#comedians learn to be comedic and do comedy please

[tellthemeerkatsitsfine]

New Taskmaster lineup announcement! That’s fun, isn’t isn't it? Let’s go over some of the new people.

I first learned the news the day after I booked tickets to see Emma Sidi in Edinburgh this summer, so that was good timing. I booked those because I like her in some other people’s Radio 4 things, she was good in Pls Like, she does amusing characters on YouTube, I read some good things about her stand-up show this year for which she’s currently doing WIPs, and she hangs out with Rose Matafeo so she has to be all right, hasn’t she? Oh, and I’ve spent too much time trying to get my hypocrisy-averse brain to reconcile my dislike of the dominance of socio-economically elite institutions over the arts, with how many of my favourite comedians were in Cambridge Footlights. I’ve done the work of reconciling that already, I may as well use it a few more times.

I'm much less pleased about Jack Dee, but it could be worse. I’m pretty strongly biased against Jack Dee because one of the first things I ever saw him do was be on the QI Girls Versus Boys episode, which was the first episode of QI to ever feature two entire women. They had Ronnie Ancona on with Sandi Toksvig, and they discussed gender-based topics, and it was terrible. A lot of Fry-era QI was pretty bad; panel shows got a lot funnier when they invented diversity in 2014. Also Stephen Fry is annoying and Sandi Toksvig should be Prime Minister, but I’m getting off topic here.

The point is that the first time QI had two women on at a time, it was so they could make those two women listen to a bunch of gender essentialist bullshit that they used as answers to the gender-related questions. At one point, Stephen Fry explained that the gender pay gap isn’t real because women play fewer sets than men in professional tennis. One of the questions was “Why are there more men than women on panel shows?”, and I thought the answer would involve one of the 300 levels of casual and institutionalized sexism that women tripped over on the path from making jokes on the playground to getting spots on television comedy shows. Nope. The answer Stephen Fry was looking for was “according to an American study”, audiences don’t find women as funny as they find men.

Through this, Ronnie Ancona in particular did a great job of walking the very thin line between trying to point out a bit of the bullshit, while not being the "argumentative feminist", and being funny at the same time so she’s not a killjoy feminist proving that women aren’t funny. She did this funny riff about female comedians locked in a paddock, and then she went back and forth with Sandi a bit about it, in literally the first moment in QI history of passing the Bechdel test, and Sandi started to say something about how rare and nice it is that she gets to sit next to a woman on a panel show, and Jack Dee interrupted Sandi mid-sentence to ask whether the reason they don’t have more women on panel shows is “once you get them started they don’t shut up”.

Now, obviously he was joking. The gruff, curmudgeonly persona is his thing, and this was meant to be part of that. But he got in a lot of "joke" sexist comments throughout that whole episode, a lot more than anyone else did even though this episode was essentially dedicated to comedic sexism. It doesn’t help that the YouTube comments are full of people unironically agreeing with Jack Dee’s comment that women don't shut up.

I saw this relatively early in my time watching all the long-running panel shows, so that was the lens through which I saw all Jack Dee's other appearances, and maybe because of that bias, I noticed that he interrupted women a lot on panel shows, and picked a lot of inappropriate moments for sexist jokes, often aimed at women in general on an all-male episode, or at the only woman in an episode, always a woman who was used to always being the one woman on panels and hearing jokes like that constantly. But at least when most of the men made those jokes they’d have laugh to suggest they didn’t mean it, Jack Dee would just glare at the women like it was their fault. And yeah, being grumpy is his persona, but he would sometimes break that and have a laugh with the men. Never women.

I don’t even mind a good ironically sexist joke. Honestly, I probably mind them less than I should. I enjoy a lot of comedy where a better feminist than me would reasonably say “irony is not a good enough excuse for how offensive this is”. I know irony is used to mask genuine bigotry and I hate that, but also, if I’m convinced enough that the person isn’t masking genuine bigotry, I can laugh at some pretty harsh stuff. You need to build up some cred before I’ll trust you with sexist jokes. If Nish Kumar went on a panel show and said all women should shut the fuck up, I’ll be pretty sure he’s kidding and it’s all right. But if Jack Dee has enough feminist cred to make those jokes okay, then I sure haven’t heard about it.

Also, Jack Dee showed up on Catsdown a lot and did the grumpy thing similar to Sean Lock, but was much much less funny about it, and yet everyone else on the show treated him like he was hilarious, and that annoyed me. Also, after Sean died, Jack Dee sat in for him as a guest team captain once, doing his significantly less funny version of Sean Lock's shtick (yeah it was probably Jack Dee's shtick first, I don't care), and I had a strong visceral reaction of

All right, that is way more words that I’d meant to write about Jack Dee. Honestly, after all that, he’s probably not that bad. He was mildly funny in Josh Widdicombe’s mildly funny sitcom. I heard some of his recent stand-up recently, and a bit of it made me laugh. I just don’t like him because I saw him on too many panel shows.

Babatunde Aleshe I know almost nothing about, except that he’s supposed to have been particularly good on Off Menu once (I wouldn’t know, don’t do food shows), and sometimes he does reality TV. I’ve seen him on Catsdown and WILTY and Rhod Gilbert’s Growing Pains, where he was never particularly memorable, but he was probably fine. I hope he’s entertaining.

And then there’s seat number five, and that’s sure an interesting one. Of course I'd thought about Rosie Jones as a potential Taskmaster contestant before, but I didn't expect it to happen. Not that I didn't expect them to have any physically disabled people. They've had Jonnie Peacock and Lenny Rush and one of these days they’re definitely going to cast Adam Hills and he’ll win and then Australia will annoyingly pull ahead of Canada in the competition for who has the most UK Taskmaster champions (it’s currently 2-2). But all those people are able to do most of Taskmaster without disability accommodations. I didn't expect them to cast someone who'd need significant accommodation.

Having said that, I was very happy to see they’d proved me wrong and are, in fact, going to do that. I think she’ll be great. There are lots of ways to make Taskmaster accessible – just because I thought they wouldn’t do it doesn’t mean I thought they couldn’t.

Rosie Jones’ style of humour will go great on Taskmaster. Some recent seasons have lacked a bit of spark of contestant interaction in the studio, and Rosie Jones is always going after people. She won’t leave anyone alone, which I think will work great on the show. She can be the chaotic wildcard ball of energy that Taskmaster needs to really get going. And she is very funny. That’ll be great. I'm excited to see her get into it with Greg and Alex as well as the other contestants. And to see her yell at people when anything happens during tasks.

So that’s the new lineup announcement. Have I covered everyone? I think that's all the important stuff. It’s good to have the lineup out there.

[gender-euphowrya]

so is dave chappelle's new special just him rambling about people who aren't him for an hour or sthg

[yessadirichards]

Q&A: Daisy Ridley on fighting the dark side and developing dark comedy

NEW YORK

Daisy Ridley doesn’t want audiences to be misled by the title of her new film, “Sometimes I Think About Dying.”

Her character, Fran, is, actually, quite funny. Fran is a woman content in her mostly solitary life, apart from her co-workers in her chatty office. But when an attraction to a new colleague challenges her to take risks and push through social awkwardness to make a connection.

The film, in theaters now, is directed by Rachel Lambert and co-stars comedian Dave Merheje and several other comedic actors, who improvise watercooler talk to big laughs. )Ridley says she often had to stifle her laughter to stay in character.)

The Associated Press recently spoke to Ridley about finding Fran, reprising her role as Rey in a new “Star Wars” film, and perfecting her death stare. Answers have been edited for brevity and clarity.

AP: The film’s title makes it sound gloomy, but it’s actually a comedy, right?

RIDLEY: There was a lot more humor than anyone is expecting because the title gives a feeling that it’s going to be more of a melancholic sort of feeling. But there is a lot of humor and Fran is pretty funny. But also the world that she lives in is full of vibrancy and the office space is very gregarious and loud and fun, so it’s a nice world for her to live in, even though she is struggling to make connections occasionally.

AP: Fran’s outsider view puts the office setting and people under a microscope — did that amuse you?

RIDLEY: I loved the world and I loved the office but, actually, a lot of that was improvised. Rachel talks about how much she loves working with comedians because there’s such an ease with improvisation. The first scene we filmed was around the table in the conference room, and Rachel just let people fly and it was such a great way to bring everyone together. Fran loves to be at work. She loves her routine. But also she is sometimes a little judgmental of the people around her. So it’s not just that she’s struggling. Sometimes she’s like, “I don’t want to be part of it.” I think it’s very human, like two things can be true at the same time.

AP: You perfected your death stare for the fantasy scenes — was that challenging?

RIDLEY: The beach was cold! And the main thing really was trying not to shiver. So that was “please don’t shiver, please don’t move.” And then lying in the forest was tricky because I had a handful of bugs and it was like icky icky icky.

Thank you for the compliment about my death stare, I don’t know how I managed that well (laughs). It sounds so messed up. An absence of thought, which is obviously a contrast, because I had so much thinking when I was playing her. So in those moments, it was about the absence of any of that and the sort of calm, quiet time.

AP: This was your first time producing — how was that experience?

RIDLEY: It was a generous give of the producer credit (laughs). I did come on early so there was a sense that we all had to hold hands and say, “OK, this is what we’re going to do, and this is how we’re going to do it.” I was asked about various creative things, but Rachel made it so easy. And then from landing in Portland, (Oregon,) I was just an actor. There was no feeling of responsibility — bar from my own performance and being part of a company of people, which was wonderful. But there were a lot of lessons I learned on set because there were a group of people who made the film together and they were very generous with me, talking about budget and scheduling — so that actually facilitated me making my own movie, because I knew what could be done.

AP: Knowing you can’t say much about the new “Star Wars” movie,what excites you most about it?

RIDLEY: I’m excited about the story. I didn’t think it would happen that I would go back now. I thought maybe it would at some point, like in the faraway future. But I think the story is great and will appeal to the people that love it, and people who are maybe not as familiar with it. I think it will be a worthwhile adventure (smiles).

AP: You were so young on the last one; how will this be different?

RIDLEY: I was the baby! Now I feel more like a grown-up. It’s going to be so strange because I’m not going to be the baby anymore. But also, that’s sort of an exciting adventure of like, OK, how is this going to be — a different filmmaker, different writer, different crew, different cast? It will be such its own thing with its own thumbprint on it. It will be interesting.

AP: Who on that set gave you advice or helped you learn about the business?

RIDLEY: I’m the person that is always too embarrassed to ask questions. So I pretend I’m not fussed at all that I’m, like, next to Harrison Ford (laughs)! I think J.J. (Abrams) particularly, I will always think of in such a wonderful way because it’s such an intimate relationship, the one between actor and director, and the one between actor and cameraman. We had this amazing camera operator called Colin and there’s always such protection with the hair and makeup team and the costume team because, again, it’s so intimate. You go in at 5 in the morning and people are in your space, helping guide you and helping you feel ready to be seen eventually on an IMAX (screen). And actors. There was a lot of kindness from all places.

[holden-caulfield]

iii. the twist

main m.list - series m.list

previous chapter - next chapter

summary: jason's life had always revolved around secrets, but some of them are better left uncovered.

pairing: jason todd x reader

warnings: scars mentions, sexual innuendo and jason is a cutie

word count: 1364

It had left Jason quite shocked, to see how she had managed not only to hurt him, but to equal him in fighting. It almost made him regret hurting her. Almost.

But as he had just gotten out of the theater, hand in hand with Y/n, it didn't really matter anymore. He had a day off, thanks to Dick who had agreed to go on patrol for him, and he couldn't envision a better way to spend it than with her.

"Quite depressing, i think." She said, as the two of of them walked away, once again mindlessly in the night.

"Did we watch the same movie?" He asked, bringing his brows together in confusion. "It was a comedy movie, darling."

"I know, what's depressing is that they actually thought it was funny." She said, face blank as she thought back of the movie. "It was like your humor, Jason, awful."

"I'm sorry, i didn't know i was in the presence of the greatest comedian of all time," he said, bringing his hand around her waist and bringing her closer to him, almost flush against his sturdy frame. "Please teach me your ways."

"It's not something you can learn, either you're funny or you're not!" She said, shooting him a defying grin. "And you're not, Jason Todd."

"Full name, huh?" He asked, stopping to look down at her, both his hands now on her waist, squeezing lightly; not enough to hurt her and enough to feel her presence, soak it in, bask in it. "That implies very serious offenses."

"The worst," she said, gazing up at him through her eyelashes; inebriating with every movement of hers. "Think you know of some way to be forgiven?"

He smiled down at her, placing a chaste kiss on her lips; a kiss she immediately deepened, her hands on the nape of his neck, pulling him even closer. He complied, tightening his hold on her waist.

"I think i do, my apartment is not very far, if you're not too tired to walk, m'lady." He said, cockiness dripping from his every word.

She carded her hands through his hair and he swore he could have given in then and there, lost in her just as much as she was lost in him. "I thought comedic royalty such as me didn't need to walk to places."

"Want me to carry you?" He asked, oh so nonchalantly. "But be careful, if i do, i'll become insufferable. I will never shut up about carrying such a pretty girl in my arms, i'm warning you."

"Even more than now? I find it improbable not to say impossible," she said, bringing her head up to kiss him again.

He bit her lip, gently and roughly at the same time, something only he could achieve. "Careful, or i'm gonna prove you wrong."

The door of Jason's apartment opened and it closed even more rapidly as Jason pinned her to it, their lips irrevocably melted together in a searing kiss.

His hands were restlessly traveling her body, hers were pulling him against her, cupping his face with coarse kindness and entangling her fingers in his hair, now a mess.

