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Womens Comedy 2013

Womens Comedy 2013

With the first ever Womens Comedy Festival almost upon us,we asked founder/producer Hazel O'Keefe some key questions about the festival.

Where did the idea for the Women In Comedy festival come from?

It’s been something I have been wanting to do for several years, so it was a matter of timing. Over the past couple of years I feel that the comedy scene has changed for the better, I use to be able to confidently name most of the female acts in the UK. That’s not the case now, there are so many females involved in comedy that I probable only know 20% of the artist, so on a personal level I wanted to create something which encourages networking but ultimately a festival to showcases and celebrates like this was inevitable.
 
How did you get involved with promoting women’s comedy?

I founded Laughing Cows Comedy in 1998, after a London comedy promoter inadvertently threw down the proverbial gauntlet. ‘We were discussing female comics and I asked why there's never more than one female comedian on the bill and he said, oh we wouldn't take that risk.’ Running female dominated lines up was my natural feminist response, proving the point that a comedy night with more than one female could be successful. Laughing Cows shows now run all over the UK and the shows are always well attended. We are even producing comedy shows with mixed bills from November onwards.
 
Why do you think that it’s important to focus specifically on stand-up from women?

Less important each day which is a great thing. A lot has changed since Laughing Cows comedy was founded in 1998 but we are still not quite there. The circular conversations and myths still exist, ‘women aren’t funny’ is a general sweeping statement which is unfounded and unfair. Some women are, some women are not just the same as our male counterparts. For me its about equality of opportunity and that’s why I have dedicated several years of my life to providing opportunities to females in the industry, performing, sound engineering, DJing, promoting ….

Jen Brister says “Its great to be a part of a festival that celebrates women in comedy. Maybe we can finally stop having the debate about ‘are women funny’ Its BORING!”
 
 
What advice would you give someone who wants to try stand-up comedy?

I’m not qualified to say, I don’t get up on stage, I am very much the backstage person, I enjoy the production, promotion, tech and marketing. I have toyed with the idea of getting on stage but I don’t think I would ever feel comfortable performing comedy. So I think its essential you enjoy it and that you can be yourself on stage. Get your first five minutes and keep performing it until every second is as tight as it can be and then start adding more material. It doesn’t happen over night, the acts I see improve considerably are the ones out there gigging as much as possible. Jo Caulfield one of our patrons has a great article on her website entitled ‘ Things I have Learnt As a Stand Up Comic’ I’d recommend having a read of that.  (http://www.jocaulfield.com/component/content/article/126)



HAZEL O’KEEFE - FESTIVAL DIRECTOR
07958642090 | info@womenincomedy.co.uk
@womenincomedyuk
www.womenincomedy.co.uk

Published: 5-Sep-2013: (2051)

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