So… what’s up?
Pride Month… what a time to be gay! Being vaccinated, I’ve been lucky enough to go OUT. I danced and marched in seas of dykes. I’ve sat in the front row of two comedy shows and been relentlessly crowd-worked––feels good to be alive! Roast me! I’m here and this was the only seat available!
Topping off the general high of the month, Sunday the 27th, I had my first live performance since March 2020. Queer Window performed our first in-person sketch show at Caveat through The Squirrel Theater. The show went well and was a blast–so I thought I might share the secrets to my success. Here’s a day (afternoon/evening) in the life of a glamourous NYC sketch comedian:
3:30 PM – 7 HOURS UNTIL SHOWTIME. Dinnertime! Why not? The excitement of performing makes my stomach twist up like a rubber band ball so I try to eat a sandwich. It’s a good sandwich but it still takes me forever to eat half.
4:30PM – 6 HOURS UNTIL SHOWTIME. Time to hop in the shower! Let me get naked and–oh, while that black morph suit is in view, I’m just going to pack it up, and why not find that one apron we need and roll three joints for after the show––wait…
5:30PM – 5 HOURS UNTIL SHOWTIME. Okay! Now I’ll take a shower. It’s like 90 degrees out so I’m sweaty and I need it and it will feel good––but do I know my lines? I was off-book (mostly) last week, but has a hole formed in my memory that will make me blackout the moment I’m on stage–
6:30PM – 4 HOURS UNTIL SHOWTIME. Okay actual showertime. Repeat my lines out loud and add purple toner to my hair. Panic about the time even though there’s still multiple hours to pass. Put on shirt for performance, then take of shirt to dry the sweat before I have to go.
7:30PM – 3 HOURS UNTIL SHOWTIME. Dismantle entire bag of props and check with homemade spreadsheet. Do it 5 more times. Wait, do I know my lines? I check a few times in the mirror. I drink several glasses of water. I make myself finish the sandwich so I can drink after the show. I start a meditation on the Calm app but skip through a little bit so I can leave on time. I get the gist of it.
8:30PM – 2 HOURS UNTIL SHOWTIME. Take the subway to the Lower East Side. Listen to pump up music––we’re talking Weezer, The Killers, and Fiona Apple, baby! I notice the train I’m on is skipping my stop so I bolt off to make an unexpected third transfer.
9:30PM – 1 HOUR UNTIL SHOWTIME. Hug my teammates, move my bag of props from one corner to the next. Chug water. Pee. Chug water. Pee. Do I remember my lines? Run lines. Pee. Pee. GO–
10:30PM - SHOWTIME. Adrenaline kicks in and there’s really no control of how things go. Putting on a full-body black morph suit takes a lot longer than we had budgeted between scenes. We forget a prop here or there. We stumble on a couple lines. But the audience still laughs, and I still suck up all that energy and convert it into my entire sense of self-worth. Slurp slurp slurp.
God, I’ve missed this.
What have I been working on?
AWF Mag - Pride Month has been an especially great time for queer satire, so I encourage you to check out all our articles on the website and our various socials (twitter, instagram). My contribution to our Pride content:
Small Town Dyke March Just Pleasant Hike With Dog
“While San Francisco and New York City may be known for their large and historic Dyke Marches, this year, one local couple is organizing their own Dyke March event: Barbara Swinton, 65, and Susan Swinton, 63, plan to take a beautiful and somewhat rigorous trail hike with their golden retriever, Holland.”
Go read the full article here!!!
PFLAG MOM SONG - Speaking of Pride content, I made another viral TikTok! I wrote a silly ode to supportive moms at Pride and a lot of their kids shared it with them on TikTok. They were very wholesome and supportive, and I appreciate that they can take a joke. Also, any time someone commented that they didn’t have a “PFLAG mom,” a hoard of them would flood the replies with heart emojis and “virtual mom hugs.” Love them.
The moms spread the video fast, and it wasn’t too long until PFLAG was up in my DMs asking if they could repost it. Truly an honor.
Shoutout to Christian Luu (keyboard) and Aarushi Agni (guitar) for helping me bring this song to life. Would not be nearly as good without their harmony on the words “gimp suit.”
What am I watching?
Rutherford Falls – Another sitcom streaming on Peacock!! I’m sorry, you might need to get Peacock!!! This show was marketed with just Ed Helms’ face–so I was wary before I started watching. Nothing against Ed, I just felt like I was something I had seen before. I watched though, and my expectations were shattered. The show features Indigenous people both on screen and in the writer’s room, and it makes a huge difference in representation–the stories go beyond the surface of what we usually get to see. It’s also just super funny. I haven’t finished the season yet but, I still definitely recommend giving it a watch!!
Who’s making me laugh?
Speaking of Christian Luu… Christian Luu (they/she)! Christian is a fellow Awf Writer and a performer in Queer Window–you might recognize them as “sister Ally” in my sketch, Trans Game Show. Their solo sketch show, Trans Mose, is streaming with Ars Nova here. She is funny and absurd and someone I am glad to call a friend!
Follow her twitter and instagram.
Also shoutout to Reid Pope (they/them) featured in the photo at the top hosting their Olivia Rodrigo-themed comedy show–Sour Show–which was a blast. Reid is also an Awf writer! And the author of their own substack newsletter that may or may not have inspired me to start this very newsletter.
Follow Reid’s twitter and instagram, and subscribe to their substack newsletter!
And that’s that!
The Queer Window show was taped and will be posted online, so look out for that link next month! And remember, just because Pride month is over doesn’t mean you have to stop being queer! I believe in you. <3
Xoxo, Loie