She moved her hands to rest them on his, guiding him to the hem of her shirt. He pulled away for a brief moment, breaths still mingling together as he looked deep into her eyes, trying to steady his voice. "Are you sure, lovely?"

She looked up at him with that same defiance that characterized her, that glint of challenge that never seemed to leave her. She seemed vulnerable, as he had never seen her, and Jason felt his own barricades tremble slightly in front of her.

"Never been surer, Jay." That was it: Jason didn't need more than three simple words for him to take her up in his arms, lips locking once more as she brought her to his couch; much more comfortable than his door, he reckoned.

He laid her down onto it, placing himself above her and surveying her face once more, just to make sure: make sure she was okay with it, make sure he was too. He could always turn back, he had done so many times before, but it was different, it felt different. Taking the leap with her meant more leaps to come: about his life, his death, his 'job'. And he was scared.

But as he gazed into those eyes, all worries seemed to melt away.

His hands found the hem of her shirt once more, slowly, almost painfully, bringing it up. As he did so, he dragged his calloused hands over the expanse of her stomach, touching every burning inch of skin. He began kissing those lines of skin he was slowly uncovering, finding scars and marks, worshipping them nevertheless; they looked holy on her.

Once the shirt was out of the way, she did the same, tugging at his, begging for it to stop getting in the way. He removed it with a single fluid motion and her hands wandered free: soft and sacred as her whole being, they graced him with her touch, igniting him both inside and out.

He went back to his previous action; he wasn't done. He found her lips as he touched and subconsciously memorized every single inch and curve of her body, a new and sweeter mental image for his lonely patrol nights.

Until he noticed an unusual detail. Unusual and oh so peculiar. It shouldn't have been there.

He stopped what he was doing, eyes clouding with questions; she stopped too. "Jay, what's going on?"

He brought his eyes on her, then on her shoulder where his finger was still mindlessly rubbing; a scar. An all too familiar one; one that looked an awful lot like the one he had caused.

"Jason, is something wrong? Is- are these bugging you?" She asked.

A coincidence, perhaps. But as he looked at her whole body, covered in scars, as he thought of his own, matching hers in a too scary manner, he realized.

His hand flew to her throat on his own accord, squeezing more than he would have liked, but he hadn't control anymore: it was the assassin of the rooftop, with or without longsword.

She looked up at him hurt, and then hurt turned into realization, and with realization came anger. She hooked her legs on his waist, punching him square in the face and gaining enough momentum to roll over the couch, onto the ground. Her hands were now on his throat.

"You are that Red Mask," she said, tone accusatory. He should have been mad, not her.

"Hood," he said, and rolled her over again, but she escaped from his grasp, getting up on her feet with that same velocity he had once seen on the rooftop. "Who do you work for?"

He got up too and started circling her; he knew where his weapons were hidden, he just needed to get close enough.

She looked at him slightly confused, so he asked again. "Who do you work for? Who sent you to kill me?"

Her gaze got progressively more confused and angry. Jason scoffed. "Or is it just personal? I thought we had shared something on that lovely rooftop."

"Blood, that's what we shared," she uttered, eyeing the place, looking for an advantage. "And believe me, if i'd known you were him, i would have steered clear of you."

Now it was Jason's eyebrows that wrinkled together, stopping to look at her. She did the same, but her arms were still up in defense position, ready to strike at any given moment.

"You did not know?"

"I thought it was clear enough i did not know, idiot." She retorted, swiftly grabbing her shirt and putting it on; her voice sounded nothing like the girl she had met in the refrigerated aisle and he wondered if that was all a trick.

But before he could speak again, she took advantage of the apparently still moment, leaping outside the window and into the night. And Jason was left there, alone once more, wondering why every thing he got himself into turned out to be a nightmare.

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[let-it-raines]

CS JJ Day 13: The Spectacular Ms. Swan (1/1)

1959. New York City.

Women aren’t supposed to have their own voices and opinions, and they certainly aren’t supposed to be funny. Emma Swan, however, has a lot of opinions and is damn funny. She also doesn’t care what anyone thinks. 

Except maybe Killian Jones, a comic who has been her supporter since the day she bailed him out of jail after one of his comedy routines. 

Rating: Teen (language mostly)

a/n: I wrote this one-shot last month after watching the Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and told @shireness-says that I was determined to get it finished before my baby showed up, and she said that baby girl would probably show up early out of spite. She didn’t and @shireness-says doesn’t get bragging powers about being prophetic or something. ❤️

Thanks to the admin at @csjanuaryjoy for keeping this GREAT event running!

Found on AO3 | Here |

-/-

It started on accident.

Really, most things in her life do.

There was the getting pregnant at seventeen and then having to get married because it was 1952 and all sins could be forgiven if she was married to the man she slept with.

“He’s a good man,” her mother had said. “A wealthy man. You’ll never have to work a day in your life. Think about the child. Think about your reputation.”

Then there was being a mother and learning that she actually liked it even if she did have things she wanted to do with her life beside spend her days cooking and cleaning and reading every book in existence to Henry until she had to begin making up her own stories to fuel her son’s seemingly never-ending creativity and imagination.

There’s nothing and no one in the world who Emma loves more than Henry, and that will never change.

But he certainly wasn’t in her plan.

Neither was actually falling in love with Neal or enjoying their life together, at least for the first few years. Because, well, he wanted her to be a housewife who always wore heels and measured her waist and her thighs every day to ensure she didn’t gain weight, and Emma much preferred wearing flat shoes and eating a hot dog at a Yankees game instead of a salad at home or some overpriced restaurant. So, of course, like any man who had a wife who didn’t fit into his carefully drawn out lines, Neal wandered away with woman after woman and always came back…to his secretary.

Emma saw them in her bed in the middle of the day, and as much as she had turned a blind eye in the past, she couldn’t do that anymore. She didn’t say anything that day. What she did, instead, was drop Henry off at her parents’ apartment, go to the Rabbit Hole downtown, get drunk off her ass, and then get on stage and tell a room full of strangers the very intimate details of her life.

They laughed.

And laughed and laughed, and a woman sitting in the back of the room came up to Emma with a business card in hand and said to call her tomorrow when she was the slightest bit more sober because she thought Emma had a career in comedy.

So Emma called.

And now, three years later her son is seven, she’s divorced (thank goodness, she thinks, even if her mother is still disappointed in her), and Emma is traveling around the United States as the opening comedic act for the singer Sky Manhattan, which might be the most ridiculous stage name Emma has ever heard.

But she doesn’t care. Not at all. She doesn’t care about stage names or what kind of airplane or train she’s traveling on. She doesn’t care if she’s wearing the newest brand of shoes (she is) or the most on trend dresses (she’s got those too) with a fabulous collection of hats. All she cares about is that she has this thing that’s hers and hers alone. No one can take it from her or threaten to take her to court over it (well, actually they can, but not if she watches her language while on stage) and it’s hers. It’s not because of her parents or her shitty ex-husband who dumped his secretary for a woman who works at the Revlon counter or anyone else.

It’s because she’s damn funny, and she’s accidentally made a career of it.

She’s not making much money and still can’t afford her own place, but it’s a start. Who cares what anyone else thinks?

Oh, she cares about Henry. That’s the one thing she cares about most of all, and if he asked her to give it all up, she would. He’s the only one she’d do that for, and he’s also the only one who wouldn’t ask. Her mother thinks this is worse than getting pregnant out of wedlock, her father happened to walk into a show where she made a joke about her parents’ sex life, and the both of them have repeatedly asked her why she’s doing this and to stop doing this.

Now, they support her, but they also don’t understand. They both come from wealthy families, her mother the heiress to an oil fortune and her father a lawyer, and they’ve never understood why she’d want to go up on stage and tell crude jokes for a living.

(They’re not all crude, but it does happen sometimes. Okay, most of the time. It depends on the venue. But she’s gotten smart about that because jail is not something that appeals to her.)

But this is what she does, and when she’s finished touring, she’s going to fly back to New York, settle into her parent’s five-bedroom apartment in Manhattan, and spend all of the time that she can with her son. Neal never wants to watch him anyway despite his custody threats, so Henry’s always with her parents when she’s gone.

(“It’s not the man’s job to watch his child,” Neal says. “I’ll take him for a beer when he’s old enough.”)

The only bad thing about her job is leaving Henry, but they talk on the phone every night. She’s doing this so she can be happy, like she wants him to be happy when he gets older and is chasing his own dreams, and so maybe one day she can have a little something for herself that she didn’t have handed to her.

“Emma,” Ruby yells out, “be ready in five minutes. And remember today is a clean show, and what’s our number one rule for clean shows?”

“Don’t say ‘fuck.’”

“And our second rule?”

“Don’t say ‘fuck.’”

“You’re a genius, darling,” Ruby sighs, blowing Emma a kiss before walking out of the room with her heels clacking behind her. “And I’m the best manager on the planet.”

That quip was for Sky’s manager to hear, and Emma has to bite her lip to keep from laughing. Whale will kill her if she laughs at that. Or cut her set time in half. Emma would prefer neither, but she guesses dying won’t really be that bad.

-/-

She only says fuck once during her set, it’s a complete accident, and only two people walked out of the restaurant.

Emma would call that a success.

-/-

“With olives please,” Emma tells the bartender, holding up two fingers.

“You know, you can simply order a bowl of olives, and they’ll bring it to you.”

A smile creeps up on Emma’s face, and she swivels in her chair at the sound of a familiar and far too cheeky British accent. “Killian Jones, as I live and breathe.”

“Emma Swan, as I breathe to live.”

“Oof, not one of your best jokes.”

“Wasn’t meant to be.” He leans in to press his lips against her cheek, one side and then the other. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“At a bar in a hotel in Miami? The better question is what are you doing here?”

Killian scoffs and settles down on the barstool next to her, shrugging his suit jacket off and handing it to her. When she raises her brow, he nods down at her lack of sleeves on her dress and all of her pebbled goosebumps. “You’re chilled, and I don’t think your boy will take it well if you freeze to death on my watch.”

“It’s Florida in May. I’m not going to freeze to death. But aren’t you a gentleman?”

“I’m always a gentleman.” He turns away from her quickly and holds up a finger to get the bartender’s attention. “Can you get me a glass of whatever your best rum is and a bowl of olives? And put her drinks on my tab.”

“You are not paying, Jones.”

“I am paying. It’s not often that I see my favorite comedian.”

“You’re full of shit if you say I’m your favorite comedian.”

“Well, if we’re being technical, I’m my own favorite comedian, but I felt that was a little too much to say. I’m trying to be less of an asshole.”

Emma leans her head back and laughs before tugging Killian’s suit jacket around her shoulders. This bar is cold, probably to combat the sweltering heat outside, but she’d never admit that to him.

“I don’t think you can be less of an asshole. Being an asshole is who you are.” The bartender puts their drinks and a bowl of olives in front of them, and Emma immediately pulls the olives off the toothpick in her martini. “I’m the opening act for Sky Manhattan. That’s why I’m here. We’re on tour.”

“What kind of name is Sky Manhattan?”

“It’s his stage name.”

“Fucking dumb stage name.”

“You’re so eloquent with words.”

Killian winks. “That’s why they pay me to talk on television.”

“They pay you to talk on television because you’re funny and you look like a man in every catalog on the shelf at Bergdorf.”

“You flatter me.”

“I try. I want your ego to become so big that your head explodes and you can no longer pop up in random places.” She takes another sip of her drink and leans over to gently push his shoulder. “Seriously. What are you doing in Florida? You live in Manhattan in a fancy apartment.”

“Says the trust fund baby who lives with her parents in their fancy apartment.”

“Hey.”

Killian holds his hands up in mock apology all the while his grin reaches from ear to ear so that his eyes crinkle and the blue of his eyes shines under the dim light of the bar. “I’m working on a show here. It’s only temporary. My contract is up at the end of June, and I’ve had this lovely place to call home for a month already.”

“You’re staying here?”

“Aye.”

“In the land of pastels and peppy waitstaff? Where the bathrooms are pink?”

“It’s a nice change of pace, and since I’m not paying for it, I don’t give a damn.”

“That’s more like you,” Emma laughs, twisting a little further on her stool and leaning into his space. “I’m going to be here for two weeks. Why don’t you come to a show? I think you’ll really like my routine and the guy singing after me is pretty good too.”

“Is that all you have to convince me?”

Her heart picks up its pace as Killian’s hand brushes over her thigh, a light and fleeting touch. “I can get you a free drink and all of the shrimp cocktails you want.”

“I was going to say no, but the shrimp cocktails really do it for me.” He leans in, closer now, and Emma very nearly closes her eyes in anticipation. Of what? She knows, but she won’t even let her mind go there. “I have to run to work. Why don’t you meet me here Saturday night? I’ll take you to dinner and show.”

“I’m working Saturday night.”

“We’ll go after.”

And with that, Killian Jones is throwing cash onto the bar top for a tip and then walking away, leaving his jacket with her.

Damn, she missed him.

-/-

“How was your last day of school, kid?”

“We had cupcakes, and I had two.”

“Two?”

“I wanted three, but Mrs. Horowitz wouldn’t let me have another one.”

“I bet she didn’t want you to spoil your dinner.”

“Cupcakes could have been dinner.”

Emma laughs and stands from her bed, pulling the cord on her phone with her. “Cupcakes are not dinner. Has Grandpa been feeding you cupcakes for dinner?”

“Nope. But he does give me chocolate.”

“Ah, of course he does. I’m going to be home to see you next week before we go to the Catskills for a few days and then I go to Vegas. Are you excited?” There’s no answer on the other end of the line, just a bit of static. “Henry? Kid? Kid?”

