how to wield them.

By the age of 17, Hoffman was living on her own, working her way through school, taking on any work that she could find, including a stint at McDonald’s, and a dubious telemarketing job. She already knew what she was going to do with her life (by contrast, the author, at 36, is still trying to figure this sh*t out for herself) and that she would some day make a living in comedy. She was also smart enough to know that she needed a solid Plan B. And so she put her comedic aspirations to the side and enrolled herself in an accounting degree program (you know, what all the loquacious, funny kids get into, right?). In 2009, Hoffman graduated McGill with a Bachelor in Commerce, and was immediately hired by a top tier accounting firm.

With "Get an education" and "Land a job with steady income" crossed off of her To Do list, Hoffman began doing stand up a year and a half ago at the age of 23. She started in the indy comedy scene, performing at the occult, smoke filled Comedy Loft (it in itself an interesting story, more on that later ... ). On one occasion, she almost passed out from all of the tobacco fumes (the vodka shots she downed back stage didn't help the situation, either). Here she found a supportive and gracious group of local comics, in a forgiving place where she could learn the art of stand-up.

Today you can find her doing open mics at Montreal's Comedy Nest and Comedy Works and performing her latest one woman show, "Robby Hoffman: Autobiography. So what, you think you're better than me?" at the Montreal Fringe Festival.
At 24, Hoffman has lived a lot of life, and it shows. She comes off more poised, more mature and more grounded than what you'd expect out of someone her chronological age.

Looking back, Hoffman sees, what on paper would be considered a rough childhood, but that is not how she remembers it. The adversity of being poor, being fatherless, being different, gave her an environment to flex her comic muscle, to hone her unique voice. She doesn't remember feeling any stress, she just remembers being happy.

She is still determined as ever to make a living from comedy, but isn't looking for lucrative career. Compared to how she grew up, she has got just about everything that she needs AND she gets to eat out whenever she wants (believe me, this is a BFD, talking to Robby you get the feeling that she was hungry a lot as a kid). She just wants your attention and is going to get it by making you laugh.

For more information on Robby Hoffman, check out her web site at www.robbyhoffman.com.

WICF contributor Kate Conner is a long time comedy nerd, who recently took the plunge onto the stage and into the spot light. Kate can be found performing at a wide variety of different venues including Comedyworks, The Comedy Nest, her living room, and the hospital psych ward. Originally from Minnesota, Kate, her husband and their four kids now live in Montréal.

Sexualized Heckling

2011-09-01T14:30:00.005-04:00

Part Three of a Three-Part Response to the Status Quo, Diversity and Misogyny in Comedy

Part I: No Offense, White Boys: Diversity in Comedy and the Rapeprov Happening by Pam Victor

Part II: When a Friend's Monologue Sounds Like a Confession of Sexual Violence by Jen Ducharme

By WICF Contributor Barbara Holm

I’m not trying to brag, but I get heckled a lot. Usually it’s something questioning my mental stability, like, “You’re weird,” or, “That’s too fucked up.” To which I can usually laugh and say, “You’re welcome.” After so many nights of drunken self esteem deflation, I rarely get angry at the audience for talking or heckling.

Heckling is an unfortunate obstacle that most of us will have to surmount. It’s important to respect the audience, because they paid to support art, and without them we wouldn’t be able to perform. However, last week for the first time, I felt sexualized by a heckler. He yelled out, “She looks like she knows how to give a good blowjob.”

It’s hard to describe exactly how completely disgusting and disempowering it feels to be sexually objectified when you’re trying to do something artistic. Violated, red faced, and shaking with rage, I attempted to process my emotions. I was confused because I had done a relatively clean set. What specifically about my robot and ghost one-liners had elicited that impression? Why had my creative and intellectual integrity been disregarded and my personality been diminished and reduced to that of its sexual worth? And what exactly does a girl who looks like she knows how to give a good blowjob look like, anyway? Printout from Wikipedia in hand, highlighted and noted with frowny faces over the “I"s?

Abandoning my joke halfway through, I froze and glared offstage into the lights. I did not laugh and role off it. I wanted the audience and the other comics to know sexual objectification was intolerable to me. I muttered a few comebacks and closed with, “I hope you feel really bad about yourself.” This got more applause than it deserved, probably because it was a very poignant, honest statement. Although fuming and desecrated, I knew it was probably bad form that I displayed irritation towards an audience member. When I apologized to the club manager, who is the kindest man in the world, Carl Warmenhoven, he waved away my apology with, “Gracefulness is not always required.”

A few days later the heckler showed up at the club again, as a prospective open mic comic. He approached me, put his arm around my shoulders, and said, “I’m sorry for that last show, you’re just actually beautiful.” First of all, “actually”? Like there’s something surprising about my attractiveness? Second of all, who the hell apologizes to someone for sexualizing them while putting their arm around them? That is unacceptable. In that instance I wished I was Rogue from the X-Men, as to make the embrace more comfortable for me. I said, “Not to be rude but I respect my own intimacy and sexual boundaries and so you’re not allowed to touch me.” I’ve gone to way too much therapy and I am much too assertive to know how to make friends anymore.

