Check out the latest Nerdist Podcast Nerdist Podcast #51, Comedians You Should Know. WICF 2010 Headliner Jackie Kashian is featured, along with Chris Fairbanks, Jonah Ray, Kumail Nanjiani, Paul Cibis, Kyle Kinane, and Matt Braunger, hosted by Chris Hardwick.
The show application and instructor application deadlines have been extended to January 12th! Here is a useful link for you to use in applying!
Submissions are open to ALL comedians from all over the the world. For detailed answers to common questions, check out our FAQ. Still have a question? Email us at submissions@womenincomedyfestival.com.
Stand-up comediennes Leah Dubie and Selena Coppock are returning to their hometown stomping grounds on Jan. 6, when they will co-headline the Mottley’s Comedy Club show “Comedy Rivalry: Selena Coppock vs. Leah Dubie.” Despite sharing a bond that only childhoods in Massachusetts could create, these two star-crossed friends are destined to fight to the death every Thanksgiving day when Wayland High School (Leah’s alma mater) and Weston High School (Selena’s old hood) take the field. WICF Co-Producer Maria Ciampa hosts.
Selena and Leah sat down to discuss their love/hate relationship, with their erudite referee along to egg them on.
Referee: The name of the show is “Comedy Rivalry.” Tell us a bit about the Weston/Wayland rivalry. Is it quite heated?
Selena: Indeed it is! Warriors and wildcats have been brawling sine time immemorial, as we all know. Weston and Wayland football play against each other on Thanksgiving day and are rivals in all other sports, too. Thankfully, Leah and I never played against each other in high school sports, since Leah played basketball and lacrosse, and I played field hockey. And by “played field hockey” I mean that I provided comic relief and enjoyed dress up day at school. I am awful at sports that don't involve sprinting to the sounds of Axl Rose's voice.
Leah: The Wayland/Weston rivalry (notice I led with the good one) is a monster. It is Eastern Massachusetts' Montagues and Capulets. There was very little intermingling outside of North Wayland kids running into Weston kids slummin’ it at the Rt. 20 Friendly's trying to score a Fribble. Growing up in Wayland and playing against Weston, there was always a lot at stake. I recall us winning most of the contests we were involved in. I could prove that with stats I suppose but I'd rather not. Selena Coppock has a tendency to cry in public.
Selena Coppock, Weston HS '98
Referee: How did you two meet?
Selena: A few years back at a show at the Laugh Lounge in New York City, we were on the same line-up. I’d never met Leah, but I told a joke that references Weston, and I heard a loud “Boooo!” from the back. Turns out it was Leah, and a friendship was born. She doesn't mess around about Wayland pride! But in all seriousness, we’ve become great friends over the years and it's nice to know that if I'm ever at a comedy party and I use words like "wicked" or "packie" or "jimmies," at least one other person will know what I'm talking about.
Leah: That's correct. I booed her and I'd do it again. In fact, that is generally how I greet Selena. She's come to appreciate it. It's my verbal hug. We're great pals. Though we met in New York, there's something about a finding a Bostonian in New York City that speeds up a friendship. We are like minds. Mostly what we like is drinking, stand-up comedy and Boston-themed movies with over-the-top accents. During a showing of "The Town" at the Times Square Regal, we spent 125 minutes loudly ridiculing Blake Lively's terrible Boston accent and Ben Affleck's inability to enunciate, all while dressed in "Wicked Pissah" t-shirts. What can I say ... people in New York hate us everywhere we go.
Selena Coppock has a tendency to cry in public. — Leah Dubie
Referee: How did you dream up the concept for this show?
Selena: We love jokingly talking smack about/to each other, and I was thinking about how I could make some of my own breaks and produce my own stuff. I was trying to think of different theme shows with a fun gimmick and I thought about the Weston/Wayland rivlry. The rivalry show seemed like a no-brainer, so I asked Leah about it and she was 100% in immediately. We reached out to Tim because we both love Mottley’s, and things moved really easily from there. We’ve been promoting a lot and we’re both really fired up.
Leah: This show concept is really cool actually. In addition to the stand-up performances which will be hometown themed, we've got a great Wayland vs. Weston showdown to kick off the night. It's going to be intense and I'll probably wear eyeblack. I don't care that this show happens at night. Selena needs to know I'm serious.
Referee: Are you excited to come back to Boston for one night only?
Selena: I can’t wait. The show is going to be so fantastic. We have our great friend Garry Hannon coming up from NYC to do some time, and Boston’s own Maria Ciampa is going to be our fearless host. It’s a night of big talent and big laughs, start to finish. Plus, I have a whole notebook of jokes about Dairy Joy, and I can’t wait to throw ‘em out there. Dip Tops, what!?
Leah Dubie, Wayland HS '95
Leah: I am excited! Party at my mom's house! You're all invited but please take off your shoes and remember that she's got to work in the morning even though you don't Leah! This show is going to kick so much ass! We've got the comedy dream team assembled. Garry is another hilarious Bostonian living in NYC and Maria is still holding strong here in Massachusetts. I'm not certain but I think she's on the city council and that's why she's chosen not to join us in New York.
Referee: Do you find the comedy scenes of Boston and NYC quite different? How did you adjust to NYC?
