In honor of Women’s History Month, local comedians have organized the Fem Comedy Fiesta Festival, which runs through Sunday.
The idea came from San Antonio-based comedian Bobby Smith. He owns the Upstage Comedy Lounge, which will welcome about 50 women comedians from across the country.
Smith said the concept of the festival was inspired by Women’s History Month.
“It’s already a male-dominated genre, so I feel like more women need opportunities. People don’t know about these funny female comedians that are out there,” he said.
Genivieve Clinton is a comedian from Detroit who is now based in Austin. Her comedy includes discussions of mental health and personal anecdotes on some difficult subjects.
Clinton said she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and hypomania. She has used comedy to normalize conversations around mental health.
“If I’m on stage, I’m having fun, and the audience is having fun. The audience puts their judgments aside on mental illness and what mentally ill people can do and what they’re like. We’re both working together,” she said. "You’re both kind of breaking the stereotype at the same time together.”
Clinton said that all-female lineups, like the Fem Comedy Festival, allow for women to be less disparaging of their comedy.
“I’ve seen a lot of women downplay themselves in their set. Calling themselves dumb or ... putting themselves in a stereotypical scenario,” she said.
Clinton joins a group of all-women headliners, including San Antonio comedian Tori Pool. Pool’s comedy is centered around her real life hardships, like getting divorced and losing her mother. For Pool, the death of her mother was one of the hardest things she’s ever experienced.
“I think that grief comes in waves, especially for me. There are really good moments when I feel like her loss is not debilitating in any way. But then there are other moments where I feel like I could move the earth with this immense sadness,” she said.
Comedy has helped her process her memories and grief.
“I can go on stage and tell somebody about a dumb thing that she did. Then everybody's laughing at her, and it's kind of like, 'haha, you know, I got you again.' She always told me that I could talk about her after she passed. So I feel like I got that free pass to kind of grieve and laugh and show people a little bit of this crazy little lady that I used to know,” she said.
Both Pool and Clinton encourage people to support their local women comedians.
“The easiest form of support is liking a post, sharing a post, going to a comedy show, and just being a participant and also telling someone about it,” Pool added.
Other comedians headlining the Fem Comedy Fiesta Festival include Christina Mariana, Lotto Marie, Jasmine Ellis and Britainy Goss. The festival is happening at the Upstage Comedy lounge through Sunday.