I’m not writing about this to be like, “Oh man, I’m such a victim, feel sorry for me.” Unless you want to, then go right ahead. The situation greatly affected me and I am sure that it is a common experience for many women. One of my friends had someone yell, “Take your top off,” when she was onstage. She retorted, “But I’m trying to make everyone laugh, so why don’t you take your pants off instead.” Comedians should be prepared to be heckled.

There’s not a lot you can do to prevent sexual objectification from happening in the first place, or if there is, I’m still figuring it out. I try to remember that even if someone judges me based on my worth as a sexual object, I can never judge myself on that rubric. If anyone sexually objectifies me in comedy, I try not to internalize that revolting, draining feeling of submission. That concession is the first step towards sexually objectifying oneself onstage.

No matter what your act is, you are a more important element of the show than just a pair of tits enveloping a microphone. A few women in the audience told me they were glad I showed genuine frustration as opposed to twirling my hair and giggling. If we respect ourselves and the stage and our material, it takes power away from those who disrespect us. Hecklers might try to sexualize me, but I will never sexualize myself because I respect my act and the art. Stand up comedy is one of the highest most pure and beautiful art forms and I am very proud to perform it.

Barbara Holm is a stand-up comedian from Seattle, Washington. She has
performed at Bridgetown Comedy Festival, The Women in Comedy Festival,
and Bumbershoot Festival. She has been described as clever, creative
and unique.

Catch Your Favorites at This Year's Boston Improv Fest!

2011-08-31T14:58:00.005-04:00

Hello, lovely people!

Liz here, chiming in to give a shout out to the 3rd Annual Boston Improv Festival, presented by ImprovBoston, WICF's home theater! BIF starts next Tuesday, Sept. 6, and runs through Sunday, Sept. 11, and features some of your favorite WICF performers, staff, and friends of the fest! Check it out at bostonimprovfest.com.

Battle of the Sexes See Mo Welch at This Year's BIF!

This year's performers include:
Mo Welch
Tari Fanderclai
Laura Clark
The Dowry
Chris Cuddy and Megan Goltermann - OBV!
Rachel Rosenthal - North Coast
Matt Koma
ImprovBoston Family Show After Dark
Harry Roasts America
Jenna O'Brien - Camping With Friends
Erin Petti - Bastards, Inc.

If I've missed any past WICF performers who'll be at this year's BIF, please chime in in the comments, or send me a friendly email at editor@womenincomedyfestival.com!

When a Friend's Monologue Sounds Like a Confession of Sexual Violence

2011-08-31T14:57:00.000-04:00

Part Two of a Three-Part Response to the Status Quo, Diversity and Misogyny in Comedy

Part I: No Offense, White Boys: Diversity in Comedy and the Rapeprov Happening by Pam Victor

Part III: Sexualized Heckling by Barbara Holm

BY WICF Contributor Jen Ducharme

"Are you busy right now?" a friend asked, as she swooped up right next to my desk at work, pale-faced.

"No," I replied, imagining different scenarios (Beyoncé-is-now-un-pregnant-level) in order to prepare myself for an impending shit storm.

Taking a look at her screen, I saw the headline: "Is This Comedy Monologue a Rape Confession?" Our friend, Eric Angell, stood there, monologizing with an unassuming grin. Within minutes, he proceeded to destroy his reputation along with the trust of his peers, and to sadden and disappoint those who love him.

I'm not defending his words; the video was extremely hard to watch and process. It truly is a scary story. Why is he telling this story in a comedic forum, and what the hell is going through his head as he tells it with such glee? And how can this be the same guy who ate my horrible cooking and laughed with me often?

The only thing I can conclude with certainty from watching the video is that he’s an asshole who told an offensive story. Eric has revealed his ignorance about women and sex, as well as basic story-telling elements like tone. I believe and I hope this was a botched attempt to be funny. The fact of the matter is I do not know what truly happened the night he decided to drop by the woman's hotel room.

So as everyone sharpens their pitchforks and gets ready for the witch burning (always better attended than a block party), I grow wary. It’s so easy to vilify someone we don’t know. It’s easy to call him a rapist. It slaps a label onto the whole situation and eliminates the supercreeptasticscary feeling. I see all this anger pouring out like a rousing piece that crashes to a Tchaikovsky-like finish from so many people. What will we solve going after him? When we vilify him, we lose the full context. Which is … what? That he's a bad person? A bad story-teller? A rapist? I don’t know. The truth is less certain than what we would want, but too unsettling to avoid an attempt to name it. Going after him would validate him, and give him too much power — but how do we deal with the very real problem of misogyny, as female improvisers?