Selena: The NYC scene is obviously much larger than the Boston scene, but a lot of the same rules apply. You’ve got to just be out there — writing, hanging out, hustling, networking, performing — and eventually you’ll be considered part of the scene. It just takes time. I’m glad that I did my first two years of stand up in Boston, where I could figure it out without making TOO much of an ass of myself. I’ve been living in NYC for a little over four years now and I love it. It was certainly an adjustment at first. The pace and energy can be a bit daunting initially, but now I know how to use it to propel me forward.
I have a whole notebook of jokes about Dairy Joy, and I can’t wait to throw ‘em out there. Dip Tops, what!? — Selena Coppock
Leah: Yes. They are different. I started in New York and only performed in Boston once I started doing "the road," which is hilarious to me that Massachusetts would be "the road." Adjusting to non-New York crowds took a bit of time. I never thought my loud parents from Waltham and the lunatics I grew up around could be shocked by anything that would come out of my mouth, and typically they aren't, but it's still this funny balance of liberal values and what is proper that is sometimes difficult for a NY comic to adjust to. I've got it down now though. It's easy because usually my mom is there staring at me in the front row. If anything was too much for her then I will hear about it on the ride home. Another glamorous part of stand-up comedy ... when I do hometown shows I don't tend to rent a car. I get my 60-year old mom to drive me (and my posse) around. This posse is mostly made up of 60-year olds FYI.
Referee: Which is a more bad ass mascot, the wildcat or the warrior?
Selena: To be completely honest, it’s a tough call. With the wildcat, you’ve got a jungle cat who is WILD. So wild that the word “wild” is part of his name. Wild isn't just his middle name, like all those jerks who say stuff like, "Danger is my middle name." It’s half of his name — straight up. But the warrior is not only a Native American killing machine, it’s also a terribly racist throwback mascot. See? Tough call.
Leah: I don't care how wild this cat is, it's a cat. At most it's going to weigh 20 lbs if it's fat. 20 lbs is a warrior baby. It's a baby killing machine. Even our adolescent killing machines can run wild over these wild cats. Meow. Ooooooh, I'm scared. What's that? Oh, that's just one of my many tomahawks I carry around on my human torso. It's not even a fair fight. I actually feel bad for this cat and I want to pat it and feed it Fancy Feast which makes sense because it's used to a fancy life in Weston.
Referee: How did you get into stand up?
Selena: As a kid in Weston, I was always involved in performing, be it acting in school plays (under the tutelage of the brilliant John Minnigan) or singing with The Pralines. In college I continued singing (the Hamilton College Hamiltones — what what!?) and I was part of the improv comedy troupe. I really loved improv and hated stand up back then — I thought stand up was mostly Andrew Dice Clay-type misogyny. I moved to Chicago after college to study improv and ended up back in Boston for a few years, where I continued to do improv. I dabbled in stand up almost by accident, but quickly fell in love and realized that it was just a better match for me than improv. So I did two years of stand up in Boston, then got laid off from a publishing job in Boston and decided to make a move.
Leah: I always loved stand up. As a kid, I went to the Comedy Connection and Nick's Comedy Stop as much as most 14-year olds went to the movies or the mall. I always knew I wanted to do stand up but didn't actually take the stage until after I graduated from college. From there I've had a continued "love" affair with comedy. I still love it but we've been in couples counseling a few times because comedy is very selfish. Wait no, that's me.
Leah Dubie is a stand-up comic, writer, and host, who has been called "Smart and Opinionated" by Time Out NY. Her jokes have been featured alongside naked ladies in Playboy Magazine. Her musings have been heard on FREE FM, Sirius OutQ, The Joey Reynolds Show and broadcast on a broadband channel in the back of NYC cabs. She has performed at the Boston Comedy Festival, Gilda's Club and was a semi-finalist in the NY Comedy Competition. She works regularly as an on-air host and comedic commentator. Her television credits include Tru TV's "The Smoking Gun Presents," WE "Cinematherapy," LOGO's "Out In The City" and Here! TV's "Hot, Gay Comics."
Selena Coppock is a comedian, writer, and host as well. She has studied both improv and sketch comedy extensively, training at ImprovOlympic (Chicago), The Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre (NY), and ImprovAslyum (Boston). Since shifting her focus to stand-up and sketch comedy, Selena has earned spots in a multitude of comedy festivals, including the Boston Comedy Festival, New York Comedy Competition, Detroit Comedy Festival, North Carolina Comedy Arts Festival, the Out of Bounds Festival, and the Ladies Are Funny Festival (Austin, TX). Her comedy writing has been featured in McSweeney’s, The Collared Sheep, and Rock Bottom Stories. She has also been featured on "The Morning Show with Mike and Juliet" (FOX), TheApiary.com, Comedysmack.com, Collegehumor.com, and in The Boston Phoenix, Boston Metro, and The Boston Globe.
Comedy Rivalry: Selena Coppock vs. Leah Dubie at Mottley’s Comedy Club, Fanueil Hall www.mottleyscomedy.com for tickets
January 6, 2011
$12
8 p.m.
You guys remember the interview we did with Chris Cuddy of OBV!, right? Of course you do, right? Cool, I was just checking, I'm just going to leave this right here. Nobody click on that link, OK?
