Interview Laura Bailey and Jess Beaulieu of Chicka Boom

“I don’t think there’s anything more subversive that a woman can do than be a comedian,” says improviser and sketch comic Laura Bailey. “But there’s also a larger social issue here about the general timidity of women as performers. Getting on stage is not something that’s traditionally encouraged or even available for a lot of girls.”

That’s something that Bailey, along with co-organizer and stand-up comedian Jess Beaulieu, have set out to remedy with their new all-female variety show Chicka Boom. The show, which features a range of performances including comedy, dance, and musical theatre, kicks off this Sunday at Free Times Cafe.

While absent from the stage, males are heartily encouraged to attend. The A.V. Club sat down with the two funny ladies to talk rape jokes, pleasing the audience, and the libido of the comedy scene.

The A.V. Club: Where did the idea for Chicka Boom originate?

Jess Beaulieu: We know each other through doing improv together, and one night we were at The Supermarket bonding over alcohol, and we were talking about how we wanted perform more.

Laura Bailey: You said to me that you wanted to produce an all female show—a variety show. And then I said that we could have all different kind of artists, like actors and dancers—let’s get all female performers. I’m a comedian, but I get bored going to comedy shows. I like going to show where you can see different kinds of performance art, and I thought it would be really neat to have a show where you could see a sampling of all different kinds of art unified under the idea of female performers in Toronto.

JB: I’ve just started focusing on stand-up, and sometimes I’ll go to a show that has 15 stand-ups in a row, and even if they are brilliant it gets incredibly repetitive—after a while you don’t even listen any more. Any kind of variety keeps peoples attention for a longer period of time. We also find that a lot of artistic groups—even within comedy—are very separate, it’s standup versus sketch versus improv. It’s nice to bring all these talented people together.

AVC: What made you guys decide to produce the show yourselves?

LB: There are a shit-ton of wannabe aspiring comedians in Toronto and not a lot of places to perform. You end up having to go to producers or to people who have long-standing big shows, because producing a show gets expensive. If you’re just a performer, it can be really hard to find a place to have free reign, and that hierarchy is male-dominated. If you really want to do your own stuff, you kind of have to produce your own show. 

AVC: As women, was it difficult to be taken seriously when you both started performing?

JB: We started out in improv, which is the most artsy of the comedies and very welcoming to women. Stand-up, which I recently started doing, is less welcoming. I don’t mean there aren't wonderfully supportive people in stand-up—there are tons— but it is frustrating when a host comments on the quality of my bottom instead of the quality of my jokes. But my friends in the community always encourage me to stick with it, and women have a great presence in comedy right now. I think that the funniest stand-ups in Canada are female, and they worked hard to get where they are. I'm sure they had their share of sexist comments to deal with, but they didn't quit and are headlining massive shows these days. Chicka Boom is a celebration of those women.

LB: Stand-up is really hard for women because there are still so many stand-ups that base all of their sets on insulting women—that’s very standard. I think there are opportunities, but the libido of the comedy scene can sometimes make women feel uncomfortable or limited in doing their art.

AVC: Is the audience for most comedy shows also predominantly male?

JB: I really don’t think the audience is male dominated. It’s a mix. Unless there is no audience, and in that case it’s just the male performers in the audience.

AVC: So if women are coming to comedy shows, why aren’t there more women getting on stage?

JB: It’s especially hard for women in comedy, where you have to be ugly and talk about your own problems. You have to be okay with guys not being attracted to you, thinking you are crazy, which kind of goes against everything you’re taught.

LB: You have to completely abandon any kind of societal standard; you have to be willing to make a fool of yourself. Gender itself is a tough enough performance as it is, and you have to just drop that and do something else. I don’t think anyone is really talking about the patriarchal aspect of the scene. What’s interesting to me is the fervor with which a large group of comedians will take to the battlefield and defend rape jokes. No one defends anything more than they defend rape jokes.

AVC: Is there that idea that as a comedian, you aren’t allowed to be offended by anything?

JB: Yeah, everything’s fair game. I mean, Louis CK has some funny rape jokes. But the point of the joke is never “I like rape.” You also have to know your audience.

LB: That’s one thing that I do like and respect about comedy: your audience will tell you exactly how they feel about what you are doing immediately. And for the most part, when something goes too far, people don’t laugh. It’s the ultimate court of public opinion. I do have faith in audiences to tell comedians when what they are doing is bullshit.

AVC: So in addition to the women on stage, what does Chicka Boom offer audiences that other comedy shows don’t?

LB: I feel like this show is really cool because people that don’t go to shows very often can be like, I’m going to go to this and get my cultural fix. I’m going to see a little bit of everything. There’s not really any other show like that in Toronto, and we have the potential to showcase all these talented women in this city.

JB: I like producing shows I would want to attend, and I would want to see this.