The co-creator of a new stand-up comedy show in Guelph wants to put a spotlight on more women in the space, and create a show welcoming to all groups.
Dr. Sarah Boston is co-producing ‘The Woman’s Monthly,’ a monthly stand-up comedy show beginning at the Guelph artBar Saturday, May 11.
“If you start looking at line ups for stand-up comedy, I think a lot of people see (and point out that it’s) all men, or there’s one woman, and it’s just become normalized,” the veterinary surgical oncologist and Guelph-based comic said.
With it, she said routines can be male-focused, misogynistic and even aggressive toward women.
However, Boston points out if you go to a theatre comedy show, the crowd is about 80 per cent women.
“It’s not that women don’t like comedy, I think they really do,” Boston said. “If you go to a stand-up show that doesn’t feel safe, doesn’t feel fun or feels sort of negative towards women, you don’t go back.”
“I really want to create something that could be fun for locals to go with their girlfriends, go with a group of women and enjoy a night out of comedy that isn’t going to make anyone feel bad.”
She emphasized while she wants a space more welcoming to women, she doesn’t want to exclude men from coming to the show.
In fact, her co-host and co-producer for this show is a man, Toronto-based comedian Mark Edwards.
“It’s not a clean corporate show,” she said. “If you do comedy for corporate, there’s no swear words and everything is absolutely squeaky clean. We’re not asking for that from our comics, but we are asking them to be mindful of it. We want it to be welcoming to everyone.”
Boston brought the idea to Damian Weston, the executive director of the Guelph Arts Council.
Weston, who has worked with stand-up comics in the past, was all ears in providing access to a performance space.
“There aren’t a lot of funding options,” he said. “Stand-up comedy is generally not eligible for grants from the Ontario Arts Council and many of the other granting agencies, it’s not even considered an art at all.”
He said throughout his tenure at the arts council, he has wanted to take a look at those things and “change the notion of what gets accepted into the artistic community.”
“Stand-up comedy seems natural for me,” he said.
Weston is pleased to be able to facilitate this opportunity with Boston.
The first show is May 11, while future dates are yet to be determined.
But as the name of the show suggests, the goal is to have at least one show a month with a variety of comics. Boston said to follow her on Instagram for any updates on shows beyond the one in May.
In May, Boston and Edwards will be joined by Fiona O’Brien, Jen Sakato, Renee Groux and Jessica Besser-Rosenberg.
Tickets are $25 and available online.
Weston said the artBar has room for about 100 people for the show.