Good news! The funny ladies of OBV! are on Funny or Die!
Their music video dreams came true!
WICF is thrilled to announce that Kristen Schaal and Kurt Braunohler will be joining Jen Kirkman and Morgan Murphy for our 2011 headlining shows! Kristen and Kurt will perform their two-person sketch show, "Kurt and Kristen."
Keep watching this site for more about all of our headliners!
WICF Co-Producer Maria Ciampa can be heard in the most recent Ready, Set ... Wife! podcast. Hosted by Robyn Okrant and WICF 2009 performer Cathleen Carr, Ready, Set ... Wife! explores the questions and quirks of modern marriage. Hear Maria lend her own quirks to the podcast here.
After 11:59 p.m. (Eastern) Tuesday night, the price of show applications jumps from $30 to $40, and the price of instructor applications jumps from $10 to $15. Submit applications here for the 2011 festival, March 9th-13th.
I thought, maybe [write] a group therapy thing with different couples from Shakespeare, which made me think of who the therapist would be. I thought a sassy, gay guy would give it to the ladies straight, so to speak. — Brian Gallivan
Brian Gallivan, known to millions as his character “Sassy Gay Friend,” will appear for three nights next week at Improv Asylum, in Boston’s North End. Each show includes 60 minutes of Brian’s live Sassy Gay Friend stage show, followed by 30 minutes of improv featuring Brian and IA group Vanity Project.
Brian was kind enough to answer the metric shit-ton of questions we directed his way — the interview starts beneath his photo!
ImprovAsylum – In the Beginning:
WICF: Can you detail some of your involvement with Improv Asylum?
Brian: I started taking classes there in 1999. I joined their first touring company in 2000, and I think I joined their Mainstage cast in early 2001. I loved it there. I learned so much, and I worked with a ton of REALLY talented people.
WICF: Which cast(s) were you in?
Brian: I was not in the original cast, but I worked with a lot of people who were: Brian Frates, Norm [Laviolette], Chet [Harding], Leah Gotcsik, Amy Roeder, Lori Salmeri, Eddie Mejia, Paul D’Amato, Kristen D’Amato. I also worked with Lisa Schurga and Ryan Gaul who joined before I did. Both of them live in LA now and are Groundlings. It’s great to get to hang out with them in LA and to be able to go see their shows. As people left, I got to work with lots of amazing folks: Cathleen Carr, Marty Johnson, Jimmy Owens, Brandon Sornberger, Harry Gordon, Kiley Fitzgerald, Sara Adelman, Travis Thomas, Tim Douglas. I could go on and on. I’m sure I’m forgetting someone amazing.
WICF: For how many years were you a performer at IA?
Brian: I performed there until summer of 2003, so almost three years total.
WICF: Did you jump right from improv classes to the cast, or do you have a “toiling away in the trenches” story?
Brian: I auditioned for the Mainstage cast in summer 1999. I got a callback, and I thought it went well, and then I had an interview. Norm Laviolette still makes fun of me for how awkward I was at the interview. He basically told me that I had no experience, and I should keep taking classes. I was SO disappointed. I figured if I didn’t get hired right away, I shouldn’t be doing improv. It wasn’t meant to be. But I started taking classes there, and after another six months, they had auditions for their new touring company, and I got hired.
WICF: Can you tell us what it felt like to go on your first audition?
Brian: My first improv audition happened years before. I saw an ad in the Boston Phoenix, and I auditioned for an improv group even though I’d never taken any improv classes. I remember getting laughs and wondering why they didn’t cast me. After I took some classes, I realized that I broke almost every improv rule possible at that audition. I think I actually said, after someone else declared we were on a cruise ship, “No. We’re not on a cruise ship.”
Sassy Gay Friend: Hamlet
ImprovAsylum – The Return:
WICF: How often have you returned to IA since you moved away from Boston?
Brian: I’ve been back to see shows since I moved away in 2003. It’s always fun to come back. I perform with a group called Ditka in LA, and we came to the Asylum to do a show and some workshops in 2008. I did the midnight show when I was home for Christmas last year.
WICF: You performed your stage show there pretty recently, right? How did it feel to come back?
Brian: It was a blast. It’s such a great space and performing in the round is really fun. Plus, lots of friends and family were able to come.
WICF: Have you gotten to perform with any of your former castmembers?
Brian: Cathleen Carr is performing a few scenes in the show with me, and we do some improv after my show, so I got to improvise with Norm and Chet and Jeremy Brothers. I think Marty Johnson will be doing some improv in the December shows.
WICF: Have you seen any of your former students or colleagues at your shows?
Brian: Yes. Which has been great.
Brian Gallivan
The Life and Times of Brian Gallivan:
WICF: Where are you from, originally?
Brian: I grew up in Dedham, MA.
WICF: Did you teach up until the time you left Boston?
Brian: No, I took a leave of absence my last two years in Boston, and I just never went back.
WICF: At what middle school did you teach?
Brian: I taught at the Chenery Middle School in Belmont. Before that, I taught at St. Anthony’s in Allston.
WICF: What prompted you to become a teacher?
