Zoe Saldana on Actresses, Age and Inequality

Here's a great clip of actress Zoe Saldana and Amanda de Cadenet discussing women in Hollywood and they myth of modern day gender equality. Check it out!

Via Upworthy

Q&A with Gorgeous Ladies of Comedy Founder Glennis McCarthy

In 2010, Glennis McCarthy founded G.L.O.C. aka the Gorgeous Ladies of Comedy, a fantastic resource for comedians and fans alike. The site has now expanded to the stage. Glennis tells us all about it...

Wisecrack: Thanks for taking the time to talk with us! First off, how did you get started in comedy?

Glennis McCarthy: Thanks for the interview! I moved to New York at 19 to pursue a career on Broadway which was, in my mind, a shortcut to stardom. (In lieu of college, which takes so long to make you famous.) When I realized the level of skill it took to make it in that world and remembered that I really had no formal training, I tossed out my character shoes and fled the scene. (JK I hung on to them. Those shoes are expensive!) Broadway requires a commitment level and passion I just didn't have at 19 (and still might not), but I was still hungry for stage time. I saw an ad in Backstage for a short form improv group at NY Comedy Club and had done some short form in high school, so I auditioned and started performing weekly with them. I met some amazing comedians there who really made me feel like I had a community in NY, but the show was a little unorganized so we all ended up moving on. That was around the time that the UCB Theatre, then housed in a converted strip club on 22nd street, was getting a little buzz and my friend Kirby urged me to go check it out. I waited on the never-ending line outside the theatre to see ASSSSCAT and after that one show, I was hooked. Everyone was so smart, so funny and the endless possibilities of long-form got me psyched to try it. I've been performing there, and all over New York at various clubs and theatres doing varying forms of comedy, ever since.

W: What exactly is the G.L.O.C. and why did you create it?

GM: G.L.O.C. or Gorgeous Ladies of Comedy (a tip of the hat to the badass bitches of GLOW -- Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling) and, in html form, TheGLOC.net is a community-building website for and by women doing comedy across the globe. Right now new content is going up on the site daily, we've got two shows running, G.L.O.C. Live at Littlefield Brooklyn and The GLOCDOWN at The PIT in Manhattan, and a third show, an all-improvised stand-up open mic, in the works. I'm also working on producing some original video content and we'll have video from the live shows and two podcasts. It's a lot, but the good thing is this is a community effort and I've got a lot of ladies helping out. 

I get asked why I started G.L.O.C. all the time and honestly I think I originally started it because I needed a new project. I am very project-driven, as are most comedians, and was once of the mindset that the more projects I had going the better my chances of success. (I found this actually has the opposite effect.) So I started up a blog (http://gorgeousladiesofcomedy.wordpress.com) and began interviewing the ladies around me doing the kind of comedy I thought was interesting and unique. When I was quickly getting hundreds of hits a day and had ladies wanting to write columns for the site I realized I was on to something. My mission with G.L.O.C. has now changed a bit. There is still the community aspect, as I think that's a very important part of getting and keeping more women involved in the scene, but I also want to encourage women to do comedy for each other. It's tough because we have to appeal to the people in charge and they are, more often than not, men. I just have this ridiculous notion that when we start doing comedy for each other the tides will shift. I think we've already seen this to be true with the success of Bridesmaids!

W: Yeah, we've seen the proven success of Bridesmaids, Parks and Recreation, Ellen. This year there are also many more female-led sitcoms on TV. Some people are calling the success of women in comedy a "trend'... what are your thoughts? 

GM: It is most definitely not a trend. A trend is something that is over the minute it's called a trend (I'm stealing that insight from my brilliant husband, Matt McCarthy) and, try as they might (*cough-Lee-Aronsohn-hack*) this is much more than a trend. I for one am sick of seeing men write cliched dialogue and characters for women. Women are now writing for women and yes, sometimes it includes period jokes and crying while eating oversized muffins, but just as often it consists of brilliant and heartfelt humor which we can all relate to. We are weird, we are crass, we are classy, and most importantly, we are funny. It's time to recognize that on a larger scale and I think this is the just the tip of the iceberg. Iceberg lettuce, which has no calories so we can stay skinny and get on TV.