“His friend Avery is here, Mrs. Cassidy,” Ashely says over the phone. “He went to play.”

“It’s Swan, Ashley,” Emma huffs. She doesn’t want to snap at Ashely because she’s a sweet girl and helps with Henry far more than she should as her parents’ housekeeper. “Neal and I are divorced, and I changed my last name to my middle name.”

“I have to go, Mrs. Cassidy,” Ashely mumbles. “The boys are climbing on your father’s bookshelves.”

At that, there’s no one on the other end of the line, and Emma doesn’t get the chance to speak to her parents or tell Henry she loves him.

This is her life.

-/-

“Ruby Lucas, I am not going on a date with someone you met today.”

“Why not? He’s from New York, is here on a trip, and he’s cute. I think it could be a good match, and it’s been so long since you dated, which is different than sex, mind you.” “I’ve been divorced for two years and on the road for most of that. I don’t think many men want to date a divorced mother who is a stand-up comedian. Half of them think I’m a witch.”

“That’s because men are idiots.” “And yet you want me to date one?”

“One date,” Ruby sighs, slipping on her heels and smoothing out her skirt. “He’s got money, and he knows people who can sponsor you. Think of it as a business dinner and not a date.” “Well, I can do business dinners, but I can’t tonight. I’ve got plans after the show.”

“The dinner is before the show. What the hell do you have going on after the show? I don’t have anything booked for you.”

Emma turns from Ruby and fixes her blouse, tucking it in before raising her finger and brushing away the red lipstick that’s strayed to her skin. “Killian Jones is in town. He’s taking me to dinner.”

“Ah.”

“What?”

“Well, if you’d told me the man you were sleeping with was in town, I would have changed the date of your dinner with Walsh despite me thinking you need to go on more actual dates and not just sexual rendezvous.”

“I am not sleeping with Killian.” “Please. You can lie to me about a lot of things, but I know when you’re fucking someone.”

“I have never slept with him.” She turns around so Ruby can see her eyeroll. “He’s a friend. He helps me with my routines when we’re in the same city, and he sends Henry an absolutely useless gift at least three times a year. So we’re going to dinner to catch up, and maybe I’ll get some new material for you.”

“I wouldn’t care about new material if you’d fuck Jones.”

“I’m going to fire you as my manager.”

“Never, darling. Now, tits up. You’re meeting Walsh Osbourne in the bar at six. Sweet talk him until you get a meeting for some commercial auditions.”

“I’m doing this for commercial auditions?” “We’re doing this to get our foot in the door for television. You can’t hop straight to one of the variety shows your lover Jones is on.”

“I will stab you with my heel.”

-/-

“Yeah, my son is really into baseball. I got him some tickets to the batting cage and a new bat for Christmas. He – ”

“You’re not funny,” Walsh mumbles after interrupting her in the middle of her answer to his question about what her son is interested in. “I thought you were supposed to be funny. What’s the point of dating you if you’re not funny? I knew women couldn’t be comedians and that you were just a nice piece of ass and a good pair of tits.”

It takes two seconds for Emma to pick up her glass of wine and slosh it across the table at Walsh. She’s been sitting at this table for fifteen minutes, and she doesn’t plan on sitting here any longer.

“Fuck you.”

“You’re also apparently a bitch,” Walsh spits out as she stands. “I have connections, and you can say goodbye to all of them.”

“I don’t need the connections of a sexist pig who doesn’t think women are capable of being funny. I can guarantee you, Mr. Osbourne, that we are, and if you take offense to women not laughing at your jokes or not telling their own jokes all the time, maybe you should look in the mirror and figure out that you’re the one who couldn’t tell a joke to save his life.” “Fuck you. I hope your performance is a failure tonight.” “It’ll certainly be better than yours.”

-/-

She kills it in her set. She’s fucking spectacular and funny, and everyone who thinks otherwise can screw themselves.

Everyone who thinks she has to spend her days only being funny and coming up with jokes can screw themselves as well.

-/-

She sees Killian slip out right before she closes and introduces Sky.

-/-

“Was I funny?” Emma asks, tugging Killian’s suit jacket around her shoulders. She was going to give it back to him tonight, but it’s chilly again. Plus, he’s wearing a different fitted black suit tonight, and he doesn’t need it back right now.

“Pardon?” “How’d you like my set? I know you were watching.” “Was I?” he ponders, tapping his finger against his lips. “I wouldn’t know.”

“You’re being an ass, and you said you were trying to stop that.”

His brows move across his forehead, that same cheeky smile still on his lips. “I may have been there.”

“And what’d you think?”

“Buy me dinner first, and then I’ll tell you.”

They go to a restaurant that doesn’t seem to believe in white-colored light bulbs or volume limits, and Emma loves it. A band is constantly playing, dancers moving around the floor, and the steak she has is quite possibly the best steak she’s ever had.

Killian Jones has always known how to plan an evening and pick out a restaurant.

“Shall we dance?” he questions as Emma leans back into her chair, absolutely full even if she feels lighter than she has in quite some time.

“What?”

“Dance with me, Swan.”

“I don’t dance.”

Killian stands and holds his hand out for her, blue eyes sparkling even under all of the colored lights. “All you need is a partner who knows what he’s doing.” “And you do?”

“Of course, love. I’m an expert in…movements.”

Emma rolls her eyes, but she takes his hand anyway and melts into the warmth of him as his fingers curl around her palm. “That wasn’t your best work. You’re slacking lately.”

If he responds, she has no idea. The music is too loud already, and it gets louder when they move closer to the band. The songs have been fast and upbeat all night, and yet the moment they start to dance, it changes into something soft, slow. It’s probably for the best. Emma really doesn’t know how to dance (or sing) despite everything asking her why she isn’t a dancer when she tells them she’s a comedian, and she’s pretty much got two left feet out here. So she places one hand more firmly in Killian’s, another around his neck, and they sway back and forth.

It’s not proper how close they are, body pressed tightly against body, but she’s never cared for proper.

She’s never cared for rules and expectations, and while that stung when Neal told her that was one of the reasons he strayed from their marriage, she knows that nothing he says is anything she should listen to.

It’s okay if he strays from the conventional path sleeping with her without them being married and going off and fucking his secretary, but the moment she doesn’t want to cook a ham every night, she’s the one who’s too wild.

He never thought she was funny either. That should have been the first sign.

“I’ve been thinking, love.” “I never like when you do that.”

“Yes, yes you do.”

Killian hums and turns them in a circle, his hand sliding lower on her back. “What were you thinking, Jones?”

“You’ve made comments about my jokes being off, and I don’t know…I suppose I don’t feel the need to be funny around you, and it’s nice. There’s not all that – ”

“Pressure? Expectation? The need to always be thinking two steps ahead?”

“Exactly. As much as I like bantering with you and coming up with new material, I like that I can talk about whatever the hell I want without worrying that I’m being too boring.”

Emma looks up at him and sees his soft smile and blue eyes she finds more charming by the minute. “I like that I don’t have to be funny with you, too.”

“Good.”

-/-

“So, quite the nice night.”

“I’m pretty sure it’s five in the morning.”

“Ah, well,” Killian sighs, waving his hand out to the ocean and the few boats moving over it. The sun isn’t rising, not quite yet, and she can still see the stars twinkling in the sky. “We haven’t gone to bed yet, so I still consider it night.” “Well, if you consider it to be night, how can I deny that?”

“You can’t. Where’s your room?”

“Fifth floor. Where’s yours?”

“Seventh.”

They walk in companionable silence until they find the outdoor staircase that leads to their rooms. Emma’s heels are in her hand, have been for the past few hours, but her feet still ache. She should have changed into her flats after the show, but she didn’t stop to think before heading to meet Killian at the bar. Suddenly, they’re standing on the fifth floor, two doors down from her room, and then they’re there standing on either side of her hotel door.

Killian blinks, and Emma blinks back, not sure whether to speak or to search for her keys. She might be too tired to think coherent thoughts. She also might not want this night to end. It’s the first time in a long time where she hasn’t spent hours trying to impress someone, and if she goes to bed, that’ll be over.

(She doesn’t want it to be over.)

(She wants just this one thing, this one night.)

“You’re staring.” “So are you.”

“Well, I do have a particularly pretty face, love.”

She scoffs and rolls her eyes, leaning against the wall and closer to Killian. “Are you going to tell me what you thought of my act now?”

Leaning closer, Killian brushes his hand over her forearm and up her shoulder until he’s tucking her hair behind her ear. A shiver runs down her spine, working its way into her bones, and her skin pebbles. “You were fucking spectacular, Ms. Swan.”

Emma’s cheek blush, and since she can’t look into the ridiculous blue of Killian’s eyes, she digs for her keys in her clutch and pulls it out, sticking it into the lock. The door swings open, the bed immediately in sight, and Emma feels Killian’s intake of breath. She also feels him stepping away.

It’d be so easy to ask him to come inside and ask him to unzip her dress and untie his tie until they’re both undressed and panting against each other, but it’s also just as easy to step inside without him, right?

Right.

(Maybe not just this one thing on this one night.)

“Goodnight, love,” Killian tells her. “I’ll ring you when I’m back in New York.”

“Henry and I will both be waiting.”

-/-

Neal calls her when she’s in Las Vegas two weeks later to tell her that she’s a horrible mother.

He’s seen his son once (for an hour) in the past month, and he lives ten minutes from him.

Emma has seen Henry three times, one of which was for four days in the Catskills, and she’s traveling the country on tour.

She is not a horrible mother, and she will not let Neal’s voice get in her head. Not anymore.

One more month of this, and then she’s home for two months before they go to Europe for the rest of the tour. She can do two weeks in Las Vegas and two more in Palm Springs.

She can.

-/-

Killian sends her a postcard from New York in the beginning of July.

I’m back in New York. Your boy has already convinced me to take him to a Yankees game. I’m sure we’ll be on our fourth visit by the time you get this.

I promise I’ll try not to corrupt him while you’re gone.

Killian’s an asshole.

But a good asshole.

(And maybe he’s not really an asshole at all.)

-/-

“Ah, that sweet smell of urine and concrete,” Ruby sighs as their taxi pulls in front of Emma’s apartment building. “I’ve missed you.”

“There’s been urine and concrete in all of the places we’ve been.”

“It’s not the same, and you know it.”

“I know, I know.” Emma leans over and kisses Ruby’s cheeks. “It’s been fun, my friend, but I don’t want to see your face for at least a week, okay?”

“I don’t want to see your face for two weeks.”

“Then we have an agreement.”

Emma laughs as she exists the car and motions for the doormen to come and get her bags. She definitely has far too many of them for as much as she doesn’t care about clothes, hers seem to keep expanding. She takes one suitcase and a hatbox and quickly walks into the building and to the elevator, and the operator hits the button for her floor. She’s bouncing with excitement, her feet nearly coming out of her shoes, and she’s so close to Henry she might buzz right out of her skin.

“Mom,” he yells when she opens the apartment door. Emma drops her bag and her box and bends down until Henry is running into her arms. “You’re home.”

“Yeah, kid,” she whispers, cupping the back of his head. “I’m home.”

-/-

“My mother wants me to meet a man.”

“Excuse me?”

Emma brushes past Killian into his apartment, and she lets out the low whistle she always lets out every time she’s here. Whereas her apartment is filled with antiques and furniture that can’t be sat on (thanks Mom and Dad), Killian’s apartment is sleek and modern. It’s all clean lines and black and white decorations with little pops of blue. It’s a man’s apartment, and she’s always loved it.

Plus, the view of the Hudson is spectacular.

“I never wanted to be a woman whose entire life revolved around cooking, cleaning, and waiting for their husband to get home to not acknowledge any of that,” Emma rants, kicking off her shoes and immediately walking to his liquor cabinet. She can’t reach the shelf with all of his good stuff, but there’s a cheap bottle of rum just within her reach. “My mom seems to think that I need a husband to rein me in from my ‘rebellious’ phase.”

“You had a husband. You hated being married.”

“I didn’t hate being married. I hated being married to him.” “Ah.” “What?”

“Well, there’s a difference?”

“Yes, there’s a difference! I imagine being married doesn’t suck if you like the person you’re married to and if he doesn’t sleep with every woman he meets.” She pours both she and Killian a tumbler of rum and hands him his glass. He eyes her but doesn’t say anything. Instead, he tilts the glass to his lips and takes a large gulp. “I just…I don’t know why my mom thinks it’s imperative for me to get married again.”

She walks over the couch and curls her legs underneath her while Killian sits in on the other side, propping his feet up on the coffee table. “How old are you?”

“Twenty-five.”

Killian clicks his tongue again, and she’s never noticed how much ginger is in his beard before now. “Well, you’re basically an old maid.”

Emma kicks her foot out at him. “You’re the worst.”

His lips curl into a smirk. “I am undeniably the greatest. And look, your mum is old-fashioned. She doesn’t get why you wouldn’t want to marry just anyone or why you want to spend your days traveling around the world making dick jokes. The one about his dick being so big it was a Richard was inspired, by the way, even if I did know that it was inspired by me.”

“I will stain your white rug with my drink.”

“I’ve got a very nice woman named Greta who knows just how to get that out.”

“Who knew being crude on late night television paid so well as to have a Greta?”

“You did, Swan,” he laughs, taking another sip of his drink before placing it on a coaster. “But back to your mother.” Emma rolls her eyes, but Killian pays her no attention. “She thinks the way to happiness is being married to a nice man and having him provide for you. You have to let her know that you don’t want another Neal or someone you’re only with because it’s proper. You want someone who you love and who lights that fire in your soul that you don’t want to be put out.”

“Someone who I don’t feel the need to be funny around.”

“Yeah,” Killian says slowly, a red blush dusting his cheeks, “someone who you don’t feel the need to be funny with, someone you don’t have to put on an act around.”

There’s always been something about Killian Jones that has unsettled her and yet made her feel comfortable. The night they met she had to bail him out of jail because one of his performances was deemed too crude by the police presence in the bar, and they’ve been circling around each other ever since. He’s wormed his way into her life, and she never really noticed. It’s been in short conversations and trading jokes at a bar, but then it was getting together for dinner and him taking Henry to Yankees games. It was dancing in clubs and almost, almost, almost asking him to come into her hotel room.

It was having him know her better than anyone else knows her.

Slowly, Emma rises from her spot on the couch and walks over to Killian, pressing down and placing her knees on either side of his thighs before she raises her hand and thumbs at the scar on his cheek while her other hand brushes his hair back. Killian blinks up at her, his mouth no longer smirking. Instead, he’s softly smiling at her, and Emma feels a long-forgotten flurry in her stomach.

“Emma – ” She leans forward until her forehead presses against his and until her nose is nudging against his. Killian’s hands are warm against her waist, and she feels it all the way down to her bones, seeping deep within her. “What do you think you’re doing, sweetheart?”

“Being with someone I want to be with, someone who I don’t have to put on an act with.”

His lips are soft and gentle, a fluttering of a movement against her own, and it’s the exact opposite of what she thought kissing Killian would be like. She thought, if anything, they’d be drunk and stumbling across the room, clothes falling to the ground and lips not marking their intended target. She thought her mind would be too fuzzy to think.

That’s not at all what’s happening.

All she can think about is how much she’s wanted this, even if she didn’t realize it but in fleeting moments after nights of alcohol, and how natural it feels to have his scruff burn her chin and to have his lips caress hers.

This is good.

This is a fire she would never want to put out.

“You’re not going to regret that and talk about it in your act, are you?” Killian chuckles while kissing the corner of her cheek and then her jaw, his lips like magic.

“Regret it? No. Put it in my act? Absolutely. I’m not sure how I’m going to make it funny, though,” she sighs, pressing herself further into him, “because there’s nothing funny about this.”

“No, love, I don’t think there is.”

-/-

She wakes up the next morning to Killian kissing her bare skin and whispering words to her that have chills running down her spine.

They go to a Yankees game with Henry, and Killian buys far too much ice cream, not that Henry would complain. Not the Emma would either. She’s too damn happy for any of that.

And he doesn’t judge her for eating a hot dog.

-/-

All Killian wants for Emma is to be happy and live life how she’s always dreamed of living her life, not by whatever standards are expected for her.

Oh, and to keep on being the spectacular Ms. Swan.

(It’s Mrs. Jones now, but the stage name of Ms. Swan has a nice ring to it.)

(She keeps on being damn funny.)

-/-

-/-

Tag list: @csjanuaryjoy​ @stahlop @shardminds @carpedzem @captainsjedi  @galaxyzxstark @thejollyroger-writer @kmomof4 @tiganasummertree @xellewoods @idristardis @karenfrommisthaven @shireness-says @scientificapricot @captswanis4vr @a-faekindagirl @ultimiflos @jamif @dreameronarooftop15 @nikkiemms @resident-of-storybrooke  @bmbbcs4evr @onceuponaprincessworld @jennjenn615 @mayquita @teamhook @kmomof4 @ekr032-blog-blog @superchocovian @ultraluckycatnd @cs-forlife @andiirivera @qualitycoffeethings @jonirobinson64 @mariakov81 @spartanguard @snowbellewells @hollyethecurious (because we talked about it yesterday...let Lenny live 😉)

[womenofcolorincomedy]

The Rise of Nicole Byer

Nicole Byer is an actor, writer, and comedian originally from New Jersey. She is perhaps best known to audiences for her work on Nailed It! (Netflix), MTV’s Girl Code, and Loosely Exactly Nicole (Facebook). While I am no biographer I am a huge Nicole Byer fan and look to her as a source of inspiration. The following is pieced together based off of what I’ve learned about Nicole from her podcast Why Won’t You Date Me? If any of the following sounds inaccurate please let me know in the comments.

Nicole first trained at AMDA, which she lovingly refers to as SCAMDA (lol lol lol) in acting. She then moved to New York City and studied and performed at the Upright Citizen’s Brigade (UCB) before moving to Los Angeles, where you can watch her perform Tuesdays at UCB Franklin in Search History. 

As a student at the UCB in LA I always looked up to Nicole. She’s not only a dynamic powerhouse of a performer, she’s kind and thoughtful. And a hustler. Nothing stopped her from going for her goals and as a result of her hard work she’s a homeowner in LA (um, yeah, props to that) and makes a very good living doing comedy. Let’s take a closer look to learn how she got to where she is.

Nicole’s journey to where she is now is an untraditional one for stand up comics. Most stand up comics believe the only way to get noticed in the entertainment industry is through the open mic route. Now don’t get me wrong, there is a lot of benefit to doing open mics, but let’s be honest ladies: open mic settings can be daunting because you will be outnumbered by the men. It’s even more isolating when you’re a woman of color because of the lack of diversity, inclusion, and support. 

What I love about Nicole’s story is that she found a way to bypass the open mic route and go straight to becoming a PAID stand up comic who regularly travels to perform. And the way she did this was by being willing to learn a new skillset. Her improv and acting training, along with her hard work, is what helped Nicole get her first big break on MTV’s Girl Code. This exposure to new audiences is what got her in the door as a comic and it’s because she won audiences over on Girl Code. Up until this point she was just an improvisor and never considered herself a stand up comic. At her agent’s request, she taught herself how to write and tell jokes so that her agent could get her more work, thus bypassing the open mic route that many people think is the only one available to them. Her web series Loosely Exactly Nicole, which can be viewed on Facebook, also helped her reach new audiences. What this means is that regular ol’ folks got to know her first through her work on TV, and because she did such a great job of winning audiences over she created a demand for her own live shows. In this day and age, and thanks to the awful reputation of many male comics (have you read the New York Times lately?), it is more difficult to convince regular audience members to go see a live stand up show these days when the comics performing are people they’ve never heard of. But a recognizable face that has already proven to make you laugh in the comfort of your own home is a powerful way to motivate real fans to buy a ticket to see you live. 

There is so much we can all take away from Nicole’s story. For one, all comedy training is valuable but it’s what you as an individual put into it that will get you ahead. To be a working comic you have to approach this as a business. No one is gonna come pluck you up from an open mic, give you your own show, and make you a star. YOU make yourself a star. YOU put the work into yourself in developing the product you are trying to sell (your comedic self). At the end of the day, this is a business. An agent’s job is to get you work because that’s how they make their livelihoods, and you should want an agent that works for you like their rent depends on it because that’s the kind of ally you need in this business. Nicole admits to being hesitant about starting stand up comedy because she never considered herself a stand up comic. I think a lot of us, myself included, think of stand up comedy as its own thing and maybe this stems from the fact that women of color simply don’t see themselves in mainstream stand up comedy. The ones we do see only made it because they are the exception. But when you have an agent who wants to get you more work, you need to do what Nicole did: learn a new skill set. A lot of people give up on learning after they graduate high school and/or college, but the reality is you need to be a life long learner NO MATTER WHAT YOU DO WITH YOUR LIFE. But especially so in comedy, you need to be willing to learn so that you can grow. Comedians are artists, too, and artists evolve. 

The other significant take away from Nicole’s story is the role of social media and the internet in her success. If we didn’t have the internet we’d probably have no idea who Nicole even is. The reality is online streaming platforms and podcasting are providing opportunities to under represented voices in a way that traditional television and comedy clubs are incapable of doing unless there is a radical overhaul in leadership. Internet platforms are more inclusive, diverse, and accessible to both content creators and audiences. Who doesn’t have a smartphone these days? And who doesn’t consume a great deal of content on these tiny little computers? 

What I’m urging anyone to do, but especially women of color pursuing comedy, is to create your own content. Don’t wait for someone to choose you, choose yourself. Make a web series where you star in it and involve the people you want to work with. Start a podcast. Start a blog. Find creative and inventive ways to share your comedic point of view. But most importantly, invest in your product. Be willing to invest in yourself by taking classes, by outworking everyone around you, by taking care of yourself. If you approach this as a business and you think of yourself as a product (but not in an objectifying way) you will attract like-minded people to help you sell your product because everyone stands to make some money that way. We live in a capitalist society and everything revolves around the Benjamin’s, so be a business woman/person. That’s what will set you apart from the rest who merely spend their time day dreaming about the glamour and fame but never take meaningful action to manifest the life of their dreams. Be bold, be different, be you.

In closing, I’d like to quote the wise words of Jerry Springer, the talk show host: take care of yourself and each other. 

To learn more about Nicole Byer and her work visit her website:

https://www.nicolebyerwastaken.com

[realsmileyclown]

What is a Clown's Purpose?

One of the most important questions a person can ask is what is their purpose. This can be more general in life or more specifically for a job.For a job to be done to the best way possible it is highly helpful to know the purpose of the job. Sometimes a true purpose is not easily understood. Now that I have achieved the look of a real clown my next goal is to develop the skills needed to fullfill a clown’s purpose but the problem is what is it? 

If I were to ask the majority of people what a clown’s purpose is I feel like they would say it is to make people laugh. This is a decent answer and makes sense to say but the problem is that this doesn’t say how to make them laugh. Do clown’s make people laugh through any means or is their purpose to use a more specific type of skill to make people laugh. For example Comedians make people laugh through telling jokes/funny stories while actors in comedies make people laugh through their reactions to funny situations. So how are clown’s supposed to achieve laughter?

Asking someone who is well versed in clowning or theatre might tell you they achieve this through physical comedy, as I have talked about somewhat before. This is provides a much better idea of how clowns can make people laugh as one can look up physical comedy and learn how to use it. However anyone who knows anything about clowns knows that lots of clowns use things other than physical comedy to make people laugh. They do things such as juggle, ride unicycles and make balloon art.

The problem is that I wouldnt consider those things as physical comedy or even comedy in general, although you can certainly make them fit into skits that are physical comedy but thats not always the case. They do show us something else though and that is that they all require motion and feature motion as the main focus. Riding,juggling and twisting is what makes those acts special not the item itself. Knowing this I believe we are ready to have a decent purpose for clowns that can keep those who wish to be clowns on the right track without limiting them.

The purpose of a clown is to make people laugh through the motion of their bodies.

This definition no longer subjects them to only doing comedy but allows them to use their body to do anything as long as it produces laughter/smiles. It even explains clown outfits as they make it easier to see the body motions like big shoes show off feet motions better.

Physical Comedy is just one expression of this purpose where they move their body in a comedical way.

Now that I have a better idea about the purpose of my clowning I can create a gameplan to better myself at that purpose.

My Plan is to work on a few thinhs at a time before moving onto another task. I want to learn:

Juggling Clubs

Riding a Unicycle

And filming a short solo clown skit

These will help me gain more control over my body motions and using those skills in a skit along with physical comedy will hopefully make you laugh! Keep an eye out for those.

Hopefully if you are thinking about becoming a clown this discussion will help your journey as well! Please see photos below as examples.

Extra reference photos:

Clown shoes to exaggerate foot motions and movement in general.

Clown skit involving ballons. Shows you can combine multiple things associated with clowns.

[takakurukuru]

what’s a takaku?

if you want to find out, you've come to the right place! i don't think there's too much to explain, really, but I'll do my best to cover anything that might be pertinent! just hmu if you have any questions that i didn't answer here and i'll come up with an answer no problem

would i know takaku?

it's pretty likely that if your oc has ever looked up clips of comedians or comedy shows, they've come across something of takaku's purely by chance! there's also the possibility that they've just been following her comedic stylings, visited her website, or even attended one of her shows! they're fairly spaced out in the country - there are more shows in and near-ish the capital, but it's entirely possible that there's been a performance outside of that! if you want your oc to have attended a show but aren't sure of where, just hmu!

can i ship with takaku?

you can try, but watch out

takaku's pretty laid-back about that kind of thing! although i personally don't know if they have a particularly 'shippable' personality? but i, too, have learned from thinking 'they'll never ship with anyone' so really, who knows! there's a decent chance they won't like anyone back though. they’re not a super romantic person.but if you're ever feelin' it, by all means just let me know so i can figure out some stuff about reciprocation or lack thereof (does that sound bad to say? i hope it doesn't.)

can i not be bullied by this clown?

part of takaku’s gig is being mean sometimes! it certainly doesn’t stem from a place of malice, but finding ways to pick people apart is sort of just... part of what they do. the whole lampooning thing can be a bit much. for the MOST part, they won’t do it without being given express permission first, but on the chance that they do start with that and you’re uncomfortable with what they’re saying please let me know! if someone requests that they stop IC, they’ll respect that, and if you let me know OOC then i’ll dial it back too! it’s no big deal, that part of the act can be adjusted as necessary!

can i draw takaku?

absolutely you can if you want to! the only thing that i really ask that anyone ask about first is like, nsfw stuff, but i don’t think that’s going to come up so! yeah! thank you for reading all these words about this jester

[justreviewingokay]

D.C. Beetlejuice Review

Let me cut to the chase.  I know what you’re gonna ask, is Beetlejuice “good”?  Now I have a very complicated answer, but I will say this: if a Tim Burton styled stage show is what you’ve always wanted, then should probably be off to see it as soon as you can.  Hold your sandworms, I’m not done yet.  Beetlejuice may be a visual masterpiece, but it is also a work in progress.  If you’re looking for more than high caliber Broadway comedy actors and half-baked humor, it may be better to wait and see what the move to the Winter Garden Theatre has in store for us.  

Now for the complicated answer.  If spoilers aren’t your thing, turn back now, for the surprises of Beetlejuice are extremely rewarding.

Making it Beetlejuice’s given job to usher the dead into the netherworld is an excellent addition to the character, except there isn’t very much character to begin with.  The opening makes the blind mistake of relying on the audience already knowing who Beetlejuice is.  A newcomer to the show might find him confusing or vague.  “The Whole Being Dead Thing” is an explosively entertaining number where BJ bashes some funeral goers.  Cutting in half way is Lydia mourning with “Invisible”.  Although the long arm gag is good and the bus driver costume from the film is much appreciated, the big B is introduced all too soon. The buildup is killed rather quickly and consequently, the anticipation.  Alternatively, since the scene starts off with a dirge, Lydia could plunge right into “Invisible” with Beetlejuice popping out of the casket and delivering the brilliant line “a ballad already?” The audience cheers as he climbs out and begins “The Whole Being Dead Thing”, uninterrupted.   Act One’s pacing is quite tangled, so this jumpy establishing song is important.  Alex Brightman is an absolute tour de force and does his best with the often immature dialogue.  It’s obvious that Brightman is doing a good job of balancing the voice, but it’s still a bit much when he’s singing.  His vocal talents are betrayed in this respect and some of the lyrics are hard to understand because of it.  

The Maitlands are brilliantly portrayed by green clad Rob McClure and Kerry Butler, known for Something Rotten! and Little Shop of Horrors, respectively.  “Ready, Set, Not Yet” is funny, but far too frantic to be endearing. Contrary to the writers’ belief, Adam and Barbara can be thoroughly lame and likeable simultaneously.  In the following scenes one could argue that too many pelvic thrusts are performed.  The scene progression is quite choppy, with so many reprises that one wonders if the song ever ended in the first place.  “Fright of their Lights” has a weird 1980’s sound and it has a great joke where Adam informs BJ that they can still hear him, with BJ responding “Well that was a soliloquy, so you’re the one being rude.”  BJ’s interactions with them are typically crass, but not in a clever adult way, an almost childish mentality instead.  Many of the jokes end with an unnecessary “F You,” which often feels like it’s only there to keep children out of the theatre.

The show really begins to pick up when the Deetz family begin to move in and Lydia sings “Dead Mom,” easily one of the best numbers. Sophia Anne Caruso plays the iconic goth girl in a way that doesn’t leave you cringing at all.  As the show progresses, Lydia upstages everyone.  An odd thing to note though, Lydia comes downstairs to dinner wearing a yellow dress to confuse her dad, which is exactly what Wednesday Addams does in the Addams Family Musical.  

Slapstick is the name of the game, considering BJ himself isn’t given many witty lines in the first act.  The sight gags are what work best, so you’d assume that the iconic Day-O scene would be the hit.  Instead of ascending to a new level of ridiculousness, it stays at relatively the same length.  A puppet roasted pig is added to the song which is funny by itself, but they didn’t stop there.  The pig’s male organ begins to invade Delia’s personal space.  Leslie Kritzer (a delightful scene stealer) appeared to be having troubles realistically interacting with it, awkwardly thrusting herself into the pig’s appendage for the remainder of the song.  Even though it garnered some laughs, initially it was a distraction from more clever effects such as the shrimp hand.  This is a perfect example for most jokes in the show; something clever is undermined by something vulgar.  They say a funny person can make a good joke, but a comedian can take it to the next level.

Act Two is significantly better than the first, giving the ghost with the most just the right edge.  “That Beautiful Sound” is my personal favorite, showing off the comedic prowess of Beetlejuice and Lydia as a pair, only seen before during “Say My Name.” Casting actual teenagers as the girl-scout and Lydia was a great move, considering the big concern among fans after the misfires in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

“Children We Didn’t Have” is a wonderfully somber piece, (beautifully sung I might add) but would have made a larger impact if the audience had learned to see the Maitlands in a more positive view throughout the first act. If any song is to be removed, I hope that this one survives instead.  

Otho’s lines aren’t too brilliant, but luckily for them, they’ve got Kelvin Moon Loh to deliver.  Brief as the character is in this version, Kelvin’s comedic talents make the scenes memorable.  His days on SpongeBob SquarePants especially prove that he deserves a bigger spotlight.  

“Everything is Meh” by Boy Inferno is quite brilliant considering… well… boy bands are dead.  The netherworld has a well-designed look and the characters are quite faithful to the film, including Mrs. Juno Shoggoth exhaling smoke through her neck, Miss Argentina, a shrunken headed hunter, (the effect works surprisingly well) and that one guy who appears to have been run over.  “Running Away” has a nice tune to it and its enjoyable right up until the “woah-oh’s” start off.  This trope feels almost anachronistic and quickly evokes the desire to attempt Miss Argentina’s “little accident” on yourself.  It does end up being a good moment though, with character development for Lydia and Charles.  

The ending is hilarious and pretty unexpected. Beetlejuice’s exit is somewhat delayed though; every time you think he’s done, he turns around and delivers another cheesy one-liner.  BJ being carried off into the netherworld was quite enough. Even though it doesn’t really make sense, (does Lydia somehow have a karaoke record?) it is indeed surprisingly pleasing to hear the cast sing “Jump in the Line”… and the levitation effect is flawless.    

In fact, probably the best aspect of the show is special effects and scenic design.  David Korins has done an absolutely astounding job of fulfilling Tim Burton’s vision, all while presenting his own take.  Michael Curry’s puppet design is not to be missed, with smooth movement and grand scale. Enough cannot be said about the visual aptitude of Beetlejuice.

The music by Eddie Perfect is ironically not… perfect.   Sorry.                                Rock and Roll style ballads may be a good choice for the musical, but a few things it still lacks.  Remnants of Danny Elfman’s original score are always welcome and can be heard during some cues.  After all, the music is half of what makes Beetlejuice feel like Beetlejuice. Thankfully, the keys and trumpets are pretty prominent in Perfect’s score, which helps greatly to set the tone. It’s important to mention that one thing is missing… strings.  Violins are either utilized very little or are nonexistent.  Sound design should be looked in to, most of the time the music overpowers the voices or the voices hide the music.  Even though I have no hearing problems whatsoever, the lyrics were frequently hard to understand.  (I do realize that this could entirely be the National Theatre sound system’s fault) When you come down to it, the music needs beefing up. Giving it a fuller, more orchestral sound to complement the rock instruments is the exact way to accomplish this.  (See Hans Zimmer, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Kansas, or Foreigner with the David Eggar Orchestra)

Overall, Beetlejuice is a spectacular show with immense potential.  That fact is, frankly, quite enough to satisfy considering it could have been a huge misstep, similar to the fate of Moulin Rouge.  With the fabulous cast and crew carrying it through, Beetlejuice could be an absolute Broadway hit in the making.

We’ll see at the Winter Garden Theatre on April 25th, 2019.  

[annarosewriting]

Comedy’s an Aphrodisiac

I don’t ask for a lot in life. I want a nice apartment. I want to make enough money so I can pay my bills on time and be able to travel. I want a job that doesn’t make me want to die. And I want a partner that enjoys the comedic stylings of Bo Burnham and John Mulaney. 

That seems like a super low requirement and honestly, I’ve learned to not get my hopes up too high for men, BUT this is important to me. Comedy is my favorite way to get to know people. When my sense of humor clicks with someone else’s, my heart grows three sizes and I feel all warm and fuzzy inside. It’s also at that moment that I pledge my undying allegiance to them right then and there. 

I believe that what an individual thinks is funny is a big indicator as to who they are as a person. 

Everyone’s humor changes and grows over time. When I was younger, I thought (and I can’t believe I’m typing these words and incriminating myself like this) those “U Mad” memes were the HEIGHT of comedy.

But now that I’m older and wiser my humor has aged like a shitty wine from Walmart and now I think jokes about wanting to perish because of capitalism are the funniest things I’ve ever heard in my life. 

I’m now realizing this may be startling to some people but The Point I’m trying to make is, your sense of humor changes as you grow and mature. Or not mature in some cases. 

Here’s the thing, I’ve come to realize that my favorite kind of comedy is the kind that’s not offensive. And to everyone who’s already taking a deep breath in to bellow that “IT CAN’T BE DONE” please go watch any of John Mulaney’s stand up or Brooklyn 99. 

Racist jokes, sexist jokes, jokes about the LGBTQ community, jokes about how your wife is a nag and jokes about fat people can go right into the dumpster where they belong and need to stay. If the only way comedians can be funny is by tearing other people down then I have some news for them, find a different job because they’re not good at their current one. 

Being funny while not being offensive takes time. It takes practice, but it can, and is, done. When I find out that someone’s favorite comedian is Louis C.K., Dane Cook or Daniel Tosh or anyone like them, I start planning how to end that conversation right then and there. 

I don’t want to spend time with a person who thinks people who have sexually harassed women, make rape jokes and are racist, funny. If that’s what individuals find funny then boy howdy do we have bigger problems to tackle. Like why do they find raping women so funny? Why is the idea of a white man tearing down minorities just rib-splitting hilarity to them? How far down does this bigotry rabbit hole go?

It’s also lazy. We’ve heard these jokes before, they weren’t funny then and they definitely aren’t funny now. What’s not lazy and is actually super cool? Trying to be inclusive and to not be an asshole. 

Comedy is changing and it’s turning into a different beast every day. My personal favorite forms of comedy include John Mulaney’s stand up, (where he regals us with wild stories from his childhood, makes fun of his idiotic ways and talks about how much he loves his wife and dog) Bo Burnham’s comedy, (which makes me question how happy I really am and explores celebrity worship in society) and Brooklyn 99 is my favorite primetime comedy show. It has a diverse cast that breaks stereotypes, every episode overflows with love and warmth and it has the most iconic dog of all time, Cheddar. 

Comedy is meant to be the great unifier. It’s supposed to bring people together. So if an individuals idea of comedy is tearing minorities down and making sure they aren’t included, that’s not funny. That’s just sad. 

I came to this realization the way I come to most of my big life-changing realizations. After I had made a mistake. 

I was talking to someone after we had hooked up and I, of course, mentioned John Mulaney because I am Very Good™️ at flirting. He said he had never seen any of John Mulaney’s stand up but that he really liked Dane Cook. 

At first I thought, “Oh, we’re very far apart on comedy, this isn’t ideal but it probably won’t be an issue!!” 

It very quickly became an issue when he proceeded to be on his phone and talk about himself for a full hour. During this monologue he mansplained to me where my own clit was, talked down to me about the line of work I wanted to go into, showed me years old meme’s and made it clear he was all about the GOP. 

While all of this was happening my eyes kept widening in horror and I slowly made my way to the door and ran so fast I think I left a trail of dust from his room to my car. 

After that, um, experience I think is the best way to put it, that’s when I realized that if my humor doesn’t match to my partners it’s not going to end well. Humor is my love language and if someone’s sense of humor is based on making jokes at the expense of minorities then I won’t love them. Hell, I won’t even like them.

So! Comedians! Do better. Individuals who enjoy shitty stand up comedians, also do better! 

As for me, I’m going to watch John Mulaney’s New in Town for the 4,345th time and when I can find an individual who can finish any John Mulaney quote for me, I’ll drop down on one knee and propose to them right then and there.  

[bestbog2]

The star entertainment 남천동여우알바 part-timer system for the holidays

This Christmas season, the Star entertainment part-timer System is one 부산 남천동여우알바 of the best toys for kids who enjoy singing and dancing. All of those reality shows are spawning new stars, and many young viewers want to get in on the action as well. They may accomplish it in the comfort of their own homes with this playset. What are the chances? It’s possible that a career in the spotlight could be a result of this toy.

The Star Station itself, two microphones, and a kid-friendly ROM cartridge with four wonderful tunes are all included in this fantastic entertainment part-timer system! To always have new songs to learn and perform, a variety of ROM cartridges are available.

Make your Christmas memories even more memorable this year with the Star Station entertainment part-timer system, which enables children to have fun singing well-known songs that the entire family can enjoy! Simple, kid-friendly renditions of well-known songs and holiday favorites may be found on the cartridges, which can be played on your TV via the Star entertainment part-timer system.

For those youngsters who enjoy playing with the Star entertainment part-timer System but want the capacity 온라인 남천동여우알바 to make their music, this is not a good choice since while it is a lot of fun, it does not provide that possibility. If you’re looking for a way for your youngster to burn off some of their extra energy while singing and dancing along to their favorite tunes, this is a great way to go.

The Playskool Dance Cam, for example, is a terrific gadget for children to play with this holiday season! It’s a wonderful item that lets your kids see themselves dancing along to the music on your TV! To get kids excited about Dance Cam, all you have to do is connect the Star entertainment part-timer System to your TV.

Let’s get this 남천동여우알바 광고 party started!

You don’t need to spend a lot of money to throw a wonderful party. Here are some ideas for spicing things up at your next party.

Music. To us, a party isn’t a party until there is music playing. Both live and pre-recorded music options are available when it comes to entertaining your guests during your event. A party with live music has a whole new feel to it. Make your party memorable by hiring a live band or performer. 여우알바 – bestbog.com

Make sure you know your audience before you hire a musician. It’s possible to get a better sense of what kind of music your visitors would enjoy by conducting an informal poll. For example, if you’re a parent hosting a Sweet 16 party, you may not know what to expect from your guests. Hire a talent agency to help you choose music that will please your guests.

