Women In Comedy Festival founders with the celebratory cake at Laugh Boston.
Sunday, May 11, 2014
Saturday, May 10, 2014
Todd Barry's "Crowd Work" in the Boston Globe
I spoke with Todd Barry about his "Crowd Work" special and tours for today's Boston Globe, in a piece called "Barry's winging it with crowd-sourced comedy." Barry is on his third and "Final Crowd Work Tour," which comes to the Sinclair Sunday night. There is no pre-written material, just Barry talking to the crowd.In the story, Barry mentions an audience member in Minneapolis whom I say was a lawyer working for a "sex toy factory." He was a bit more specific, but the Globe is a family paper, and I couldn't mention it. Here is Barry, explaining how some audience members can still throw him a curveball now and then.
"Some people surprise you. A guy in Minneapolis had like a corporate lawyer job, and it just seemed like it wasn’t going to be anything to talk about, and then he said, somehow, ‘But I am representing a dildo company now.’ You know, I have questions then."
WICF Spotlight: Robin Maxfield
Robin Maxfield came to stand-up comedy through storytelling, a skill she’ll get
to show off this afternoon at Club Passim as part of the Women In Comedy
Festival. She’s also a mother, which is why she has organized the Haha Mama
Mother’s Day Show for the past several years. This year, there will be two Haha
Mama shows (1PM and 7PM at Laugh Boston) featuring Bonnie McFarlane, Andrea
Henry, Kerri Louise, Jane Condon, Bethany Van Delft, Roz Browne, and more.
Maxfield talks about storytelling, the WICF, and more below as part of a series
of interviews about the festival.
You
have a bigger presence at the WICF this year. What are your thoughts on the
festival, how it’s put together, and various acts on the schedule?
It’s
wonderful to be able to collaborate with the producers at WICF. The festival is
so jam packed with great events that it’s hard to choose which to go to and
when you’re producing there’s even less time.
You
come from a storytelling background – what’s the difference between stand-up
and storytelling, in your experience?
These
two worlds are not only merging more but they are developing respect for each
other. Stand-up has structure that is measured by getting people to laugh
as often as possible with the least words, storytelling allows a comic a longer
set up and often a bigger payoff with a huge laugh. Really good stand-ups
will have a story arc to their set, a theme that builds.
You’ve
been doing the “Haha Mama” Mother’s Day Show for a few years. For the
uninitiated, what can people expect from that night?
They
can expect to be comfortably seated in the newest and most beautiful comedy
club in Boston laughing at a hilarious line up of women comics talking about
motherhood- a universal topic wrought with chaos, confusion and emotional
roller coasters. Birth belongs exclusively to women, no one can deny us that. In
fact, no one would be here without a woman somewhere being willing to carry them
to term and then letting them live, whether they know her or not.
We’ve
talked about “mom comedy” before. Focusing your material on one particular type
of material can help your establish a comic identity that might provide
opportunities, on one hand, to relate to an audience, but on the other, also
limit other opportunities. Is that a battle you’ve faced?
The
first time we did the haha mama show there was a mom who brought her 19 year
old son along. I raced up to him and asked him if he found the comedy
relatable and he said “It was awesome, I was cracking up!” I said “Really?
even the menstrual cycle and blow job jokes?” He said “absolutely!” From then
on I continued to ask the men of all ages including a group of gay men what
they thought and it turns out EVERYONE loves Mom humor because almost everyone
has a mom. My own theory too is that people like to see confident women
expressing themselves freely, they not only laugh but they learn. It’s
like having a window into a Girls’ Night Out, they don’t hold back because
women find their strength in numbers. Male comics compete, females tend to
collaborate, support and strengthen each other, at least that’s what I’ve
witnessed.
You’ve
got a great line-up for the show, as well. Anyone you’re particularly excited
to see?
I’m
super excited about our headliner, Bonnie McFarlane. I saw Jane Condon at
last year’s festival and I was falling over laughing so hard so I can’t wait to
see her again. Everyone in the show is super strong and we had so many
talented women that we have a different line up for each show so you can go to
both!
What’s
next after the festival?
I’m
thrilled to be continuing with the monthly Boston Comedy Chicks http://bostoncomedychicks.com at
Doyles and we have excited plans to livestream the show on the Internet as well
as continue running our workshops for female comics to work on their material.
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