W: Have there been surprises (or challenges) along the way?

GM: There was a point where I felt like I was losing myself to the project and that was really hard to come to terms with. I put G.L.O.C. on hold for a while so I could figure out if this was something I wanted to devote all my time to and to figure out how to keep my own passion for performing alive in the process. I am a caretaker by nature and often to my own detriment, so I have to remind myself that it's OK to give myself some creative freedom where I need it outside of or even within G.L.O.C. Hosting the live show--and doing stand-up and storytelling when and where I can--has really helped renew my passion for G.L.O.C. again. I don't feel like it's a monster I created and am now beholden to; I've got much more control over things now. I've also learned that business relationships are just that--business. It was a difficult lesson to learn, but I'll never make the same mistakes again. It's all a learning process and I know more challenges are ahead, but I'm in a really good place now and really excited with the upcoming projects. (Projects!)

W: What comedians made an impact on you when you were young?

GM: The first woman I ever had a comedy crush on was, hands down, Tracey Ullman. She was (and still is) an fearless and flawless performer and I watched her show religiously as a kid. Before that I remember seeing Lily Tomlin on Sesame Street (as Edith Ann) and maybe not realizing just how funny she was at that young age, but I remember having this sense of overwhelming awe at her performance. Later in life I became obsessed with Weird Al and thought for a hot minute I would take over when I got older. (I wrote a pretty mean parody to Girls Just Wanna Have Fun... Girls Just Wanna Chew Gum. Clearly I was a child prodigy.) Once I started at UCB my comedy crushes were, of course, Amy Poehler, but also Miriam Tolan and Jodi Lennon who were, again, just these fearless women hanging with the boys on stage. It was a much more male-dominated scene when I started and those women helped me feel fearless when I took the stage.

W: Who's making you laugh, lately?

GM: I hate to be diplomatic, but there are just so many women I love that I would hate to list them and leave someone out. Anyone I put up on the site or on one of our shows makes me laugh. We did a Mixer at The PIT a few weeks ago and had over 60 performers doing stand-up, sketch, improv, characters and music. I am surrounded by so many brilliant women I just can't name names. Don't hate me for this answer. I can't stand the thought of someone hating me.

---------

If you're in New York, check out the upcoming G.L.O.C shows:

Wednesday, May 2nd, 2012, 7PM

The G.L.O.C. ReLaunch Party

Littlefield Brooklyn

622 DeGraw Street, Brooklyn

Featuring performances by Kristen Johnston (Emmy Award-winning actress and author of "Guts"), Julie Klausner (author and host of the popular "How Was Your Week?" podcast) and Kambri Crews (author of "Burn Down The Ground: A Memoir"), a DJ'd dance party, gift bags, treats, drink specials, raffle prizes and more!

Tickets are $8 in advance, $10 at the door: http://www.littlefieldnyc.com/event/111047/

Monday, April 16th, 2012, 8PM

Comedy Central's Corporate Retreat: G.L.O.C. Edition

UCB East

153 East 3rd Street, NYC

Featuring: Kara Klenk, Annie Lederman, Kate Berlant, Amber Nelson, The Reformed Whores and a special surprise headliner!

Hosted by Glennis McCarthy

Tickets $5: http://east.ucbtheatre.com/shows/view/2897

Feminism and Male Comics

I'd like to take a moment of your time to steer you over here to Molly Knefel's excellent article, "Feminism is for Everybody, Especially Male Comics," on the Gorgeous Ladies of Comedy site.

Knefel writes:

"[...] There are a lot of men in the comedy world (STOP THE PRESSES!!!) and, obviously, there’s a multitude of perspectives and beliefs and life experiences amongst those men. There’s also an incredible amount of sexism in the comedy world (I SAID STOP THE GODDAMN PRESSES), but despite my tendency to be a very vocal crank about said sexism, I also have a lot of optimism and hope that many of the men in this community really do value equality. I’m talking about the men who may still use the word “cunt,” who may still have entire open mic sets about how women don’t want to fuck them, but who treat their female colleagues with respect and laugh at their jokes and cast them in roles that aren’t just sluts and moms. [...]