No Offense, White Boys: Diversity in Comedy and the Rapeprov Happening

2011-08-29T13:29:00.003-04:00

Part One of a Three-Part Response to the Status Quo, Diversity and Misogyny in Comedy

Part II: When a Friend's Monologue Sounds Like a Confession of Sexual Violence by Jen Ducharme

Part III: Sexualized Heckling by Barbara Holm

By WICF Contributor Pam Victor

I started this piece a week or so ago, aiming to write about how important racial, cultural and gender diversity is to the whole improv community, and how vital WICF is to reaching that far-away goal, but to tell you the truth, my interest petered out around the second paragraph. “Too soapboxy,” I muttered as I closed the document. Then the “Rapeprov” story broke, lending renewed vigor to my conviction to state publicly that improvised comedy will benefit enormously, both as an art and a craft, from a greater diversity of people and perspectives on stage. So here are those first two paragraphs, and a couple more to boot. (And, oh, by the way, I totally got the “Rapeprov” moniker from Sharilyn Johnson of www.third-beat.com. Mad props to her.)

Freshly released from the fabulously musty, sweltering audience of the Del Close Marathon, I ponder the highlights of the 15+ hours of improv viewing I'd clocked in. Although there was the usual brilliance of the big players from the major theaters, I have to put my vote on The Jamal as #1 in my highlights reel. The Jamal is an exclusively African-American comedy troupe that performed a loose Armando structure. They were sharp, smart and, of course, extremely funny, but that only got them onto my favorites list. What pushed The Jamal to the top of my list is the refreshing, much needed expansion of the cultural perspective in improv comedy. To be blunt, I can only take so much of the white boy humor that dominates improv. Don’t get your panties in a bunch, white boys. I laughed my ass off at wicked fast improv excellence, all-boy frenzy of UCB’s “Facebook” show at DCM. I sent Paul Scheer a “wish you were here” fan letter. I bow at the feet of both TJ and Dave. I LIKE white boys, but as with anything, in moderation.

I came away from DCM with renewed support for the Women in Comedy Festival as a vital component of the festival circuit and a guiding force in the improv world in general. Improv needs more people of color, and not just with their own troupes but represented amply in as many groups as possible. (And not just in the “the black guy, the woman, and the fat one” token way that is so prevalent.) Improv needs more women. (Duh.) Improv needs more older people (She writes self-servingly.). Improv needs more LBGT performers. (And whatever other letter of the alphabet you identify as.) Improv needs more diversity. Yeah, it’ll be different. Yeah, comedic paths might diverge. Yeah, there might not be as many fart jokes. But the whole improv world will be brought up by an expansion of perspectives. We will all become better players.

When the Rapeprov story broke about the ASSSSCAT show at this year’s DCM, I was relieved that I missed it. I would have gotten a stomachache from watching that guy dig his own fucking bastard fishhooking hole and sympathy nausea for the intrepid performers. But I am buoyed by reaction comments like Hallie Kiefer in Splitsider, who was at the show, “As for how the performers handled it...well, I wish for a million reasons that there would have been at least one woman on that stage.”

Personally, I wish for a million reasons there would have been a half-dozen women on that stage.

Maybe next year …

Badass photo of the bionic Pam Victor,
credit: Megan Brantley.

Pam Victor is the founding member of The Ha-Ha’s (formerly The Ha-Ha Sisterhood). She produces Happier Valley Comedy Shows. Pam writes mostly humorous, mostly true essays and reviews of books, movies and tea on her blog, "My Nephew is a Poodle."

New Podcast Is Up!

2011-08-24T21:20:00.003-04:00

Alan Rickman (Dave Sawyer) and Kate Ghiloni join WICF Comedy Podcast host Michelle Barbera to discuss film, theater, and Alan's budding stand-up comedy career under Kate's tutelage. Plus, the premiere of Alan Rickman's open mic performance.

Podcast-y!

Lunch Break: Woman in Comedy Jane Borden on The Leonard Lopate Show!

2011-08-05T12:44:00.004-04:00

If you caught Jane Borden's performance at this year's WICF, or were lucky enough to hear her speak at the panel, you know hers is a voice worth listening to. We want to make sure you get to hear her lovely voice again — New Yorkers can hear her today, between 1 PM and 1:20 EDT, on The Leonard Lopate Show, at 93.9 FM or 820 on the AM dial, promoting her book, I Totally Meant to Do That. The rest of us can hear the broadcast online at http://www.wnyc.org/shows/lopate/.

Congrats, Jane!

Tig Notaro is Giving You a Chance to Host HER Show in YOUR Living Room — Oh Yeah, and You Can Pre-Order Her New CD!

2011-07-28T10:40:00.006-04:00

Tig Notaro's new CD drops August 2nd, but you, dear readers, can pre-order the CD or LP of "Good One" right now! If you're in the continental U.S. and you pre-order the CD ($12) or old-school-fancy LP ($14), you'll automatically be entered in the contest to have Tig perform at your house. All pre-orders will be sent a download code and link to the entire record to hear the funny, oh, how's immediately sound?

The CD will be shipped with a bonus "Have Tig at Your Party" DVD, featuring Tig along with her friends, including Sarah Silverman, Zack Galifianakis, and Nick Swardson.

If your interest has been piqued, you can do your whole pre-order thing right here: http://www.scdistribution.com/tig/

Stay tuned for WICF's review of Tig Notaro's new CD, "Good One!"