Poor Yorick

It’s Not that Women Aren’t Funny…

There are just more obstacles to women becoming successful comedians

Photos from a recent show the author was on.

Women often find themselves in primary caregiver roles, which makes it difficult to get out to open mics. I’m lucky as a single mom that I can occasionally hire a babysitter so I can do some comedy. Many can not.

While I can get out enough to feel like I’m improving and building up new material, I’m not getting out there and grinding every night as many comedians are. Becoming a parent and getting divorced has been great inspiration for coming up with material, but it’s difficult to get out and test it to see what works.

I have lots of time to reflect at home on my jokes, which is somewhat helpful, but it is frustrating to know I’m missing out on opportunities that I could be ready for if I was getting out more. A big part of comedy is networking and who you know. Local shows are often booked based on who show runners are seeing at open mics, so I’m certainly missing out on being booked.

Even women who are married may not have a partner who is willing to step up and take care of the children in the evenings. It was a big struggle to convince my ex wife to watch our son so that I could take a break and go to open mics. When she would agree it felt like I…