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Lez Stand Out: Bridgetown Comedy Fest

Bridgetown Comedy fest is a comedy fan’s Christmas. In its six years, it is the place that enabled my own comedy obsession, allowing me to mingle with the best of the Pacific Northwest and beyond. Held in queer mecca, Portland, Oregon, Bridgetown is where I first saw Maria Bamford perform, as well as Tig Notoro and Janeane Garofalo. The minute this year’s lineup was announced, I spent my Friday night strategically mapping out my itinerary for the coming weekend. Seems I’m going to get the chance to see some of my favorites, Candy Lawrence, Mo Welch, Rhea Butcher and Cameron Esposito, as well as an array of new faces.

I made it my mission to laboriously hunt down some of this year’s up-and-comers in order to see what I was in store for. I took no joy in creeping funny ladies on the web, I assure you. What I found was an amazingly diverse group of comics who are keeping both Bridgetown and their local comedy scenes queer and roaring with laughter. Here’s a little intro to some of the ladies of Bridgetown.

A self-proclaimed comedy nerd, Becca wrote about comedy for Splitsider for a number of years before giving it a try herself. She turned a knack for writing about comedy into a successful run at stand-up, with Twitter as her gateway drug. Since then, she’s performed all over, from the Ohio Lesbian Festival to last year’s Chicago Women Funny Festival.

On Getting Started:

I collect old albums and spent A LOT of time on forums like ASpecialThing.com dissecting all things comedy news, theory, etc with people who consumed it as voraciously as I did and still do. I dipped my toe in writing comedically on Twitter and somehow I worked up the courage to actually go to an open mic – Cole’s in Chicago – last February.

On Twitter Fame:

I was featured a couple years back as one of 18 Funny Women to Follow on Twitter by Huff Po comedy – this was before I started stand up – and honestly, that was one of the reasons I decided to take the leap into telling jokes on stage. Sharing my jokes with people I couldn’t see on the Internet was nice, but the more immediate feedback of live performance felt like a natural progression. I’ve met tons of interesting and funny people through Twitter and the internet – and it’s a great way to work out concentrated versions of jokes before you get them to the stage.

On Unique Perspectives:

I feel that everything that makes me ME gives me an advantage and unique perspective. I don’t know that my voice is very common in comedy right now. Black, female, not-straight – I consider myself a cautious hedonist really, which is ridiculous. But for any person hoping to perform and hone their voice, you’ve got to mine every part of your experience to do so.

On Inspiration:

Maria Bamford is brilliant; she can make the saddest, most uncomfortable parts of life hilarious and universal.

On Bridgetown Comedy Fest:

I’m a fairly new comic. This is my first time PERFORMING in a festival. I’ve covered them in the past as a journalist – Just For Laughs in Chicago last year was amazing just as a spectator. So to be on the other side of the looking glass just a year later is insane to say the very least. It’s like the Ascended Fangirl trope in real life.

What’s Next?

Currently, Becca is co-producing Congrats On Your Success, a free comedy show held the first Thursday of the month at Uncharted Books in Chicago. Check her out at this year’s Just For Laughs showcase and on Twitter @becca_oneal.

As a former Air Force Flight Commander now living in Seattle, Leah Mansfield has quite the arsenal of life experiences. She’s a traveling comedian who’s opened for her personal favorite, Tig Notoro, and has made a name for herself being one of the most honest and hardest working comics in the industry. As she said, “I feel like my big responsibilities are truth and laughter. If I can get people to laugh at truth, then I’m doing my job.”

On Getting Started

I joined the Air Force instead of pursuing comedy. During out-processing, which took six months, the squadron needed a host for the holiday party. They finally came to me right beforehand and said “pretty please, ma’am.” So without any prep, I showed up, slammed three beers, and hosted a party for about 100 people. Everyone laughed, and for the first time I thought maybe I could be a comedian.

On Knowing Your Audience:

I really like the idea of the whole performance being a dance with a big group of strangers. Every dance is different, and I try to respond to how the audience is reacting. Sometimes I miss, but my aim improves with time. The only thing I will not change is to ever be “less gay.” I talk about what concerns me in my life, and being gay is a pretty big deal to me.