Now ask yourself why music is important in the first place. Do you want to create a more traditional atmosphere at the gathering? A string quartet, harpist, or pianist is a popular choice for adding a touch of class to any gathering. Do you want your guests to get up and dance during your event? Try a good DJ for a celebration.

Entertainers:

You may want to consider hiring a top-notch party entertainment part-timer after you’ve covered the music. There are a 여성알바 남천동여우알바 plethora of options for live entertainment part-timer at events. A variety of party themes are presented here.

Comedians:

All comics are not created equal, and not all comics are appropriate for all parties. Make sure the performers are a good fit for your guests’ tastes. Some comics are only appropriate for children, while others are exclusively for adults. It’s always better to err on the side of caution when planning events for businesses.

Roasts need 남천동여우알바 도메인 comedic relief.

Comedian-based roasts have become increasingly popular at parties to “honor” their guests. Friends and family members take turns making jokes and sharing humiliating anecdotes about the honoree. An experienced comic can keep the event running well and “hook” speakers who aren’t doing so well. Customized comedy content can also be written by many comedians, making events even more enjoyable.

Magicians.

A talented magician is a terrific method for party planners to amuse a wide spectrum of people. A comedy-magic show is a better option than a stand-up comedy show if you have a multilingual audience. Magic is a better choice than stand-up because it doesn’t have to deal with delicate political or social problems.

you should know after 파워볼전용사이트 winning the powerball

Attendee participation is the best aspect of hiring a magician for an event. They’ll want to be a part of the action. In addition to engaging with your guests, a professional entertainer may enlist the help of members of the crowd as volunteers. Rather than simply watching the entertainment, your guests are invited to participate in it as well.

Kids’ Birthday Party 남천동여우알바 주소 Games and Activities

We all know that paper hats and pintails on the donkey aren’t going to cut it for today’s party. “I’ve been there, done that” is a common refrain among children. Think entertainment part-timer if you want to make your child’s party memorable.

Sending a bunch of kids into a party room for two hours to scream is a very dreary and unimaginative way to commemorate one of the most important days of your child’s life. Fun, yes, but nothing exceptional. In some cases, the parties are so crowded and impersonal that there’s little to enjoy.

Are you planning a child’s birthday party at a restaurant? To make the occasion even better, plan out the entertainment beforehand. Kids get bored sitting at a table for a short period. At a noisy and crowded party venue, having the party at home makes it feel more personal. Remember to prepare some entertainment as well.

Here are a 남천동여우알바 사이트주소 few options.

Bounce House Rentals. Inflatables can be rented from any respectable party supply store. However, keep in mind that these rides injure children regularly, and as a result, you could be held liable for any injuries they cause. You must maintain a tight eye on the youngsters and make it clear that children should not be left alone. Staying at home with children under the age of five is mandatory for parents. As long as you have appropriate space and supervision, the kids will enjoy these rides. However, be advised that certain rides may not be suited for indoor usage in the event of rain. Be prepared for the worst.

Clowns.

Clowns don’t have to be frightening; some are quite adorable. You should look for a clown that isn’t covered in a lot of makeup. Young children may be startled and even scared by a “white-face clown,” so be careful not to invite anyone under the age of eighteen. For very young children, go with a clown who has a pleasant and human demeanor. Make certain that your clown has a lot to do.

Magicians.

For children aged five and up, magic performances are the clear winner. We propose a mix of magic, juggling, and other silly activities for younger audiences. It’ll be a magic show with the birthday kid as the star. The birthday child will assist the magician in performing tricks and assisting in the production of magic. It’s an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for your child to be the star helper and perform magic. This is an experience that both you and your children will remember for years to come.

[irankshine]

Top Indian Female Stand up Comedian

Best Female Standup Comedians

Whoever said women are not funny clearly has not met the current stand up, Indian female comedians. Not only do they slay with their comedic performances but they also help spread awareness on many issues facing women in India today. From being mothers to wives, women can do it all and these comedians take us through exactly that by talking about routines in Indian female life and turning them with a comedic twist. Watch out for these seven stunning stand–up comedians routines by Indian Female comedians also if you want to book comedian online for events.

1. Aditi Mittal

One of the leading comedians who has changed the course of women in comedy by including controversial but very necessary topics like bra shopping, sanitary pads, arranged dates and many more. She is a strong female who talks about everything women face in their daily lives and with her comedy also educates women on topics like breast cancer awareness. She is one of the best female comedians.

2. Mallika Dua

You might recall her from her role in the famous web series THE TRIP or you know, already know her from her various comedy endeavors. Her imitation of Tinder Aunty on AIB was what left everyone in very relatable fits of laughter. She does not shy away from very true comedic topics and her expression and dialogue delivery are simply on spot. Dating in the modern world is every girl’s worst nightmare and she portrays this very nicely.

3. Neeti Palta

Her short comedic piece on size matters where she talks about bra size and how every woman is different. She also goes ahead to list out the advantages of having smaller boobs. It is simply hilarious and almost makes us envy her.

4. Ankita

Ankita has done a wonderful piece on Bombay girls in Local train. From the train timing to the workers on the platform and the men on the train she has put this routine in perspective for all young women out there who ever find themselves facing a situation of traveling by a local train. Ankita’s expressions, as well as her detail in comedy, is spot-on hilarious.

5. Radhika Vaz

An excellent stand-up comedian, she did a masterpiece on the routine of how women take a dump v/s how men use the toilet. Her mind-blowing explanations in minute comedic detail is totally to die for and she absolutely owned the stage and the fact that women most often find it hard to do the most basic function of going to the loo and are embarrassed about it especially when they are around their new boyfriends (oops… spoiler alert!).

6. Sumukhi Suresh

She is a comedian who has associated with AIB and Son Of Abish. Her piece on affectionate nicknames for women whether sexualizing or body shaming will leave you thinking while filling you with laughter at the same time. Sumukhi has a very unique take on common issues women face and can have you rolling around in no time. She is a must-watch for all the young aspiring female comedians.

7. Vasu Primlani

Vasu has made an excellent piece of questioning the sanity of Gandhari’s choice to spend her entire life as a blind woman to join her blind husband in the Mahabharata. She points some necessary questions on the actions of a lot of women in the mythology that we have blind faith in letting us question our sanity with a comedic twist.

Why don’t you go online and watch some of these (or rather, ALL) routines and laugh your guts out, while learning several life lessons that will help you sail across!

I hope you liked this blog!

To book female comedians for the event, please visit StarClinch

(India’s No. 1 artist and celebrity booking website).

Originally Published On: https://starclinch.com/blog/get-through-life-with-help-from-these-7-stand-up-routines-by-indian-female-comedians/

[the-four-directions-blog]

Twins sequel with Schwarzenegger, DeVito

He was once a normal person and once a clone. So are there two roles he embodied? Or one? There are two people, but one and the same person. Difficult. In private he is a great flirt who likes to tell dirty jokes. To generate a new security code, please click on the image.

Six years later, the Styrian for "Junior" was again in front of the camera with DeVito and mimicked a scientist who is carrying a child for a fertility study. As an alternative to the classic city break in Europe, A-ROSA has already made a name for itself in recent years. The company is now setting off on completely new shores and organizing its own casting format on board. Junior is a 1994 American comedy film. Actor Ulrich Matthes, who was awarded the Golden Camera, was more emotional, playing one of the leading roles both in the award-winning "Tatort" episode "Born in Pain" and in the nominated film "Bornholmer Strasse". "I'm over the top," said the 55-year-old with hectic hand movements. Returns ”and he immediately explained my role to me through his drawings. He draws all the characters himself, and while you simply discuss the roles with other directors, he shows them. That helps tremendously. With comedian Olaf Schubert, he had an exchange of blows, repeatedly pushing the cabaret artist out of his place of honor. He traveled to Germany for his friend, Arnold, who was born in Styria.

You might also be interested The Verti Music Hall in Berlin is a multifunctional event hall with a variety of uses - from concerts to show events to festivals. Brian iphone 11 bazooka phone case Johnson and Angus Young tell how natural Malcolm is Young made AC / DC's greatest anthems. And how he defeated alcohol with hard will. But I tend to do two roles. The comedy by Ghostbusters director Ivan Reitman was a great success at the end of the 80s and gave the go-ahead for further films in which Arnold Schwarzenegger was able to demonstrate his comedic talent. Reitman made the comedy Der Kindergartencop two years later, in which he also starred Arnold Schwarzenegger. In 1994 the director reunited the unequal duo Schwarzenegger and DeVito for the comedy Junior. Twins is more light entertainment, but due to the success of the film, a sequel has been planned for a few years, in which the Benedicts learn of a third brother.

Selfie with Arnold Schwarzenegger h2 > For this repayment, we use the same means of payment that you used in the original transaction, unless expressly agreed otherwise with you; under no circumstances will you be charged any fees for this repayment. After getting his hands on the details of the deal, Vincent decides to drive to the buyer to bag the millions for the deal. But Julius, without knowing it, pushes into the project with the suggestion to find her mother, whose address he could find out after some research.

[samanthaviolet]

your final paper

I took a history of american television class in the spring, and after turning in my final paper, my TA emailed me with an email whose subject was “your final paper.” My heart sank as I opened an email that I was sure was going to be bad news, and she said something along the lines of how she was super impressed with it and that if I wanted to get it published, I probably could. 

now, I don’t know how valid that is, nor do I care too much to go into the detail of how to achieve actual, real life publication. But, i do know that I can copy and paste it here, and that throws it out into the world and reaches the potential that Victoria saw in me. 

This one’s for you, Vicki. 

LADIES WHO LAUGH: Exploring Feminist Progress in Saturday Night Live 

“Live from New York, it’s Saturday Night!” These seven words explode from the mouths of varied celebrities and comedians at 30 Rockefeller Center into the homes of millions across the nation, always at the same time each Saturday night. Saturday Night Live, the late night sketch comedy show created by Lorne Michaels and produced by NBC (commonly referred to as SNL), has been entertaining audiences since its premiere in 1975. With over thirty years of sketches, political commentary, and social spoofs, the show has been a breeding ground for discussions on representations in the world and workplace, specifically with regards to gender. Through an analysis of casting and a variety of show content, this paper will prove Saturday Night Live’s reflection of the women’s movement, effectively portraying women’s changing societal roles during the thirty-two years it has been on the air.

The format and structure of Saturday Night Live has stayed relatively in tact from the first episode to present day. Having a show primarily driven by the cast, beginning with seven members and getting all the way to sixteen by Season 42, an additional celebrity host appears on each episode. The ratio of male to female cast members is fairly close (in fact, they made it a point from the beginning for it to be equal among the genders, even though they have strayed from this ideal in recent years), but the number with regards to the hosts is startling and gives a good insight on which gender mainstream audiences. Over the forty years of SNL, there were 370 men as hosts and only 175 women (Baskin). Women have always been seen as the outcast with regards to entertainment, especially comedy, and this statistic proves that SNL was not doing much to break that. They had to give the people what they wanted in order to keep their ratings up, and instead of using their platform for good, they used their platform to perpetuate the inequality of women in entertainment.

These gender dynamics are not only seen on stage, but in the writer’s room as well. Saturday Night Live organizes the content of its show on a week-by-week basis — pitches happen on Mondays, table reads happen on Wednesdays, and material that worked from these move on to the shows on Saturdays. The weekly process weeded out all the ideas until only the best remained for the live airing on Saturday night. For sketches to proceed to the actual show, they had to be “funny in the room.” The problem is, is that most of the people in the room were men. Doug Hill and Jeff Weingrad state in Saturday Night: A Backstage History of Saturday Night Live that “a lot of the women writers’ sketches weren’t making it on the air, and the women performers were getting too many secretary and receptionist parts, written by the men” (Murphy). The gender binary was alive and well in the writing room, but of course, it was alive and well in every aspect of professional work, even in the wake of second-wave feminism. This misogynistic environment wasn't actively being worked against, either. Original SNL cast member John Belushi is often cited with his claim that “women aren’t funny.” His stunts to get women off the show included sabotaging table reads and even pressuring executive producer Lorne Michaels. He also refused to appear in the sketches written by women writers (Miller). This attitude toward women existing, as well as being tolerated by network executives, dominated for most of SNL life in the 20th century.

From the beginning of the show, the male-dominated aura of production prevailed. Women, as stated before, were cast as receptionists, nurses, makers of the household, and waitresses. Besides their actual roles on the show, they were also commonly seen solely as the objects of the male cast members. A great example of this is seen in the recurring sketch “The Festrunk Brothers,” featuring SNL greats Dan Aykroyd and Steve Martin. In this sketch from the third season, debuting on September 24, 1977, the duo try to pick up two women played by fellow cast members. The lines they give to the women are outlandish and supposed to garner some laughs, but causes more of a head-turning reaction than they probably intended. After some small talk, they lead into, “You know, you American girls have such big breasts all the time! Well, I guess you must like us by now, so please give us the number of your apartment so we can go up and have sex with you right now.” The antics between the two pairs continue until the end of the sketch (Baskin). Of course, it leaves live audiences and the people at home laughing at the absolute ridiculousness of the interaction. But, why would it be acceptable to be saying that to a woman at all, especially on national television? In a textbook on arts analysis, scholar Mark Fortier defines feminist theory as “profoundly concerned with the cultural representation of women, sometimes as a strictly masculinist fantasy with no relation to real women, sometimes as the appropriation of women and women’s bodies to masculine perspectives” (Fortier 72). This sketch violated both of these ideas by simply having the women in the sketch portrayed as the object of the men’s desires. Until the turn of the century, this is what plagued the women of the highest rated comedic variety show since the inception of television. Women already have the lower hand with regards to their legitimacy on screen (in both television and film), and portraying them in this light does not lend itself to improving this situation.