Brian: My father was a teacher, and three of my siblings are still teachers. It seemed like a pretty good option at the time.
WICF: How did you first realize that you wanted to take an improv class?
Brian: I cannot remember when I thought I would like improv. I think I used to watch the British “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” on Comedy Central in the mid-90s. My family likes to joke around, so I’ve always enjoyed verbal humor.
WICF: A lot of comedians talk about picking up and moving to one of the big three comedy cities — Chicago, LA, and NY — but not everyone follows through. How did you decide that you were going to head to Chicago?
Brian: I had flown to Chicago to audition for their [Second City’s] touring company, and I totally bombed. When I went back there for a festival, another improviser told me that even if I had done well, they wouldn’t have hired me because I didn’t live in Chicago. That fact combined with the reality that I was becoming a “veteran” at the Asylum, made me want to try the move to Chicago. I remember the very night I decided. I was reading a book called Everything is Illuminated. Which seemed weird.
WICF: In which year did you move to Chicago?
Brian: 2003.
WICF: Did you teach in Chicago?
Brian: I did some substitute teaching my first year there, and I tutored some high school students as well.
Sassy Gay Friend: Romeo & Juliet
Second City and “Sassy Gay Friend”:
WICF: You were a member of the Second City touring company, and then a Chicago mainstage cast member for three years, is that correct?
Brian: Yes.
WICF: What was it like getting to perform at one of the best-known comedy theaters in the country?
Brian: It was amazing. I can’t even explain how much I loved it. To be able to perform your own material in front of sold out audiences almost every night on the very stage where so many comic geniuses have performed, it was just a thrill.
WICF: Can you compare the comedy audiences in different cities?
Brian: I don’t really notice the differences too much. The Boston audiences are pretty raucous. Which is fun. But that might be the buckets of beer at the Asylum.
WICF: To which cities did you travel with the touring company?
Brian: I remember the states more than the cities. I did a lot of shows that weren’t too far from Chicago: Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin, Michigan. But we went on some great trips to Florida, Vermont, California, and, best of all, Hawaii, which was really fun.
Sassy Gay Friend: Othello
WICF: Your “Sassy Gay Friend” character started as a stage portrayal. Did you have any idea this character was going to be so big for you?
Brian: It was always a fun character to do at Second City, but when the show it was in (Red Scare) ended, I didn’t expect to do much with the character ever again. But Josh Funk and Mark Kienlen started The Second City Network in early 2010, and my manager had read some of my writing, and those sketches stood out to her, so we filmed the videos, and I was really shocked at the reaction.
WICF: How did you come up with the character?
Brian:Red Scare was the first show I did on the Mainstage at Second City, and our director Mick Napier had given us an assignment to come in with a couple of new ideas. For one of them, I wanted to do something with Shakespeare. I thought maybe a group therapy thing with different couples from Shakespeare, which made me think of who the therapist would be. I thought a sassy, gay guy would give it to the ladies straight, so to speak. And then I dumped the guys and made the therapist just a sassy gay friend.
WICF: Do you have the stats for the number of times your videos have been viewed? Could you give us an estimate?
Brian: Combined, the SGF videos have over 12 million views on YouTube.
Sassy Gay Friend: Eve
WICF: Do any of your other characters draw on your literary background?
Brian: I’ve done a character who hosts a PBS show about Young Adult Literature. He thinks YA Lit can solve any problem. Maribeth Monroe and I did a scene at Second City that was partially scripted and partially improvised based on an audience suggestion where I was a Mr. Darcy-type character, and she was an Elizabeth Bennett character.
WICF: Your “Sassy Gay Friend” character is playing off of some fairly iconic literary figures, but you’ve also set up each scene so that the back story is obvious, regardless of the viewer’s familiarity with the character. Do you ever wonder if some of your audience misses the literary reference entirely?
Brian: I think people who don’t know the stories probably stop watching at a certain point. As I make more of these videos, I’ll eventually have to choose some stories which are not as well known. And I’ll assume that not as many people will want to watch them.
I LOVE “GLEE.” What they’re doing with Kurt is historic. And his relationship with his father is so beautiful. I can’t get enough of that show. And a lot of it has to do with the fact that Kurt doesn’t just get an episode to deal with his struggles. He gets a whole series.
LA and Your Current Projects:
WICF: When did you make the jump to LA?
Brian: I moved here in Fall of 2007.
WICF: Where have you been performing in LA?
Brian: I perform some shows at Second City with Ditka. I perform at IO West on Tuesdays at 10 p.m. with a group called Powerhouse. And I do two shows at UCB. On Mondays I perform with a group called The Smokes at 7 p.m., and on Fridays at 9:30 p.m., I’m part of a show called Soundtrack, where people bring their iPods and iPhones, and our DJ picks songs to play which inspires the improv.
WICF: What projects are you working on now?
Brian: I wrote a sitcom pilot this year and some treatments for a couple of other sitcoms. I’m performing the live Sassy Gay Friend show at colleges in 2011. I’m hoping to do a few more “Sassy Gay Friend” videos and some other non-SGF videos too.
WICF: What other links would you like us to include?
Brian:Here is a video where I’m not playing “Sassy Gay Friend.” The actress in the clip is the hilarious Claudia Michelle Wallace. She and I originally performed this scene in a Second City Chicago Mainstage show called Iraqtile Dysfunction.
Claudia Michelle Wallace and Brian Gallivan — How To Deal With RACISM At Work
WICF: What is this incarnation of your stage show featuring “Sassy Gay Friend” like?
Brian: The show is approximately 1/3 new “Sassy Gay Friend” stuff (or old SGF stuff with a twist), 1/3 SGF interacting with the audience, and 1/3 Brian Gallivan (me) doing my own material about times in my life when I’ve been a stupid bitch.
WICF: I have to admit, after watching your videos, I experienced a certain amount of cognizant dissonance hearing your natural voice on your voicemail. Have you had any interesting fan experiences once you’ve switched out of character?
Brian: No one’s mentioned it to me. I have to admit, I feel pretty powerful now that you’ve told me I’m capable of causing cognizant dissonance.
WICF: How do you cast the costars of the “Sassy Gay Friend” videos? Who are they, and what should our comedy audience know about them?
Brian: Originally, Jean Villepique, a hilarious lady I performed with at Second City, was going to play Ophelia, but she got sick, so at the last minute, I called my friend Colleen Foy, a friend from an acting class in LA. She’s such a great actress. She played Daniel Day Lewis’ grown up daughter-in-law in There Will Be Blood.
Stephanie Allynne played Juliet. I met her at UCB in LA. She has a great one-woman show, and also made a hilarious video about the movie Precious which I think is called Precious Moments.
I hope I encourage all comedians I come across, but I’m definitely drawn to lady comedy and gay comedy, and when I find some of that, and it’s really good, I am definitely encouraging. But again, I like funny, no matter who’s doing it. If I see someone who’s doing great stuff, no matter who they are, I try to make sure I tell them how much I loved it.
Maribeth Monroe played Desdemona. She played her when we first tried the scene at SC too. Maribeth is blowing up. She had a hilarious childbirth scene in J Lo’s movie The Back Up Plan, and she has a new show on Comedy Central which starts airing next year. She’s also in Ditka with me.
I had never met Milynn Sarley, who played Eve, but a friend recommended her, and she was a delight. She was very easy to get almost naked in front of. She’s also on a show, which I think is called Like Totally Awesome, and it’s about video games. Vince Allen, a student at Second City in LA (and a professional model) played Adam. Perfectly, I might add.
For “The Giving Tree,” Shulie Cowen, an SC alum, voiced the tree. She was wonderful. Rob Janas, a hilarious SC alum played the evil grown up boy, and Scott Narver, an LA SC training center grad, played Boo Radley. He was awesome.
Sassy Gay Friend: The Giving Tree
”Sassy Gay Friend” Has a Wider Impact:
WICF: It’s funny, when we were setting up this interview, you said, “Also, to be honest, my videos and shows do feature some great women in comedy, but they end up playing the straight role and don't get many of the laughs. [F]eel free to ask me the hard questions about that!” Do you think that artists who are fairly well known have a societal responsibility to provide opportunities for, or to help showcase, artists from marginalized groups?
Brian: I don’t know. I feel like comedy is fairly democratic. If someone is funny, they usually get noticed. The way the SGF videos are written, it seems better to have a “straight man” for SGF to bounce off. So the ladies get acting opportunities rather than more laughs. I don’t worry about any of these ladies though because they are all creating their own hilarious material for themselves whether it’s sketch or improv.
WICF: Do you feel a responsibility to help promote or encourage comedians who don’t fit the “straight, white male” demographic? Should successful gay comedians be cognizant of a responsibility to help promote performers whose opportunities may be limited because of their orientation or race or gender? Or age? Or creed? How about the responsibilities of successful female comedians? Or minority comedians?
Brian: I hope I encourage all comedians I come across, but I’m definitely drawn to lady comedy and gay comedy, and when I find some of that, and it’s really good, I am definitely encouraging. But again, I like funny, no matter who’s doing it. If I see someone who’s doing great stuff, no matter who they are, I try to make sure I tell them how much I loved it.
I have to admit, I feel pretty powerful now that you’ve told me I’m capable of causing cognizant dissonance.
WICF: You recently produced a video for the It Gets Better Project. Why did you get involved?
Brian: I knew that a large percentage of SGF fans were teenagers, so I thought it would be a good idea.
WICF: Since you were a teacher, I felt inspired to ask one of my teachers if she had any questions for you. I asked Deana Tolliver of ImprovBoston, who was one of my sketchwriting instructors, what she would ask you. Deana wanted to know if you’ve heard from anyone who’s been helped by your It Gets Better video.
Brian: Yes. I received a lot of messages from teens and adults about the video. One teen wrote that he was gay and having a really hard time at school, and the video made him feel better. So much of what I do as a writer and actor can start to feel like it’s all about getting somewhere in “the business.” So when he wrote to me, it made me happy that something I did had a positive effect on someone who was suffering. I’m always so grateful for the TV shows and movies that help me when I’m feeling low, so I’m glad I could do the same for someone else.
Sassy Gay Friend: It Gets Better
WICF: She asked, what would “Sassy Gay Friend” say to a bully?
Brian: Girls love guys who are nice to everyone. So if you want to get laid, start being nice to everyone!
