In the 10 years since KBDI-Channel 12 held its first Comedy Gay-La benefit, the number of gay and lesbian comics has mushroomed – and more have found work in straight clubs.
“When the Gay-La first started, I felt like I knew every gay and lesbian comic in the country, and I probably did,” comedian Bob Smith said. “But now there are so many, and you hear about more and more.”
It’s out of the closet and onto the stage.
“Now we are established as one of the other voices in comedy,” Smith said. “I’ve always had the theory anyway that most stand-up comedians look at American culture from an outsider’s point of view. It is like the Jewish, African-American, Hispanic and now gay-and-lesbian (communities).”
Comedian Shann Carr estimated that 10 years ago there were probably only 30 or 40 gay and lesbian comedians working full time. “I would say that the number of gay and lesbian comedians has expanded a hundredfold in the last five or 10 years – easily,” she said.
Carr, Smith and Mimi Gonzalez are scheduled to perform at Saturday’s Gay-La, a fundraiser for the
PBS affiliate at Denver’s Stage Theatre.
Carr said there was a time when even a gay person couldn’t understand what she meant when she said she was a gay comic.
“I was talking to another comedian, a friend of mine, and what we were saying is we kind of miss the sensation of being these pioneers,” Carr said. “That was the thrilling part of our generation of gay comics, kind of getting it established as a thing that you could do.”
But that pioneer feeling has been replaced with a camaraderie that flows from the now large pool of gay comedians.
“And that’s progress for us,” Carr said.
Ten years ago, Smith said, several established stand-up acts were still in the closet, notably
Ellen DeGeneres and Rosie O’Donnell.
“What’s good is that the gay and lesbian comics work in the straight comedy clubs,” Smith said. “And straight audiences, after ‘Will & Grace’ and Ellen coming out, are willing to say, ‘Oh, he’s gay,’ and give (him) a shot. And if the guy is funny, they’ll laugh and if he is not funny, they won’t laugh. Which I think is fair.”
Gonzalez started on what she calls the “queer circuit” and later moved into the mainstream. DeGeneres was her role model.
“She’s a huge star, and she became a huge star by being a mainstream comic,” Gonzalez said. “She never told you about her life, and she never told you she was gay when she was on stage. Now is a totally different time than when Ellen was doing comedy.”
She noted that DeGeneres now uses some lesbian material but at the same time has moved beyond it to just do her own comedy. “There is a need to identify and there is just as strong a need to let go of that identifying and just be the funny person you really are,” Gonzalez said.
She said integration in comedy reflects the advances made for gay rights in society.
“There is a lot more competition (for bookings), but that’s also a great sign of acceptance and openness,” Gonzalez said.
While there are more gay comics, there might be less gay-centric comedy, she said.
“I think there is less gay comedy in the last 10 years, because the more accepted and the more integrated you become in the community and the world at large the more you are able to see yourself reflected on TV, at clubs around the country whether they are straight or gay,” she said.
That means gays don’t have to depend on special events aimed just at them. Then again, Carr argues that there is more gay comedy than ever.
The Internet has allowed the gay and lesbian community to organize into niches of homosexuality. That means more groups to entertain, she said.
“I just did such a specific (gig): Gay Men Nude AOL Chat Room Conference,” she said. “I just kept chanting in front of all these naked gay men, “I see London. I see France. I wish you had underpants.”‘
She cited other bookings: a national convention of gay bowlers, another one for gay truckers.
Smith said another area of progess is the number of gay Latino and African-American stand-up comics.
Gonzales doesn’t see it.
“It’s still hardly any, hardly any,” she said. “I would like Bob to name the queer Latino and the queer black comics. I mean we’re there, but it’s hard. The queer community can sometimes go, ‘Well, we already have a Latino. We don’t need another. You can’t come in on that.’ Don’t even call me Latino then; just call me somebody who will make you laugh.”
Carr said there is one area needing far more progress: integration of gay and lesbian audiences.
“If you are playing in a gay scene, it leans very highly toward one gender or the other,” she said. “I think we are actually doing better integrating in the mainstream that we are into each other.”
Staff writer Ed Will can be reached at 303-820-1694 or ewill@denverpost.com.
10th Annual Comedy Gay-La
STANDUP|Stage Theatre, Denver Performing Arts Complex, 14th and Curtis streets, 8 p.m. Saturday|$24|303-830-8497.