By 2000, SNL was dealing with some low ratings and trying to keep the show fresh and interesting after 25 years on the air, and to combat this, they began to flip societal expectations. In 2002, Newsweek proclaimed: “For most of its 27 years, Saturday Night Live has been comedy’s premier boys club. But not anymore.” This sudden influx of women increased the amount of women performers seen on screen and the show was carried with show-stopping females. It led into the time of Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph, and Kristin Wiig, the women who have made names for themselves in the entertainment world, using SNL as a springboard. This is directly related to the increase of women and women’s power in the writing room (Murphy).

As the years went on, there was increase of women on the production side, which correlated to an increase and improvement of female representation on the performance side. While of course it wasn’t perfect, there were not only were more women included in the acts, but the way that they were represented did not always align with traditional gender roles. For the first time ever, there were sketches entirely comprised of female cast members, without leaning on the stability of a man. “The Women of SNL” parody sketch (spoofing The Real Housewives) is a 2010 special from Season 36 that premiered on November 1, 2010, featuring women cast members and alumni. Seeing a couch full of just women was a sight that was not commonly seen, and relying on each other for the comedic effect was particularly successful. The fact that this special could stand alone separate from the season speaks volumes. Even so, women had to fight to get on. For example, comedian Rachel Dratch (famous especially for her hilarious “Debbie Downer” persona) took multiple auditions to get on the show. After her first audition, she recounted that “I didn’t get it that year...they said, ‘we’re not taking any women this year. But maybe next year.” She got casted three years later (Itzkoff).

Reporters began to claim at the beginning of the 21st century that women had moved from “saucy sidekick to stand-alone stars.” Helmed as the “Tina Fey” era, this is when cast members such as Tina Fey and Amy Poehler began to be known as the faces of the show as a franchise, both on screen and off screen. Here is when sketches such as “Debbie Downer” and

“Target Lady” became recurring, and women sketches took up a bulk of the program time. Another big marker of women’s progression on Saturday Night Live was the addition of female anchors on the weekly segment “Weekend Update.” A spoof on current events, “Weekend Update” features commentary and satire in the middle of each episode, usually led by a male cast member who is presented as themselves (rather than as a character). Jane Curtin was the first female anchor in the second season of the show. While it was great that she was at the desk, the treatment she received from aforementioned John Belushi contradicted any kind of advancement that the presence of a woman created. Belushi would scream and raise fists in the air, telling Jane to calm down. Of course, the famous phrase “Jane, you ignorant slut!” proclaimed by co-star Dan Ackroyd resulted from her stint on “Weekend Update” during an episode premiering on May 26, 1979. Lorne Michaels did nothing to stop these slanderous and misogynistic ad-libs. In an interview with Curtin, she stated, “Lorne didn’t help, because that isn’t what Lorne did. Oh, it was ridiculous. It was just insane...you just have to learn to live with it, [and] plod on” (Miller). After Curtin’s departure in 1980, a woman didn’t sit behind the desk until twenty years later, with Tina Fey’s addition in 2000. In the beginning of Tina Fey’s reign as “Weekend Update” anchor (co-anchor with Jimmy Fallon), there was a part of the segment entitled “Women’s News,” in which Fey commented on issues such as reproductive rights and women’s roles in the home and at work (this is seen in a Season 28 episode from 2002). This direct dealings with issues of women was a direct result as Fey’s appointment of head writer. The progress of Tina Fey’s work on “Weekend Update” compared to Jane Curtin’s shows the amount of progress that SNL took in the women’s movement on television.

Broadly looking at television in the 1970s, the medium was struggling itself with its identity just as the female population of the United States was. As Kirsten Lentz says in her essay, “Quality versus Relevance,” “If 1970s feminism, broadly speaking, sought to champion the ‘rights’ of women, drawing attention to the inequities of gender role socialization and attempting either to revalue or to eschew femininity, 1970s television was similarly enmeshed in an attempt to resist its inferior status in relation to other media (especially cinema) and to revalue or reverse its associations with femininity... Scholars of television and feminism have tended to assume that the relation between the television industry and the feminist movement is primarily a negative one. According to this model, television has generally acted to distort, trivialize, or erase feminist issues and the women’s movement” (Lentz). However, as time goes on, to its credit, Saturday Night Live did do a lot to help progress the movement. Seeing women on TV and talking about women’s issues became a normal thing for the American household, making the feminist movement less of a political craze and more of something that every citizen can take part in. And this quality is what makes SNL so popular and a show that hasn’t gotten old for the forty plus years it has been on air —it reflects an ever changing society and challenges old- school ways of thinking.

However, that’s not to say that Saturday Night Live is perfect in the representation game by any means. Minority women, especially LGBTQ women and African American women in particular have always faced adversity in the entertainment industry, and Saturday Night Live has not properly used its platform and clout to change this. In its entire history up until 2013, there have only been four African-American women featured. After Maya Rudolph’s departure in 2007, there were none. Long-time cast member Kenan Thompson has had to cross-dress to impersonate several women, from Maya Angelou to Jennifer Hudson. In an interview with TV Guide, Thomspon made statements refusing the show’s request to portray black women, hoping that his resistance would prove to the network that advancements have to be made. Sasheer Zamata being hired was the first African American to be hired since Rudolph, and still stands as the only African American woman on the show today (Weisman).

By analyzing Saturday Night Live with a feminist lens, viewers can view the show as a program that did a lot for women in the entertainment industry, yet still is not reaching its full potential in what it can do for women as a whole. Women will always have the lower hand in regards to equality in entertainment, however, seeing the progress in the past gives hope that it will continue to improve, on Saturday Night Live and beyond.

[omgktlouchheim]

Word Vomit Wednesday - Comedic Complicity

Welcome to Word Vomit Wednesday! A series of blog posts about a specific topic from current events that I, and sometimes the rest of the Internet, ruminate obsessively about. All thoughts/opinions/experiences are my own; I don’t claim anything that I write to represent anyone other than myself.

I’m starting off this series, probably appropriately, with Tina Fey. (I’m pretty sure my use of the phrase “word vomit” began shortly after watching Mean Girls). Recently, Tina did a bit on SNL’s Weekend Update commenting on the events in Charlottesville, VA, which has garnered quite a bit of criticism. Before I get into what was said I want to point out that constructive criticism, especially for things/people we love and enjoy, is important. No one is perfect and we’re going to get things wrong. When it comes to art, in all its forms; music, comedy, film, videogames, fine arts, etc., we are being presented with a microcosm of what is happening in a larger context. We are also dealing with a particular perspective, which is immediately directing that particular microcosm. And what that all means is that, no matter what the intentions of the creator are, the things that are still fucked up (privilege, implicit biases) are going to show up and by being put out there for the public, those sentiments will then be reinforced.

Despite all the bullshit happening, that has actually been going on for way too long, a majority of us are working toward breaking down white, hetero-patriarchal institutions, ideals, and behaviors within society. In order to keep doing that and progressing forward we need to be able to call out problematic sentiments and be listened to rather than policed by people who hold more privilege and don’t understand how a joke can be damaging. Now, without further ado, let’s get into it.

Problem #1: Weaponizing the bodies of drag queens.

Drag queens are fierce as fuck, but that does not mean they should in any way expect to be the front line of defense. Portraying them as if they need to be feared only marginalizes their communities more. Which leads me to…

Problem #2: Weaponizing/creating fear around black men’s bodies.

Again, perpetuating fear of black men only makes black men more vulnerable. We already see how some cops, people that are supposed to have their shit together and protect everyone, lose their goddamn minds over seeing a black child in a hoodie. How is it that people are still equating black men with being inherently violent? Let’s cut that shit out. As enjoyable as it is to imagine people beating the shit out of Nazis, we really don’t have to sacrifice black men to do it. These fucking snowflakes give themselves strokes just by thinking about Fearless Girl.

Problem #3: Sally Hemings.

It took me three times of watching the clip to finally catch this part of her bit, mostly because all I heard was muffled noises from having so much cake in her mouth when she said it. And if it weren’t for the POC in my news feed talking about it I would not have gone back a second and third time to try and figure out what she had said. When it did come through for me, I just felt really confused and uncomfortable. I’m still confused and uncomfortable. This is just me, and I feel like I’m lacking some education as to how that joke was 100% connected to everything else she was saying, but to refer to a woman who was enslaved and consistently raped by one of the most powerful and influential men in our history as a throwaway joke at the end felt really off.

What I did think she did well, but which also upset many people, was the whole “let’s sit back and eat cake” thing. For me, this felt appropriately aimed at white women on the right and left alike. The ones who don’t want to get involved and just want everyone to be kind. The ones who think it’s enough to say they’re not racist or anti-Semitic but don’t do anything to back up those claims. The ones who think it’s enough to spend money at Jewish-owned this and POC-owned that, as if their spare change is going to do anything when those storefronts are attacked by mobs and those families forced into camps, or hiding, or murdered publicly. The ones who felt like it was in their best interest to elect a white supremacist, sexual predator and con man to be the 45th president of The United States.

White women have a reputation for phoning it in. The allusion/comparison to Marie Antoinette seems scarily accurate. Pointing to many white women’s delusions of what is happening and how it affects people and pointing out their inability to see any need to act even when their own heads are on the chopping block. White women are at once, beneficiaries of white supremacy and oppressed by the sexist and misogynistic attitudes underlying it. Seeing all that on display in a comedic context is understandably upsetting.  Mostly because it’s hard to know if the audience it was aimed at satirizing (complacent white women) was able to even recognize it. And it’s terrifying for those of us whose existence in this world is revolutionary in and of itself. Slavery, the Holocaust, the Civil Right’s Movement are all in recent memory. Those of us born with these legacies know that all of these things happened because our white neighbors either turned their heads or were participating in the physical violence.

Furthermore, and I can’t believe I have to lay this out but here it goes: If something someone says or does brings up feelings (positive or negative) it’s totally valid to say, “Fuck, this made me feel (fill in the blank).” The thing that’s not ok to do, is to retort with, “It’s a just a joke, that’s what satire is supposed to do.” If this is you, I have some words: you’re missing the point and you’re being an asshole. Jokes can still be funny when they’re not at the expense of marginalized people. I saw a lot of POC get policed about their feelings about these jokes. I saw a lot of Jews get policed about their feelings about these jokes. WHITE PEOPLE, YOU NEED TO SHUT UP. When marginalized people express concern about something, that’s your cue to take it seriously, put aside what you THINK you know, and listen. It’s an opportunity to see another perspective, and learn some empathy. I’m not saying you’re not allowed to have your own opinions, but fuck, could you please just stop hijacking conversations and making them about you? You don’t know everything and policing the thoughts and feelings of marginalized groups who do have more experience in these arenas is white supremacy in action. It’s called a micro aggression. Get used to hearing that term. You do them. A LOT.

On another note, I would like to point out how much harsher the treatment of women is in any field. In comedy, right now it’s Tina Fey while a few months ago it was Kathy Griffin. There are plenty of men out there who say heinous shit and are not called out on it at all or, if they are, they’re given a slap on the wrist or a career boost. The double standards need to go. If we’re going to put such an intense microscope on a brilliant comedian like Tina Fey, let’s be just as critical with everyone else.

 Katie Louchheim likes cake, but likes the end of white supremacy even more.

[jmarksthespots]

[#WOWFestival #FESTIVAL #PANEL] Women of the World Festival OW: Big Ideas * Intimate Conversations May 7 | 2-7pm  @apollotheater​ | 253 West 125th Street New York, NY  Admission: FREE For tickets, REGISTER ONLINE

PANELS

Opening Remarks The Global State Of Women Purna Sen – Director, Policy Division, UN Women

Linking Arms: Why Our Feminism Must Be Intersectional

What are the issues shaping the feminist agenda in the 21st Century?  Who gets to set them and how do we ensure that no feminist is left behind? This panel brings leaders from across the feminist movement to discuss why it matters who leads the march and explore what it takes to create an inclusive movement that also stands against racism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, xenophobia and classism.

Panelists Include: Jude Kelly, Moderator – Artistic Director of Southbank Centre and WOW Festival Founder Tamika Mallory – National Co-Chair of the Women’s March on Washington; President of Mallory Consulting Carmen Perez – National Co-Chair of the Women’s March on Washington;  Executive Director of The Gathering for Justice Azadeh Khalili – Former Founding Executive Director – Commission on Gender Equity, Office of the Mayor, NYC

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Unapologetically Afro-Latina Co-presented by the Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute

This  interactive conversation celebrates what it means to be an Afro-Latina and explores the intersectionality of her identity. This panel will also address the multilayered impact of race and gender on the lives of Afro-Latinas across the Spanish-Speaking African Diaspora, from socio-economic status, to education and healthcare access, to representation in media and politics.

Panelists Include: Marta Moreno Vega, President CCCADI Nancy Morejon, Award-winning Cuban poet (presented in partnership with Pen World Voices) Malin Falu, Radio and Television personality Magdalena Albizu, moderator – director, NEGRITA documentary; former President of the New York Chapter of the National Association of Latino Independent Producers (NALIP).

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The M Word: Muslim-American Women on Power and Beauty What is the unchallenged perception of a Muslim-American woman? Who gets to decide what images and narratives about women dominate in the public discourse, the media, and the literary world? Is the hijab a fashion accessory, an expression of one’s faith, or trending iconography? Is a focus on the hijab reductive?A conversation on women—by women—on what it takes to defy obsolete notions of power and beauty, and instead embrace multidimensional identities. Addressing beauty standards, cultural appropriation, faith, and feminism, our diverse panel tackles a few of the most controversial and sensitive topics of our time.