WICF: She also asked, where do you get your fabulous scarves?
Brian: I only have the one, and I got it at a costume shop on Hollywood Boulevard.
WICF: In your video, you mention that you weren’t out in middle school, high school, or college because you were trying so hard to fit in. You also said that the reason you didn’t get into acting while you were a student was because you didn’t want anything to think you were gay. How do you see the It Gets Better Project, The Trevor Project, and GLSEN impacting gay youth today? What was available to students when you were a teacher?
Brian: Things are so much better now compared to when I was in school. They’re still hard probably, but a lot better. And I think they’ll keep getting better.
WICF: In your video, you tell viewers to think of their lives as a YA novel, because the protagonists are usually outsiders who find acceptance in the end. What are your favorite YA novels?
Brian: I love all the Judy Blume books. They’re so honest and really make you feel like you’re not the only person going through certain things. I like The Outsiders [by S. E. Hinton] too. Kids enjoy the honesty there too.
WICF: ”Sassy Gay Friend” became a part of the zeitgeist at the same time that the public consciousness of issues affecting gay youth was increasing dramatically. In the same year as an alarming number of teen suicides and Dan Savage’s launching of the It Gets Better Project, we have a hit network TV show, “Glee,” which features a gay teen character who has his own storyline, no longer the best friend, and last week the character sang the duet “Baby It’s Cold Outside” with another gay character — on Fox. What do you think about this character treatment and the affect it might have on “Glee”’s young audience?
Brian: I LOVE “GLEE.” What they’re doing with Kurt is historic. And his relationship with his father is so beautiful. I can’t get enough of that show. And a lot of it has to do with the fact that Kurt doesn’t just get an episode to deal with his struggles. He gets a whole series.
Sassy Gay Friend at Improv Asylum http://www.improvasylum.com/?id=458 for tickets
Runs Tues., 12/21; Wed. 12/22; and Thurs., 12/23
$22
Shows at 8 p.m. Tues. and Wed., 10 p.m. Thurs.
I might just have to make one of those for my apartment door — not only to keep out the cold, but also the smell of boiled cabbage. I'll remove it whenever my landlady makes cookies, though. Free smells are the best kind!
Be critical of your work, but confident in yourself. Know that you're funny. Fear of rejection is just rejecting yourself. I have a million of these fortune cookie responses, but I believe them.
— Caitlin Tegart
This week, WICF sits down in New York City with one of the busiest women in comedy we know — the talented writer, director, and performer, Caitlin Tegart. She talks to us about her start at The Upright Citizen’s Brigade and a whole lot more ...
WICF: Hi Caitlin!
Caitlin: Hello!
WICF: Tell us a little about yourself and how you got started in comedy.
Caitlin: I am originally from Indiana and I like country music. I read Rue McClanahan's biography in a day. I got into comedy through a friend who was taking improv classes at UCB [Upright Citizen’s Brigade]. He dragged me to a Mother show (a long running UCB house improv team) one weekend and I fell in love with the theater. The show was amazing, but I was really mesmerized by the whole place. I took an improv 101 class (shout out to Betsy Stover!) and immediately I knew I wanted to do comedy forever after the first class.
WICF: What is "Vag Magazine"?
Caitlin: "Vag Magazine" is a six-part web series that takes you behind the scenes of a Third Wave Feminist hipster magazine as they attempt to publish their first issue with limited journalism experience and a lot of crafting.
WICF: Who is the primary target audience for this show?
Caitlin: Anyone who loves character driven comedy! Of course, most of our fans tend to be college-educated, urban women, but we've drawn all kinds of fans.
WICF: How has the reception been so far? What are your goals for the show in the future?
Caitlin: Amazing! We've been featured in dozens of articles and the fan support on Twitter and Facebook has been tremendous. People really seem to "get it," which is awesome!
WICF: When I first got an invite from you to see "Vag Magazine," I have to say — I was curious about what it was … and I was nervous to open the link at work! It is a strong name for a show. Did you think about that at all when choosing the name? Do you think the name has an effect on your audience? What about in regards to gender — interest in the show from men vs. women?
Caitlin: Since the magazine is a parody of Bust and Bitch, we kinda had to go the extra mile to up the ante on the name. Vag just seemed so right on, we never thought twice about it. I think a lot of people male or female that are familiar with feminist magazines got it right away. Yes, we have had people think it's pornographic! One of the tag lines we tossed around was "Safe for Work!"
WICF: You also recently started your own podcast — "Caitorade." Tell us a bit about that and why you decided to start it up.
Caitlin: I love discussing what inspires people and how that pushes them to work and I am so fascinated by how people put together their shows and videos — how people find their voice! I find myself inspired by a wide and weird range of things ("MST3K," Thai martial arts movies, Fred Willard) so I wondered what was behind many of the artists I admire in the NYC comedy community.
WICF: I watched every episode of "The Pretty Good Sports Show" and loved it! Could you tell us a bit about it and how you got involved?
Caitlin: Craig Rowin (the head writer/director) and I had worked together on another show so he asked me to be a part of the original team that traveled to Bristol, CT (ESPN worldwide headquarters) to make a pilot overnight. I was added very last minute and I was the only woman (besides our great producer Melissa Panzer) and then I got the stomach flu right when we got there. I was like half-alive, drinking Dr. Pepper, meekly pitching sketches like whispering "what about Muggsy Bogues? He's funny, right?"
