As a former stand-up comedian who was the co-founder of the long-running "Queer as a Three Dollar Bill" at the Comedy Underground I am hands-down beyond amazed that The Comedy Womb frikkin' exists!
It was hard being a female comic who was also GLBT identified up against hundreds of men per week at times performing against the same typical "personal ad" version of how good they were in bed and woeful observational humor that would never compare to their contemporaries. While I wasn't the best and had horrible sets because I wasn't ready or...at the time, a drunk....I pressed on and constantly pushed to change my work. Landing the "Queer" gig helped make me a better comic, host and improvisor - a rare gift in the stand-up world.
There were about 20 (men and women combined) who stood out that were on it - and a fair amount of them I see on television. I opened for Steve Gelder, Dana Gould, Marc Maron and several others. Seeing giant have rough sets was amazing. It humbled me. And that's what made them work harder.
It's rare to have an open mike that is also an incubator, like the Womb is growing to become. We had that feel with our show a bit and "Young Gunz", they show I got invited into to start getting time and writing worked on, was immensely helpful. But, I needed something more like I used to have in theatre - ensemble work. A fellow co-founder, who is now in theatre in San Francisco steadily, and I to this day still have that theatre mentality when it comes to approaching comedy. We needed an incubator, a safe place as GLBT comics to try and fail without the undertones of machismo that subverts the comedy culture and upholds a form of "status quo".
The Comedy Womb in the new status quo for new, independent comics getting a feel for the stage and learning how NOT to use the rotating tropes of misogynist defeminizing slurs or using gays/GLBT members as the butt of their jokes. Actually, the one time a comic who came through did have a set that used both these elements repeatedly, the room - PACKED by the way - fell silent with a few laughs here and there. There is nothing like the look of genuine fear and confusion in a comedian's face - especially one who was told how the room "works" and didn't have something else to offer than his set that dragged him down. And, they were seasoned. If you can't read your audience, and you're not prepared with other material, it's not the room. It's you.
And that's why we need a place like the womb. Even if they work blue, realllly blue, you work safe. And if that effort is made, then the impact of a funny slur or ping at a stereotype is taken in stride. Because it's not personal, it's material, but material raised up a few levels.
Seeing people new to a mike getting to play in front of a FULL ROOM (I cannot stress this amazing fact) and landing either on their ass or their feet or both in their three minutes is breathtaking. It's brave. It's hard. It's intimidating. And it's available to you, if you have been wanting to try stand-up. If this thing extends into writing classes and stage performance (hint hint...I can help!) - oh my GOD it's going to be electric.
The room is a perfect size - CRAMMED.
People don't get wicked rip-roaring drunk there at the tables - WOW.
The audience WANTS TO BE THERE. I have seen repeats in the times I've gone and they bring new people each week. I loved when that would happen to us back in '98.
It's run smooth and it's run WELL. Danielle K.L. Grégoire produces this show and she doesn't f*** around. It's a rather well-oiled machine. She handles comics - which is like herding cats on crack - and have never heard her pull gossipy bullshit on people. She's got a very even and fun personality that knows what the stresses of being a stageworker is like and she offers that patience, yet goal of aiming for perfection, with a strong hand.
I'm not kidding - I wish I had her loving seriousness and drive when I was performing. Which, well, has changed because of her and two of my friends who "accidentally" put me back on the comedy stage after an 11 year hiatus. Had it been anywhere else, I would not have done it. But being on the stage - which seems too small at first from the seats but is just right while on it - and seeing this amazing producer glowing that someone old-new was up there - caught me entirely off guard. She was HAPPY. Happy to see a fellow woman on stage, a place we struggled and were bumped from and booed from and ignored from for decades. In the milliseconds between seeing her radiance and me cobbling up some old and new stuff broke my fear. Not once on any stage in over seven years of performing have I felt that feeling - the feeling of No Fear. Nervous, unprepared, and just gaining footing and still allowed to have stage time? - THAT is what the Womb provides. You get to find your footing, your voice, and your work.
I hope to see you at the Comedy Womb - it deserves an audience for a very long time to come. read more
