Happy Thanksgiving! How About Those Gender Roles in Improv, Eh?

By WICF Editor Liz McKeon  

Happy Thanksgiving, ladies of comedy! Happy Thanksgiving, fans of comedic ladies! Happy Thanksgiving, everyone outside of the U.S. who has to work today (my apologies).

I'd like to direct your attention to a brilliant podcast hosted over at our sponsor ImprovBoston's site, "Fireside Improv." You know the wonderful WICF Contributor Rachel Klein, you love her. Now you can hear Rachel, along with the brilliant David Marino and Andy Short, expound on all the improv geekiness you've been missing in your life.

On the most recent episode, "Gender and Improv," the group tackles the important questions about women's roles in improv and how gender roles play out on and off the stage. Check out "Fireside Improv 9 - Gender and Improv" on the ImprovBoston Radio page.

For some choice quotes to share around the dinner table, my money's on: "I came back to improv as a married woman, mother of two. I noticed the difference that made as to how some men in the improv world would look at me versus an attractive single female counterpart of mine ... less onstage than ... you know how, when a man meets a women — you tell me if this is not true — they think maybe there's a chance I'll sleep with her? The quotient of that goes down with certain attributes." -Rachel Klein
"Is Being married one?" -David Marino
"Being married is one, but, like, ugh, she's had babies. That's a whole scary world. So there's this whole bed-able quotient that reduces [our chances onstage.]"

Or chew on these two bon mots from Rachel:
"Men don't have to be representative of all men when they speak, but women represent all women."
"People are more willing to look at tubby, middle-aged men than at tubby, middle-aged women."

I'd like to make a shout out to Patti Jane McCauley McLoughlin, for the deviled eggs and conversation. Happy holiday!