Panelists include: Mara Brock Akil (Being Mary Jane, Black Lightning) Rana Abdelhamid (Hijabis of New York) Mona Haydar (‘Ask A Muslim’) Penina Roth (Franklin Park Reading Series).

Presented by The M W Word: Muslim Americans Take the Mic, a PEN America series supported by Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art’s Building Bridges Program and by the PEN America World Voices Festival. This event is co-presented by the Apollo Theater and the 2017 Women of the World Festival.

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I Love Myself When I’m Laughing: Finding Power Through Comedy          

This panel will look at the many cool ways in which comedy has served to empower women who have found success as stand-up comedians, actresses, and writers of major talk shows. In this talk will women will also discuss how they have used humor as a tool to create social change around reproductive rights, Black Lives Matter, sexual trafficking, healthcare, immigration, women’s and LGBTQ rights and how you can too.

Lizz Winstead, moderator – co-creator of Comedy Central’s The Daily Show. Maysoon Zayid – writer, actor, comedian, Maysoon Zayid is the co-founder of the New York Arab-American Comedy Festival. Aida Rodriguez – producer and actress, known for Last Comic Standing, The Comedian, and The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore. Subhah Agarwal – Subhah’s unique perspective comes from growing up Indian-American in the mid-west. She has been featured on PBS series Modern Comedian, TruTV, Comedy Central, and MTV. 

#ACTIVISM

In 2017, it appears you can’t be an effective activist without social media and you can’t be relevant without a ’cause’. Or at least, that’s what we’re led to think. This discussion will explore what activism looks like now compared to the past, what it will look like in the future and the myriad of ways activists are using social media to create narratives and bring the reality of overlooked experiences to the fore for change and empowerment.

Ashleigh Shackelford, moderator – contributing writer at Wear Your Voice Magazine and For Harriet Alaa Basatneh is a human rights activist, writer and Justice Correspondent at FUSION and is the protagonist in the 2013 award-winning documentary, #ChicagoGirl (chicagogirlfilm.com), following Alaa’s tireless efforts to guide revolution in war-torn Syria using only social media and her laptop from 6,000 miles away in the suburbs of Chicago. Lorne Batman is the social media manager for Lady Parts Justice League Elizabeth Luke is a communications manager at Twitter

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Period Rights: Who Gets To Bleed With Dignity The functions of women’s bodies has historically been hidden from them and ‘polite’ conversation which informs a sense of shame and hush women have talking about their periods. We are now learning how lack of access to sanitary products for certain groups of women in certain social circumstances (poverty, prison, homeless, etc.) prevent them from fully taking part in everyday life and can even lead to disadvantage. WoW has put together a frank debate of experts who are changing the period game and given us the power back to ‘bleed with dignity’ and without impediment.  

Moderated by Simone Bresi-Ando

Panelists Include: Jennifer Weiss-Wolf, author of Periods Gone Public (Skyhorse, September 2017);contributor to Ms. Magazine. NYC Council Member Julissa Ferreras-Copeland Nadya Okamoto – co-founded PERIOD. Alison Nakamura Netter – Chief Communications & Development Officer, ZanaAfrica Foundation

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Masculinity, A Solution? The construct of masculinity has been more vocally challenged in recent years with the emergence of new gender identities, the study of the various negative impact of toxic masculinity, the highlighting of rape culture and the resurgence of feminist ideologies in the mainstream. Can masculinity as we know it survive? Do we need it? Why does it cause so much harm across the world against both men and women? What’s the new ways we can carve a masculine identity that empowers, nurtures and educates men without the pain? 

Panelists Include:

Risikat “Kat” Okedeyi, Moderator – hosts a radio show, The LSP Effect, a weekly online show and Creative Conversations. Robert Jones, Jr. is the literary, sociopolitical and psychosexual writer behind the Son of Baldwin blog, which explores issues that matter to queer people of color and their allies. Leo Sheng is a Trans Activist/Advocate and writer for MTVFounders Professor Robert Jensen is a professor in the School of Journalism at the University of Texas at Austin and board member of the Third Coast Activist Resource Center in Austin.He is the author of Plain Radical: Living, Loving, and Learning to Leave the Planet Gracefully (Counterpoint/Soft Skull, 2015). Michael Kimmel – is one of the world’s leading experts on men and masculinities. He is the SUNY Distinguished Professor of Sociology and Gender Studies at Stony Brook University. Among his many books are Manhood in America, Angry White Men, The Politics of Manhood, The Gendered Society and the best seller Guyland: The Perilous World Where Boys Become Men.

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Give Me Body: What I Learned About Myself & The World When I Embraced & Loved My Body From Sports Illustrated to Beyonce, the current culture of body image politics is evolving and impacting our lives for better and for worse! Panelists will share personal stories about the trauma and pleasure of having “non-traditional” bodies, and will challenge alternative facts promoted via pop culture empowering women and girls to love their bodies and dismiss the haters.

Panelists Include: Ericka Hart is a kinky, poly, activist, sexuality educator, performer and cancer-warrior who after her double mastectomy made waves with her topless photo Jen Ponton is a comedic force and most commonly recognized for her work on Tina Fey’s “30 Rock” and “The Unbreakable Kimmy  Schmidt.” Additional participants will be announced

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Digital Dames: The Future of Women & Girls in Tech This talk will look at the many varied and fascinating ways in which women and girls are impacting the tech sector. Our expert panelists will not only lay out the many challenges that women still face in tech, but will provide solutions on how to break in and break the glass ceiling.

Panelist includes: Sonya Magett, co-founder of Code & Content Academy, a nonprofit that provides coding workshops in underserved communities. Heather Cabot – co-authored GEEK GIRL RISING: Inside the Sisterhood Shaking Up TechRaising Powerful GirlsHow do we give and create empowerment tools and leave a positive, sustainable legacy for the next generation of girls to positively handle and define their identity, ambitions, desires and dreams in a world that is increasingly seeing these things as secondary to its progression? 

Moderated by Mommy Blogger, @ChicBusyMoM, Candace Montgomery Panelists Include: Nadia Lopez – Principal at NYC Department of Education. Stacey Patton – an American journalist, writer, author, speaker, and college professor and commentator.  She is also founder of the anti-child abuse movement Spare The Kids, Inc. Shireen Ahmed is a sports journalist, former football player, wife and mother. Candace Montgomery, Moderator – Senior Director, Event Marketing at Essence Communications.

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Please Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood: An Intimate Conversation on the Experience of Being Trans, Gifted & Black This panel will discuss the transformative experience of being trans, by slaying the misperceptions around being Black, transgender, and a woman. Panelists will address the violence still faced by trans women everyday and the silence surrounding them. This talk will conclude with a discussion envisioning a trans/ cis Black sisterhood and give voice to the ways in which we can mine that Black Girl Magic to find a more powerful level of understanding.

Featuring CeCe McDonald, a transgender prison-reform activist and subject of the documentary, Free CeCe in conversation, with Octavia Lewis, the Audre Lorde Project Trans Justice School Fellow.

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Uptown Hall: The Power of New York Women       The Apollo Theater’s WOW themed Uptown Hall – The Power of New York Women will be an in-depth panel examing the opportunities and obstacles women in positions of power face.  How are New Yorkers impacted by what these women do?  What power does an average New York woman have to lead and to influence leaders?

Moderated by WNYC’s Jami Floyd.

Panelists include: Piper Anderson, Create Forward Majora Carter, Majora Carter Group Professor Christina Greer, Fordham University Amy Holmes, Rasmussen Reports Margaret Hoover, American Unity Fund Donna Lieberman, NYCLU Janai Nelson, NAACPLDF Sonia Ossorio, NOW- New York City

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WORKSHOPS WOW Workshop:  5 Ways To Boost Your Career On Social Media Featuring a discussion with Mary Pryor, Director of Digital, Digital Flash New York

WOW Workshop: Self-Acceptance presented by StyleLikeU Mother-Daughter duo Elisa Goodkind & Lily Mandelbaum, the founders of the multimedia company StyleLikeU and creators of “The What’s Underneath Project”, will led a workshop on self-acceptance through personal style.

WOW Workshop: Warrior Women This family-friendly craft workshop invites participants to design wooden door hangers of powerful She-Roes from around the world including:  Mama Tingo from Santo Domingo, Queen Nanny of the Maroons, Yaa Asantewaa, Lolita LeBron, Harriet Tubman, and many more.

WOW Workshop: Trap Yoga Apollo Theater Sunday May 7 at 2pm Taught by Trap Yoga guru, Brandon Copeland

This workshop is a fast-paced, power yoga practice done to Trap.  Participants should wear comfortable clothes and bring their own mats.  Due to limited capacity, this event requires an RSVP. Please RSVP at wow@apollotheater.org.

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WOW BITES WOW Bites are engaging bite-sized talks delivered by fascinating women with amazing stories from all walks of life.

WOW Bite: Crazy Is My Superpower Featuring AJ Mendez Brooks, former wrestler and three-time WWE champion Divas Champion.

WOW Bite: “Carrying The Weight: My Senior Year As ‘The Mattress Girl. '”Featuring Emma Sulkowicz, a Columbia University student who became the face of sexual assault on college campuses nationwide when she carried around a 50-lb mattress as a work of endurance performance art for her senior thesis.

WOW Bite:  My (Underground) American Dream – From Undocumented Immigrant To Goldman Sachs Star Featuring a discussion with Julissa Arce, political commentator, speaker, writer and author of MY (UNDERGROUND) AMERICAN DREAM.

WOW Bite:  Harlem: The New Tech Frontier Harlem Featuring Jessica O. Matthews, founder of Uncharted Play, a renewable energy company specializing in motion-based, miniaturized power systems.

WOW Bite: Con Cuatro En Una Casa: How I Make Single Motherhood Look Good  Featuring Yvette Russell

WOW Bite: My Hijabi Chronicles Featuring Laylah Amatullah Barrayn, photographer and recent recipient of the Reporting Grant from the International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF).

WOW Bite: Kindness Is Magic: 25 Acts of Kindness to Incorporate Into Your Life Everyday  Featuring Tere Geckle

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OTHER ACTIVITIES

WOW Reading:Julie Scelfo, author of The Women Who Made New York,  reads from the chapter of her book entitled “The Aunties,” which features four women who helped their immigrant communities feel more at home in New York–while also protecting and celebrating cherished cultural traditions from back home.

Suffrage Spotlights:To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the woman’s right to vote in New York state, activists and performers will gather to read excerpts from famous Suffrage speeches from around the world.

Podcast:Shirley McAlpine, a seasoned business coach and facilitator, will launch her new podcast, ‘She’s Got Drive,’ live at the WOW festival.  She, along with a roundtable of panelists, will share inspiring stories and offer tips on how to live your life by design and not default.

WOW Film: MAKERS: Women in Politics Executive Produced by: Dyllan McGee & Peter Kunhardt MAKERS: WOMEN IN POLITICS profiles the long, slow fight for female political representation over the last century, from the first woman elected to Congress in 1916 to a young woman running for Detroit City Council in 2013. Trailblazing leaders like Hillary Clinton, Senator Barbara Mikulski, Olympia Snowe, the youngest Republican woman ever elected to the House of Representatives, and Shirley Chisholm, the first African-American woman to serve in Congress, provide a backdrop for younger women like Rashida Tlaib, the first Muslim-American woman elected to the Michigan House. Today’s leaders in Washington, including Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), the first female Senator from Massachusetts, Susan Collins (R-ME), who led the Senate in shaping a deal to end the government shutdown, and Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI), currently the youngest woman serving in Congress, are also represented. Narrated by Alfre Woodard. About MAKERS MAKERS is a storytelling platform for the trailblazing women of today and tomorrow. Through visual storytelling, podcasts, live events, Emmy-nominated documentaries, and award-winning digital content, we’re inspiring the MAKERS who will shape the future. MAKERS are women who dare to lead. As the largest digital collection of women’s stories ever assembled, MAKERS is inspiring and empowering women to change the world one story at a time. Today, MAKERS.com features over 4,500 videos and the stories of more than 400 women. Current MAKERS include: Hillary Rodham Clinton; media mogul & philanthropist Oprah Winfrey; writer, actor, producer Lena Dunham; U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg; artist Alicia Keys, fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg, writer and producer Shonda Rhimes, YouTube sensation Lilly Singh; and more. For more info, visit MAKERS.com

MUSIC/PERFORMANCES Under the Apollo Marquee DJ:Musical Pathways Radio Show RhythmAndSoulRadio.com is the urban eclectic internet radio station where you can listen to your varied music tastes in one place.On May 7th, under the Apollo’s marquee, the hosts of RhythmAndSoulRadio.com’s Musical Pathways Radio Show (The Mad Spinner Jamelle Mel, Lady Scorpio, and Mama Soul) will serve as DJs with a unique music mix celebrating women across the globe. They will play new soul, classic soul, R&B, Hip-Hop, Spoken Word, Reggae, Soca, Calypso, Black Rock, and more from artists you know and love and independent artists who you need to know.

WOW Mainstage DJ: DJ CUPPY Florence Ifeoluwa Otedola, famously known as DJ Cuppy, is a musician and entrepreneur.  In 2014, Cuppy released her first compilation House of Cuppy, which saw her pioneer a fresh new sound she dubbed “Neo-Afrobeats” -an electric blend of Tropical House and Afrobeats music.Urban WordThe Sunday program will feature special performances by young poets from Urban Word NYC.Urban Word NYC champions the voices of New York City youth by providing platforms for critical literacy, youth development and leadership through free and uncensored writing, college preparation and performance opportunities.