"[...] As comedians, it’s our job to think critically. The word “feminism” has been smeared for decades, but if you believe in the simple and just idea that the genders should be treated equally, then please do not let fear and stereotypes stop you from saying so. This comedy shit is too hard for us to not support each other, and women are too funny for men to not stand up (ha, ha) and say so."

Check it Out: Pam and Sue

Check out Sue Galloway and Pam Murphy's videos on their tumblr. Love it.

March 21-25 Boston's Women In Comedy Fesival

We wouldn't be your #4 trusted source in all things gender and humor if we didn't remind you of the upcoming Women in Comedy Festival in Boston. Aside from shows, there are workshops to get your comedy bootcamp on.  So what are you waiting for? You have three whole weeks to find a way to Boston.

As Lane Moore writes, over at Feministing:

I can’t express how much I want to see a variety of voices out there and the only way to do that is by supporting events like this one and finding ways to support and encourage yourselves to go boldly in the direction of “that thing you do on the side”. Women, queers, and trans people already have so many hurdles to leap over when it comes to visibility in the arts that the last thing we need is to be the ones stopping ourselves.

Small Screen: Two Steps Forward, One Step Back

Don't miss Jamie Peck's "Does TV's Year of the Woman Really Constitute Progress If All The Shows Suck?":

...This disappointing lack of progressiveness gets less surprising when you consider that the percentage of women working in writers’ rooms has dropped from 35% (in ’06-’07) to just 15%. (The percentage of racial minorities is even worse, and a topic for a whole other essay.) The easy slide into sexist jokes gets a whole lot easier when there are few women around. And as for the shows’ quality, it’s not like King Of Queens or Two and a Half Men is any funnier than Whitney or 2 Broke Girls, but the success of shows like The Office, Parks and Recreation, and 30 Rock shows that it’s possible for a show to be smart and hilarious and remain on the air. It’s great that women are gaining more visibility in TV, but we still have a ways left to go. With quantity must come quality; just because you have a vagina doesn’t automatically make your material a step forward for women, or for comedy.

[For the record, I really, really wanted to like 2 Broke Girls. Maybe they can still salvage it?]

Roseanne Barr + Amy Goodman = OMG

Liza Donnelly's TED Talk: Drawing Upon Humor For Change

Lyndsay Hailey's "30% Chance of Hailey" Solo Sketch Show

What are you doing Tuesday at 8pm? If you reside in Chicago, do yourself a favor and check out "30% Chance of Hailey," comedian Lyndsay Hailey's solo sketch show.

Hailey's comedy is hard to quickly characterize: The show includes real life stories, hyper-energetic rapping, historical romance, gymnastics, impeccable accents, singing and a lovely dose of audience participation. Hailey is a comedian's comedian- her jokes almost take on a meta quality as she's simultaneously being funny and making fun of the comedic convention being used. (Think poking fun of vague miming or obligatory audience participation... Okay, admittedly less funny when you try to explain it, but funnier when you actually see it!) Her grandiose characters are well complemented by the subtler moments when she plays herself, reenacting her own experiences.

Upcoming shows:

• Tuesday, February 16
  
• Tuesday, February 23
  
• Tuesday, March 02

All shows are at 8:00 PM in the Del Close Theater at iO- tickets are $12 (FREE for iO students)

Women Stand Up and Shoot: A Comedic Film Competition

Photo by http://www.flickr.com/photos/37899119@N06/ / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

The phenomenal folks at Women Stand Up! and the IFP Minnesota Center for Media Arts have teamed up to host Women Stand Up and Shoot, a competition designed to promote and encourage women writers, actors and directors in film comedies. Bust out your typewriters, boom mics and dialect coaches... it's on.

Submissions are due by April 21st, and the films will be screened at Minneapolis's Bryant Lake Bowl Theater in May.