On Favorite Comics:

I’m in deep comic love with Tig Notaro. My whole family likes to sit around and listen to her. My little cousin puts out a “No Moleste” sign every time the family stays in a hotel. Her last release, “Tig Notaro Live” is one of the best things I have ever heard. Maria Bamford is amazing. Someone most people haven’t heard of, but should, is Paul Hooper. He’s a force of nature onstage-such a great show to watch. And off stage, he’s kind, fun and humble.

On Bridgetown:

This is my first time to Bridgetown, and I’m so excited. I love festivals. I’m a pretty big extrovert (figuratively), and festivals are like comedian group vacations. My favorite is the SLO Comedy Fest, which I have done all three years. I’m pretty professional on the road, but at a festival? I’m bringing two sombreros and a remote control helicopter to Portland. We are going to party like rock stars.

What’s next?

Leah is getting ready to move to LA in May. In the meantime, she’s hoping to release a comedy album and says she could really use a girlfriend. Check her out on Rooftopcomedy.com and on Twitter @LeahMansfield.

Elicia Sanchez is a brazen, bisexual comic who found comedic inspiration in Elvira. Performing for nearly three years, her first stab at an open mic was based on a dare. In her words, “Once I realized I could get through it without puking or passing out in public, I never wanted to stop.”

On First Loves:

I remember being obsessed with comedy at a very young age. I used to sneak out of bed down to the living room on Saturday nights when I was five or six to watch parts of SNL. Plus, I used to listen to comedy albums a lot with my dad when I was very young, like Richard Pryor, Steve Martin or Flip Wilson. I figured out pretty quick I wasn’t good at the things other kids my age bragged about, like climbing trees or sports or having cool toys, but I could make people laugh and I loved doing it, even if it was at my own expense.

On Inspiration:

My first real inspiration was weirdly enough Elvira. Elvira: Mistress of the Dark was my favorite movie when I was a kid. I loved her sense of humor. She was self-deprecating and kind of a mess, but in such a charming and confident way.

Since then, my biggest inspiration would be Janeane Garafolo. She is amazing and still maintains such a genuine, cynical attitude that I can relate to.

On Comedic Triumphs:

My proudest moment, thus far was having the chance to open for Hari Kondabolu. He is one of my favorite comedians and I never thought he would invite me to open for him once, let alone twice, since his humor is generally political, well-written and much more intelligent and meaningful than what I do. It’s probably quite a shift for an audience to go from me talking about giving a ghost a hand job for a Mountain Dew, to Hari’s brilliant metaphors on the public option or giving an eloquent verbal lashing to Matthew McConaughey‘s well-meaning, but poorly stated thoughts on gay rights, but it worked somehow.

On Unique Perspectives:

As far as comedy goes, a lot of what I do is storytelling and trying to be relatable to the audience. Also, I just try and make sure my material is something I’m proud of. I don’t want to present myself as a novelty, but as a self-actualized human being who is by definition, a woman, a Latino, an American Indian, a bisexual and I’m hoping that is some sort of slight lesson while still managing to make people laugh. I want people to feel happy, safe and comfortable at my shows and not have to fear their ethnicity, sexuality or gender being the butt of a joke. That is what is most important to me, after making them laugh.

On Bridgetown:

This is my first time performing at Bridgetown, but I’ve gone as an audience member for the past two years. I LOVE Bridgetown. It’s like a Con for comedians and comedy lovers.

What’s next?

Her most immediate concern is saving up enough vodka/soda and street burrito money for Bridgetown. Past that, she produces three shows in Seattle. The weekly comedy variety show Level Up! every Thursday at The Capitol Club, the monthly comedy showcase Wine Shots: Comedy’s Happiest Hour at The Comedy Underground and monthly podcast The Enematic Cinematic: LIVES!!, every second Tuesday at The While Rabbit. Find her on Twitter @El_SanchoVilla.

Seattle-based comedian, Danielle Radford, has been at it long enough to see the tides of woman comics growing exponentially over the last few years. With a history of performing, a lifetime long affection for stand-up and a bout of avid of karaoking, Danielle wrestled together the guts to hit the stage herself.

On Getting Started:

About five or six years ago, my then roommate started going to open mic nights. He thought I was hilarious and he encouraged me to give it a shot. I went on stage scared out of my mind, clutching three pages of material about my vagina. Those polite chuckles felt like killing at Madison Square Garden, and getting away with it. Now I can’t imagine doing anything else.

On Women in Comedy:

A few years ago, I could count the number of women comics in Seattle on my fingers. Now there are so many that you could have a women-only open mic night and the quality would be on the same mostly terrible level as any other open mic. It’s an exciting time.

On Unique Perspectives:

Being bi does offer me a different perspective. My significant other is a man, so a lot of people assume I’m straight, which can be varying degrees of awkward, hilarious and really upsetting. People seem to think that bi chicks are just constantly going around having indiscriminate sex, so they think that I wanna bang everyone all of the time. When I’m single that’s absolutely true, but it isn’t because I’m bi. It’s because having sex is better than not having sex.

On Bridgetown:

I love Bridgetown. It’s always a great time with some of the best talent in the country, and you learn that comics really love holding impromptu dance competitions set to early ’90s hip-hop. I’ve done a few festivals and I love it. It’s like a working vacation. I get to overdose on funny, make friends and reconnect with people I haven’t seen for a while. There’s a reason everyone refers to them as comedy summer camps.

On Portland:

Portland is such an awesome city. I’m currently living in Seattle, and Portland is a lot like Seattle, just without the cynicism or fluoridated tap water. When a stranger smiles at you on the street in Portland, they mean it. In Seattle we’re just doing it so you stop staring at us. And to show off our strong, beautiful teeth.

What’s next?

Danielle will be performing at the Cape Fear Comedy Fest in Willmngton, North Carolina on May 1-4. Other than that, she’s writing down funny things and hoping someone will pay her money for them. Find her on Twitter @DanielleRadford and at Danielle-Radford.com.

As a graduate of Second City’s Conservatory program, and an ex-pageant queen, Ali overcame disabilities and found a love of the spotlight. Her southern charm, and quick witted, often time bitingly sarcastic, digs at herself prove that she truly is a raw and optimistic comic.

On Getting Started:

After I graduated [college], I moved to Louisville Kentucky to be an acting apprentice at Actors Theatre of Louisville. At the time I had been writing my first one-woman show, Deborah DuBois, which was a comparison of my Mama to Blanche DuBois from A Street Car Named Desire. Writing a theatrical solo show is very different than writing stand-up but I did not know that at the time; so I decided to do five minutes on different vagina names. Not only did people not laugh, but there were quite a few women who wanted to punch me in the face. I still have a page and a half of different vagina names that I’m determined to use someday.

On Inspiration:

Comedians are survivors. We have had crazy experiences, been to the bottom, and have somehow survived growing up with our families. I think comedians tell jokes, myself included, because we chose to not give up; to not lie down and cry about life’s hardships. Instead we choose to make fun of the good the bad and the ugly.

I’ve been doing stand-up for the past four and a half years, but I’ve been a comedian my whole life. I got tested and found out I had an entire rainbow of learning disabilities (LD) when I was eight. I’m Dyslexic, Dyscalculic, and ADHD which basically means I’ve spent a lot of time feeling stupid. I wasn’t excelling in school and sports were not for me because I had the coordination of a drunk toddler; so mama decided pageants would help me get some self-esteem.

On Unique Perspectives:

I think being a southern bisexual gives me a unique perspective. I have so many family members that are so close-minded. They think marriage should be between a white man and white woman. I could spend my time and energy trying to make them see the light of day but I can’t change who people are, I can only change myself. So, I choose to love them as they are and write jokes about their stupidity.

On Women In Comedy:

There are currently two times more female stand-ups in Chicago than there were when I started. Amy Schumer has blown up this past year. A large portion of Chelsea Handler‘s writing staff is female. Fortune Feimster is a personal fav; she’s also from NC and I think we should be best friends even though we’ve never met. Us ladies are making strides!

On Comedic Triumphs:

I moved to Chicago so I could study comedy and the last four years have been a wild ride. I graduated from the conservatory at Second City, I ran an open mic for a year, I’ve gotten drunk and went I stage when I shouldn’t, I finally started talking about being bi on stage and about the biggest southern no no of all (dating black men), I wrote and performed my one-woman show I’m Different, Not Dumb, I’ve been featured in TBS Just For Laughs Chicago three years in a row, and I was on BET this year.

What’s Next?

Ali is currently working on a web show called What Am I Looking At. She is also a part of an all female comedy group called WhiBlasian with Kelly Howard and Leah Eva. Check her out on Tumblr and on Twitter @AliClayton86.

Check out the full schedule of performers at BridgetownComedy.com.

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