As is the case with festivals, time got away from me and I didnt get to see or taste nearly as much of Portland or its residents as I would have liked (mostly see in the residents regard.) I ate some amazing brunches and I drank way more delicious beers than I expected and I raised my fists in frustration when the Grilled Cheese Grill was closed early on Sunday. All in all, what I saw of Portland I loved and I definitely would love to go back. Id really love to see more of the comedy scene there outside of the sphere of an awesome festival that is way too enthralling for me to misdirect my gaze for too long away from it. So, because the vast majority of my time was spent under the banner of the All Jane No Dick Comedy Festival, this is mostly going to be about that. Im gonna be really honest here, even as recently as Thursday morning, I was still feeling a bit of apprehension mixed in with my immense excitement. I know who and what I am, and I also knew that the festival producers had accepted me into the festival, but I didn’t know if others in more ancillary roles or on the shows with me would also feel so welcoming or accepting of me as a performer in a women-only comedy festival. I know I also performed at the Women in Comedy Festival this year, but when I first was excited about that one a friend had said “Well but they do also let men in.” Even though I had a blast at that fest, I was never able to shake that comment from my head. It was an asterisk. Now that I’ve landed back in LA from the weekend, I can firmly say that I should not have been worried in the slightest. If anyone involved in the festival at any level had any issues with me being there or that I didn’t belong, well they did a damn, damn fine job of hiding it. My experience at the All Jane No Dick Comedy Festival was an overwhelmingly positive one, I have never in my life felt so included and accepted as a woman. Even with my short hair, even with the bit of stubble I can’t ever fully escape from currently, I was treated like part of the group the entire time. I don’t know if in these words I’m properly expressing how important that was to me, or how much it was something that I realized I’m still lacking immensely in my life for the most part and want to seek out more and more. It was an amazing magical getaway where I didn’t need to constantly remind people to call me “she” and even overheard people doing it when they didn’t know I could hear. I had so many awesome fun conversations with Stacey Hallal and Charlene Conley about the overall vibe of trans-inclusiveness with the festival, amongst other things, and even little bit of insight as to their thought-process when my tape came through to begin with in the selection process. I had a cool pre-show makeup application and interview session with Virginia Jones and Danielle Radford while Andie Main scribbled away about us in her notebook. I got to go to brunch two days in a row with Brandie Posey, two in a row! I got to goof off and dance to Madonna and Queen with Lucia Fasano and I think Rebecca Waits but I was pretty drunk by then. I got to involuntarily abandon Beth Stelling in Downtown Portland when our group’s van took off and left her behind. I had a really kickass conversation with Sara Schaefer about representation in comedy while we waited with my new friend Maggie May for a car, I’ve been on a couple of shows with Sara in LA but we’ve never really gotten a chance to really talk so it was great to kind of get schooled in some knowledge by someone who has literally done the math on the topic. I got to talk writing with Laura House and make snarky comments about fast food and tipping. I got to catch up with Aparna Nancherla and discuss vintage LA comedy with Jan Davidson. I got to unknowingly squeeze Elicia Sanchez out of a Doctor Who podcast. I got to tremble in fear at the awesomeness of Caitlin Weierhauser. I realize now that there’s no way I’m not going to leave someone out of this list of names that I’ve been dropping, and I’m going to hurt someone’s feelings for sure and I’m sorry for that. But the important thing about the fest that I haven’t even touched on yet is how many truly amazing comics I got to watch, many multiple times. Comics that I don’t see enough of in LA like Emily Maya Mills, Kimberly Clark, Kate Berlant, Phoebe Robinson and Mo Welch. Comics from other cities who are powerhouses like Kelsie Huff, Subhah Agarwal, Deanne Smith, Brooke Van Poppelen, Caroline Bassett, Joann Schinderle and Amy Miller, and of course everyone I named above. If I didn’t name you or didn’t see your set, I’m sorry and I hope I will at some point. Also, biscuits. Holy shit the biscuits.
Posted on: Tue, 21 Oct 2014 07:46:28 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015