We made two more pilots and I was picked up as a writer when the show went into production weekly. It was awesome! I was in charge of the joke writing segment up top. I got so much better at joke writing as the show progressed. And I know a lot more about A-Rod now. For better or worse.
WICF: You are a teacher at UCB, you seem to have a different show going up at UCB Theater every night, and every day I see a new sketch online that you have written! What do you think makes a person "successful" in comedy? Any tips?
Caitlin: You can't wait for opportunities to come to you! You have to make them. Be critical of your work, but confident in yourself. Know that you're funny. Fear of rejection is just rejecting yourself. I have a million of these fortune cookie responses, but I believe them.
WICF: Do feel that your gender has impacted your success in comedy in any way — positive or negative?
Caitlin: It's so hard to say! I know there are specific opportunities I have had because I am a woman, while other times I've thought I was more qualified for jobs than the guy who got them. On a practical level, you just have to keep going and help other women who rule.
WICF: Anything else you're currently working on?
Caitlin: I just started doing stand up and I am loving it! I am performing all over NYC and hopefully expanding soon. My play "Waiting for Obama: A Night at the Hall of Presidents" will be staged at the Strawberry One-Act festival on February 4.
WICF: Sweet! Where can we find out more about what you’re doing? Give us some links!
Caitlin Tegart is a writer for "The Pretty Good Sports Show" (ESPN). Her previous television and web writing credits include "The Edge with Jake Sasseville" (nationally syndicated), "The Spill" (WetPaint.com), "Apartment Red" (RTE), "The Leader" (ESPN), and "Dot Diva" (PBS).
At Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, Caitlin wrote the sketch show "How Rude: Tim & D'Arcy Find the 90s" and the one-act play "Waiting for Obama: A Night at the Hall of Presidents," in which animatronic presidents come alive to discuss civil rights and The Lion King (you know, like they do in real life). The latter show made an epic West Coast journey to UCB Los Angeles and the San Francisco SketchFest and was featured on Sirius XM's "Raw Dog Comedy."
Caitlin has served as writer and director of the UCB house sketch team Stone Cold Fox. She currently writes for UCB's weekend sketch show "Beneath Gristedes" and the video sketch team Diamonds, Wow! She directed the sketch shows "Citizen Rothstein," "Sing Out, Louise!" and "This Is About Smith." Her web series "Vag Magazine" can be seen at VagMagazine.tv.
Caitlin can be seen regularly performing stand-up comedy in New York and nationally.
WICF is presenting two opportunities to take Jeff Singer's acclaimed Step Up Your Stand Up workshop during the festival on Saturday, March 12th, from 10:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. or 2:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. This will be the only opportunity in 2011 to take Jeff's workshop in Boston.
Register by Feb. 1st for the discounted price of $150; the workshop fee goes up to $185 on Feb. 2nd. Class sizes are limited!
Jeff Singer is currently the Executive Consultant for the Just For Laughs International Comedy Festival, a post he has held for the past decade. For more about Jeff, check out his bio. here .
WICF Co-Producers Michelle Barbera and Maria Ciampa interview Christine Cuddy and Megan Goltermann of the sketch comedy show OBV!, playing now at ImprovBoston, plus a song from the show, and a phone interview with Miss Mary and her favorite student from the Waldorf School. Check out the episode here along with the rest of our episodes, or listen right here on this very blog:
Steve Martin appeared, Monday night, as part of the lecture series at NY's 92nd Street Y. The moderator for the evening was New York Times columnist Deborah Solomon. Martin and Solomon spoke for an hour in front of a crowd of about 900, according to the Times. Tickets to the event cost $50. Afterward, as reported in the Times, the executive director of the 92nd Street Y sent an e-mail to ticket holders informing them that the 92nd Street Y would be mailing them all $50 gift certificates to make up for what he referred to as an event that "did not meet the standard of excellence that you have come to expect from 92nd St. Y." Sol Adler's e-mail also stated that "[w]e planned for a more comprehensive discussion and we, too, were disappointed with the evening."
Now, while I applaud the 92nd Street Y for making every effort after the fact to give its patrons what they want, I do have to ask — how did this happen? How did a renowned cultural and art institution like the 92nd Street Y come to feel that it needed to refund its patrons for an evening with a writer who is currently on a book tour, who discussed his new book and its subject, namely the art world, with a columnist known for her art criticism? That is what happened here. Steve Martin, wild and crazy guy that he is, is also a best-selling writer. I say "best-selling" because that is what his bio. for the event called him:
Steve Martin is a celebrated writer, actor and performer. His film credits include Father of the Bride, Parenthood and The Spanish Prisoner, as well as Roxanne, L.A. Story and Bowfinger, for which he also wrote the screenplays. He’s won Emmy Awards for his television writing and two Grammy Awards for comedy albums. In addition to a play, Picasso at the Lapin Agile, he has written a best-selling collection of comic pieces, Pure Drivel and a best-selling novella, Shopgirl. His most recent novel is An Object of Beauty: A Novel
Was it the event description that threw people off? The title of the lecture was "Steve Martin with Deborah Solomon." I suppose, given that open-ended designation, one could have assumed the evening would be about anything related to Steve Martin, so one should have attempted to narrow it down. Could there possibly have been a clue as to what Martin would be speaking about — something to help customers decide whether or not to spend their hard-earned money on a ticket to this event? I suppose I'd have started with the only other bit of information contained in the lecture's title, Deborah Solomon's name. But what if I didn't know who Deborah Solomon was? Well, I'd have been in luck, theoretical patron of the arts that I am, the ever-helpful 92nd Street Y included a brief biography of Ms. Solomon on its events page as well! Huzzah! Let's see what they thought was important the public know about Ms. Solomon leading up to the lecture:
Deborah Solomon has been an art critic, art historian and magazine writer. She currently writes a weekly column for the New York Times Magazine, under the heading "Questions For..."
