She-Ha, Princesses of Power – art by Clay Yount, click to embiggen.

One of the axioms of standup comedy is that it’s a much harder business for women than for men. There are lots of theories floating around about this, usually pointing fingers at SOMEONE’S latent sexism: comedy club audiences, comedy club owners, a society that gives women more family responsibilities than men, etc.  What IS certain is that there are fewer working female standup comics than males, and it’s a shame because there are some damn funny women engaged in this art form.  

She-Ha, Princesses of Power is an all-female lineup appearing next Friday and Saturday at the DC Improv Comedy Lounge, featuring some of my personal favorite superheroines of standup. The show features Erin Jackson, Diana Saez, Aparna Nancherla, Lisa Fine, Leslie Cooley, Kat Wilderotter, Andrea Fuller (Friday), and Jen Wardrop (Saturday).  Having seen Aparna, Lisa, Leslie, and Kat many times around town, I can only tell you to GO. I continue to secretly wish Iran’s president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad would start making noise again just so Aparna can do the bit about Ahmadinejad’s Myspace page some more. So there you have it, these comics are so funny that I’m wishing for an international incident with a potentially nuclear power in the Middle East.

She-Ha, Princesses of Power, will appear at the DC Improv Comedy Lounge on Friday and Saturday, September 19th and 20th, at 8:00 PM. Tickets are $10: buy them through the Improv.

Jeff Maurer

I’ve caught Jeff Maurer at the Hotel Topaz Thursday comedy nights a few times, and one of the things that always struck me is the control in his delivery- most comedians act like they’re telling jokes, which is fine, because hey, you’re at a comedy club. Jeff sounds like he’s telling a story to his friends at the bar, which just adds to the comedic value, I think. See for yourself; I particularly recommend the “Appetizer” clip. You can catch Jeff this week opening for Mike Birbiglia at the DC Improv.

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Many professions and art forms have festival events, where the up-and-comers try to get noticed, get to mingle with the Big Names, and where enthusiasts for that particular art form or profession get to geek out to their hearts’ content- Defcon, Cannes, Dragon*Con, at heart, they’re all about the same thing- people who love something getting together to celebrate it. Comedy is no different- there are multiple comedy festivals each year, days-long binges of laughter where comedians get to perform for each other, talk about the craft of comedy, and educate one another. Toronto, Las Vegas, and Aspen are the most famous, so you may not know that here in DC, we have our very own comedy festival that draws some serious talent while showcasing some of our own finest local comics.

The DC Comedy Fest starts next week and the schedule is packed with sketch comedy, standup comedy, panel discussions, and classes.  Their site has the full listing, by performer and by event, as well as tickets for individual shows, passes by venue, and a full-festival pass. They’ve got shows downtown, shows on U Street, shows in Arlington. There’s really something for everyone, but here are my picks for particular highlights:

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I first saw Jon Mumma at the Laugh Riot at the Hyatt in Bethesda doing a featured set. I laughed all the way through, so I was delighted to see that he’s emceeing at the Improv this week- you should check him out there, appearing with headliner Kevin Pollak. I could spend rather a lot of time geeking out about his use of non-verbal communication to enhance the joke he’s telling, but it would probably only be interesting to me. The short version: He’s funny, and you should go see him. But don’t take my word for it… watch him online.

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As I’ve been enjoying my own tentative steps into the world of standup comedy, I’ve come to discover that a lot of my favorite comedians are locals, people who you may not see on Comedy Central, and who may not even be headlining a local club, but who I never fail to think of when someone asks me who I find funny. One such comic is Jimmy Meritt, who I first saw with the Geek Comedy Tour last fall. He has his hands full- in addition to his appearances with the Geek Comedy Tour (which I’ll be sure to catch at Wiseacres later this month), he performs at comedy clubs around the Eastern US, and will be appearing with the “We Can Make You Laugh” Tour this fall. I highly recommend that you see him this week at the DC Improv, appearing with Brett Leake. View his calendar, and watch him in action online.

Jimmy was kind enough to answer some questions for We Love DC:
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