You wouldn’t know it based on her stand-up sets, but Erin Foley is a private person. The comic, who makes a habit of regularly over-sharing on-stage, is now a seasoned veteran of the biggest lesbian party of the year after performing this past weekend at Club Skirts The Dinah’s Laughing Loud party with a who’s who of gay comic goddesses including Suzanne Westenhoefer, Bridget McManus and Nicol Paone.
AfterEllen.com caught up with Foley at the event – when she wasn’t busy pushing crackers for us – to discuss Dinah, why performing for “Straighter McStraighter Pants” audiences is important and why she turned down being on The Real L Word: Los Angeles.
AfterEllen.com: What was performing at The Dinah like?
Erin Foley: The crowd was fantastic; they were really into it. It’s a little overwhelming performing at the (Palm Springs) Convention Center. Acoustically, you’re like, “Is this going well?” You can’t really hear well, you can’t really hear the feedback and you just have to keep going. The best part was really performing with that bunch of comics, they’re just fantastic and some of my favorites. I’d never really seen Vickie Shaw perform, so that was a real treat.
AE: Is this your first Dinah?
EF: Second performing. Last year I opened for Suzanne Westenhoefer and that was fantastic and a good learning experience. It’s super fun. For me, I am very shy off the stage so I kind of want to run and then you have to do red carpet. It’s very traumatic, which makes me laugh because I just want to do the jokes, then have a beer in the corner. It’s just very public and you just have to get used to it.
AE: I’ll be sure to get you a beer when we’re done then.
EF: I’d like you to fulfill that promise … and make it a keg. Honestly, it feels a little overwhelming, but it’s fun.
AE: What about the rest of the weekend, what do you have planned?
EF: I have to do the fashion show (Sunday).
AE: What will you be wearing?
EF: I know I’ll be wearing some Bud Light, maybe some galoshes. I hope some aggressive hats, since it is Easter Sunday.
AE: And if they put you in Ed Hardy, what would you do?
EF: I might rip it off. I’m not an Ed Hardy fan. Maybe I’ll just do a lot of aggressive spandex.
AE: What else is coming up for you?
EF: Gays R Us is Wednesday (at the Improv in Hollywood) and a lot of auditioning. I just got back from Vegas, which was really fun. They were down with the gay jokes, which was really cool. I did 12 shows in like five days, it was insane.
AE: What was your trepidation with doing gay content in Vegas?
EF: I think it’s always really good to push the envelope for Straighter McStraighter Pants audiences just to see what it’s like and to see if you can transition really smooth. It’s the ultimate test to do gay material in front of an uber-straight crowd; they were super down with it, it was exciting to see.
AE: Any plans to do a web series anytime soon?
EF: I think Nicol and I might do a little AfterEllen.com vlog. We’ve been talking about it. We’re working on developing one web series and my friend and I are going to start shooting some stuff next week.
AE: A lot of people are talking about The Real L Word: Los Angeles now that they’ve released the cast bios and a short trailer. What would it take to get you on a show like that?
EF: I turned that down. I am super private, so that is not an option. I think me getting up in front of thousands of people and saying I’m gay is enough of a reality. On stage is fine, but with the camera, unless I’m acting, I feel it’s horribly intrusive. It’ll be fun to watch, don’t get me wrong; I’m totally going to watch every episode.
AE: What advice do you have for the cast?
EF: Get an alias. Get some real estate in Oklahoma. [Laughs]They’re probably all going to do great because if you do that, that’s your sort of bag and you’re comfortable with it. The good thing is an event like Dinah or a show like that, it’s really for people who don’t have a gay community. For me, it’s old hat. These events are really for people who don’t see a lesbian every day. I always have to remember that when it gets overwhelming for me that it’s really for them.
If you’re in L.A., catch Erin Foley at her monthly Gays R Us comedy show at the Improv in Hollywood on the first Wednesday of the month, including tonight at 8 p.m.