Well there you have it, folks! Deborah Solomon, art critic and magazine writer, was to interview Steve Martin, well known comedian, writer, and, it should be noted, musician. How do I know he's a comedian and a musician? I know because Martin's career has existed within the public domain for decades. Based on his bio. on the event's page, I would know only that Martin is a writer, actor, and performer; that he is an Emmy-winning television writer; that he must be some sort of comedian, because he's won two Grammys for comedy albums; that he has a series of film credits to his name; and that he is a playwright and author of a collection of comic stories, a novella, and, most recently, a novel.
If this was an evening with The Jerk-era Steve Martin, I would wonder what the hell an art critic was doing interviewing him.
Of course, today's Steve Martin is not The Jerk-era Steve Martin. Today's Steve Martin is a post-Picasso at the Lapin Agile-era Steve Martin, a post-Shopgirl-era Steve Martin, a Steve Martin who is currently touring to promote his new book, set in the world of high-end art collecting. A Steve Martin who is an art collector himself. A Steve Martin who has proven himself to be a brilliant Renaissance man. Would I expect, had I bought a $50 ticket to see this author and performer appear onstage at the 92nd Street Y to be interviewed by a Times art critic, that he would appear with an arrow sticking out both sides of his head and subject us to an hour of pratfalls and zany comic mishaps?
Well, would you?
I would hope that, given the evidence provided by the venue leading up to the event, most adults — and make no mistake, the 92nd Street Y's audience skews "adult" — most adults would expect to hear Steve Martin discuss his new book.
The venue itself is known for providing a wide array of cultural programming. WICF 2010 performer Sara Benincasa played host at the 92nd Street Y's Tribeca-outpost's Oscars-viewing party this year, along with Sara Schaefer and Michelle Collins. I'm sure the evening was a roaring, hysterical success. Much less funny, but no less wonderful, was the event I attended at the uptown location in 2005, that featured Louise Erdrich and Bobbie Ann Mason. Let me tell you, that audience was so angry when Erdrich and Mason didn't even bother to Jello-wrestle onstage that they immediately went to the diner down on 89th to angrily gum their meatloaf and pudding. It was slow, orderly, polite pandemonium.
If this had been Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin hosting the Oscars, I would fully understand the audience's dismay had they sat and discussed art and literature for an hour. Had the event been billed as "A Night of a Thousand Laughs, with Steve Martin! at the 92nd Street Y," I would understand the venue deciding to refund its audience's money. But a night billed as "Steve Martin with Deborah Solomon"? Art and literature should have been expected.
What say you, readers? Can you allow your comedians to exist outside of the realm of comedy? Or do you want your humorists forever pigeonholed into neat little boxes, ever-ready for your comic consumption?
UPDATED TO ADD:
To the 92 Street Y's credit, they appear to have been responding to their audience, and it's that audience that should bear the brunt of any ire garnered. Steve Martin said, according to the Times, that "viewers watching the interview by closed-circuit television from across the country sent e-mails to the Y complaining 'that the evening was not going the way they wished, meaning we were discussing art.'”
Apparently the venue responded by passing a note to the interviewer in the middle of the event, which she read aloud, telling the audience, according to Mediate, that "she’d been instructed to ask more questions about Martin’s career instead of focusing exclusively on his new book."
This announcement was followed by applause and cheers from the audience.
The Times quotes Beverly Greenfield, the 92nd Street Y's director of public and media relations, as saying:
“We heard from our audience members, who were vocal about their admiration for Steve Martin and their displeasure with the program, at the event, and afterward by e-mail and by phone,” Ms. Greenfield’s e-mail continued. “On occasion, when a program clearly has not met our or our patrons’ expectations, we have offered patrons a credit.”
Further, according to the Times:
Mr. Martin said he was taken aback by the Y’s response, describing it as “discourteous” and adding, “It seemed to me that a consultation was at least in order.
“As for the Y’s standard of excellence, it can’t be that high because this is the second time I’ve appeared there.”
Check out the latest Nerdist Podcast Nerdist Podcast #51, Comedians You Should Know. WICF 2010 Headliner Jackie Kashian is featured, along with Chris Fairbanks, Jonah Ray, Kumail Nanjiani, Paul Cibis, Kyle Kinane, and Matt Braunger, hosted by Chris Hardwick. 
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