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BACK ISSUES INTERVIEWS Stand-Up Comedians Jim Norton Robert Kelly Donnell Rawlings Brad Stine Tammy Pescatelli Leighann Lord George Sarris Nick DiPaolo Russ Meneve Shang and more By Tasha Harris, NYC Comedy Journalist STAGE TIME The Magazine That Stands Up For Comedy |
How did you deal with club owners or bookers who looked at you and thought,
“Here’s another Def Jam comic?”
That perception doesn’t exist as much anymore. Before I did the show, it was an issue. But once
I got on, people went, “Oh, she’s not that.”
After I did the show, I found out I couldn’t even use Def Jam as a credit when I was being intro-
duced. Because what would happen is: “Your next comic has been on Lifetime’s Girls Night Out,
VH1, Def Comedy Jam. Automatically, their minds turn.
The audience thinks Def Jam and it puts the preconceived notion in their mind of what they’re about
to see and I’d have spend at least a good three or four minutes changing that perception or dealing
with everyone looking at me like, “When is she going to talk about her coochie?” You could see it in
their minds. They were just confused. I said, “You know what? I don’t have that much time onstage
in the city to spend the half of it dealing with a stereotype that’s been put in their minds.
Did Def Comedy Jam help your career?
No. It was a show; it was experience. It was a paycheck, a credit that I can use occasionally.
Who are some of the comics that influenced you?
I was strongly influenced by George Carlin, Dick Gregory, and Dennis Miller - Dennis Miller back
in the day. There are two different Dennis’s. There are political comics who I really like: Barry
Crimmins, Jimmy Tingle and Rita Rudner for women. Her and Elayne Boosler because what was
difficult for me when I first started, was being a girl. It was like, “Don’t notice me.” So I would
wear the big jackets and over-sized clothes. “Hey, I just want to do comedy; I’m not pretty,”
because I didn’t know how to deal with it.
“Here’s another Def Jam comic?”
That perception doesn’t exist as much anymore. Before I did the show, it was an issue. But once
I got on, people went, “Oh, she’s not that.”
After I did the show, I found out I couldn’t even use Def Jam as a credit when I was being intro-
duced. Because what would happen is: “Your next comic has been on Lifetime’s Girls Night Out,
VH1, Def Comedy Jam. Automatically, their minds turn.
The audience thinks Def Jam and it puts the preconceived notion in their mind of what they’re about
to see and I’d have spend at least a good three or four minutes changing that perception or dealing
with everyone looking at me like, “When is she going to talk about her coochie?” You could see it in
their minds. They were just confused. I said, “You know what? I don’t have that much time onstage
in the city to spend the half of it dealing with a stereotype that’s been put in their minds.
Did Def Comedy Jam help your career?
No. It was a show; it was experience. It was a paycheck, a credit that I can use occasionally.
Who are some of the comics that influenced you?
I was strongly influenced by George Carlin, Dick Gregory, and Dennis Miller - Dennis Miller back
in the day. There are two different Dennis’s. There are political comics who I really like: Barry
Crimmins, Jimmy Tingle and Rita Rudner for women. Her and Elayne Boosler because what was
difficult for me when I first started, was being a girl. It was like, “Don’t notice me.” So I would
wear the big jackets and over-sized clothes. “Hey, I just want to do comedy; I’m not pretty,”
because I didn’t know how to deal with it.
Cast of Souled Out Comedy: (l) to (r) Wali Collins,
Rick Younger, Dean Edwards, Mike Yard, Marc Theobald
and Leighann Lord
Rick Younger, Dean Edwards, Mike Yard, Marc Theobald
and Leighann Lord
Seeing Rita Rudner get onstage in a
ball gown and just be soft, elegant and
ladylike, not feeling like she has to
compete in the same way with guys,
instead she embraced her femininity,
which a lot of female comics don’t do or
don’t know how to do or they’re afraid of
it. Seeing Elayne Boosler, who would get
up onstage in mini-sequin dresses with
high heels and still rock out onstage…
that was fantastic to watch. Marsha
Warfield. She was just so damn funny.
She just blew me away.
There’s so many people that I would
see and liked. Actually, Wali [Collins]
was also an influence on me. He used
to be the host of Stand-Up Stand-Up and
I loved that. I was so proud of him.
He is so funny. Not just funny but also
a very nice guy.
ball gown and just be soft, elegant and
ladylike, not feeling like she has to
compete in the same way with guys,
instead she embraced her femininity,
which a lot of female comics don’t do or
don’t know how to do or they’re afraid of
it. Seeing Elayne Boosler, who would get
up onstage in mini-sequin dresses with
high heels and still rock out onstage…
that was fantastic to watch. Marsha
Warfield. She was just so damn funny.
She just blew me away.
There’s so many people that I would
see and liked. Actually, Wali [Collins]
was also an influence on me. He used
to be the host of Stand-Up Stand-Up and
I loved that. I was so proud of him.
He is so funny. Not just funny but also
a very nice guy.
If I do a show and there are people in the audience and they’re digging me because I’m a woman,
then they’re going to see me as a female comic. If they’re people who are digging me because
I’m black and I talk about the issues that they like, then they’re going to see me as a black but
what should come across is that I’m funny. That should be the overriding thing or I’m not doing
what I should be doing correctly. To me, that’s what is more important…
You did the documentary, Gotta Laugh, about female comics working in comedy. What happened
to that project?
I don't know what's going on with it. I don't know what she's doing because she's a really nice lady.
She loves comedy; however, she really doesn't know that much about it and I feel that she lacked
direction and vision because she had a cool idea, which was the documentary; but when she started
shopping it around to get people interested, get producers and get money, the idea would change
depending upon who she met with. If a network was looking for a reality show, then it stopped
being a documentary and became a reality show. If they were looking for a sitcom-reality, then it
became a sitcom-reality show, which I don’t even know what that is but that’s what it was at once.
The initial idea was there but the format kept changing…
then they’re going to see me as a female comic. If they’re people who are digging me because
I’m black and I talk about the issues that they like, then they’re going to see me as a black but
what should come across is that I’m funny. That should be the overriding thing or I’m not doing
what I should be doing correctly. To me, that’s what is more important…
You did the documentary, Gotta Laugh, about female comics working in comedy. What happened
to that project?
I don't know what's going on with it. I don't know what she's doing because she's a really nice lady.
She loves comedy; however, she really doesn't know that much about it and I feel that she lacked
direction and vision because she had a cool idea, which was the documentary; but when she started
shopping it around to get people interested, get producers and get money, the idea would change
depending upon who she met with. If a network was looking for a reality show, then it stopped
being a documentary and became a reality show. If they were looking for a sitcom-reality, then it
became a sitcom-reality show, which I don’t even know what that is but that’s what it was at once.
The initial idea was there but the format kept changing…