Eligibility Guidelines:
1) Films must have a female writer or director
2) Films must feature a female lead or leads
3) Films must be comedic
4) Films cannot be longer than 10 minutes

Films will be judged by nationally-known funny Minnesota-bred women: Lizz Winstead, a writer and comedian, a founding member of Air America Radio and Co-Creator of Comedy Central's "The Daily Show;” Mary Jo Pehl, one of the original writers for Mystery Science Theater 3000, which aired on Comedy Central and the Sci Fi Channel, and a writer for Minnesota Monthly; Jackie Kashian, a stand-up comedian who has toured nationally for over 14 years, has appeared on CBS, NBC, and the Nationally syndicated Radio/TV show Bob And Tom, and has a half-hour special on Comedy Central.

HOW TO APPLY:

THE DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS IS APRIL 21ST 2010.

Please send the following information in an email to Dana Buchwald at womenstandupandshoot@gmail[DOT]com:

-Your name, address, phone number, and email address
-Title of the film
-Length of the film
-A brief synopsis of the film (no more than 50 words)
-A short bio (no more than 50 words)

You may submit your film on a DVD or as a URL.

If you are submitting your video online, include the link in the body of your email.

You do not need to submit a DVD if your work is available online.

If you are submitting a DVD, you need to send FOUR copies of the DVD. Each DVD must be labeled with:
-The title of the film
-Length
-Your name
-Your phone number

Send or bring 4 copies of the DVD to:

IFP Minnesota
WSU-Shoot
2446 University Avenue West, Suite 100
St. Paul, MN 55114

For more info, contact Lu Lippold, llippold@ifpmn[DOT]org or Dana Buchwald, womenstandupandshoot@gmail[DOT]com

Kudos to Women Stand Up! and IFP MN for creating spaces for comedic women in film.

Rest in Peace, Jean Carroll

Punchline Magazine has a nice obit for Jean Carroll, who passed away on Friday. Also, check out the New York Time's obituary.

Chicago Panel: "Four Women Talk About Being Funny"

Thanks to Carlin for passing this on! [Editors note: sorry about the unannounced hiatus in posting... we're back in the fray!]
From the Chicago Humanities Festival website:

What do funny and feminine and feminist have to do with each other? Anything? A lot? Four influential women in Chicago’s theater scene talk about what they’ve learned about being funny. With experiences—some funny, some not—in writing, directing, improvising, and acting, their conversation may range far and wide in search of what role gender plays in delivering and receiving humor, or if gender plays a role at all. Martha Lavey, ensemble member and artistic director of Steppenwolf Theatre, will moderate the roundtable discussion, which will include Leslie Buxbaum Danzig, actor and director of 500 Clown; Tanya Saracho, writer, actor, and founding artistic director of Teatro Luna; and Lauren Katz, founding member of ED, a long-form improv group born in Chicago.

Where:
Francis W Parker School
2233 N Clark Street
Chicago, IL 60614

Tickets:
Adults: $5.00
Educators & Students: FREE

When:
Sat, Nov. 14 10:30 - 11:30 AM

GroupThink Update: The Interview

Wisecrack sits down with Wendy Rosoff and Angela Espinosa of GroupThink.



Plus, the newest GroupThink Glimpse:

30 Rock Takes Home More Emmys

30 Rock, once again, won Outstanding Comedy at the Emmys (for the third consecutive year). On top of that, 30 Rock's Alec Baldwin won Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series, 30 Rock writer Matt Hubbard took Outstanding Comedy Writing (in the outstanding writing category, four out of the five nominees were 30 Rock episodes). Fey also snagged the Best Guest Actress in a Comedy for her SNL Palin portrayals last fall.




Other notable wins:

Toni Collette took home Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for The United States of Tara (extended props to creator Diablo Cody).



Glenn Close won Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for Damages.

Kristin Chenoweth, of Pushing Daisies won Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series.

What We're Watching: GroupThink

Angela Espinosa and Wendy Rosoff are the brilliant minds behind the self-produced online sketch comedy show GroupThink. I'm honestly not sure which is better, the writing of this show or their wonderfully nuanced delivery. Check out all their videos (and subscribe) over here.



The latest episode (but do yourself a favor and check out the others):



Despite the radically different format, they remind me of Chicago's own Money Kids (okay, now in New York). And not just because they're a brilliant two-woman sketch group. Because every once in a while, a duo comes along with such great chemistry that half of the fun is just watching them have fun: