We’ve Come a Long Way, Baby!

It’s hard to believe a whole year has passed since we made the pyramid formation in our press kit photo and began selling tickets for our first Gilda’s Club fundraiser without knowing if anyone would actually show up. Although we had a stellar celebrity MC, Elvira Kurt and our teacher, Dawn Whitwell, to stand up with us, most of the original nine SUFYS had less than six months’ experience under our belts at the time, and we were selling an all-girl comedy show to an audience that didn’t frequent comedy clubs.

It was a gamble, but those of you who came to the January 27, 2009 StandUp For Your Sisters show know how it all turned out. Many of us did our best sets, and it was an incredible night of comedy that a lot of the performers will remember for a long time. And the audience apparently will, too: people stop me in the street to this day and say, “That Gilda’ Club event was such a great show! Will you girls be doing it again next year?”. Is there any other answer but “Yes! Yes, yes, YES!”?

We sold out weeks early for that one, and we hope to do the same again, especially since the comics now have another full year of stage time under our belts.

And what a year it’s been!

Shelley Kidwell, who some of you will remember as the sassy Texan in the red dress, has opened for Shelley Marshall and performed at various clubs in Southern Ontario – all while raising three kids and finishing school at The Second City conservatory.

Lianne Mauladin, the blonde rocker who did that killer set in act one, played venues all over Southern Ontario and down the coast of California. She won a tough competition in Toronto called StandUp Showdown, and came in second at two separate Great Canadian Laugh-off contests in Barrie and Hamilton. She surpassed the efforts of some pro comics, and continues to rock her career in stand-up. She’s highly inspiring.

Marilla Wex, the cheeky Brit who probably sold you a raffle ticket at last year’s show, beat out over 60 other comics this summer to come in third in the Toronto Comedy Brawl. She has become a fixture on comedy stages around Toronto and on your TV as well, as her acting gigs also continue to climb.

Becky Bays was chosen to take part in a CBC taping of Barack jokes with the killer Obama bit you’ll remember from last year’s show. She continues to bring her highly original take on life and news to stages in and around Toronto, including Eton House, Spirits, AltDot Comedy and Absolute Comedy, where she opened for headliner Steve Levine.

Laura Salvas, the reluctant Liza Minelli lookalike, came in fourth at the Toronto Comedy Brawl, and continues to make great strides on the improvisation front.

Muniza Rauf quit comedy two more times last year, but came back to play gigs at Spirits, West End Girls and this show. She also has a new boyfriend, and a whole pile of new material to go along with that.

I haven’t won any contests myself, but I’ve performed in four provinces now, with some killer sets in Montreal and St. John’s which keep me pumped to continue in this wonderfully challenging and fulfilling profession. I also spend a lot of time on film sets and writing, and the stand-up has definitely informed my other jobs. Like some of the girls, I now sometimes get paid for my comedy, which is a great feeling.

Maia Mitchell has stopped doing stand-up, at least for the time being, so we invited Rhiannon Archer to join SUFYS this year. Although she’s also a relative newcomer, she can be found performing in or hosting shows across Ontario on any given night. She’s a dynamo, and quite hilarious!

Marjorie Malpass, our special guest last year, has taken a few months off to have a baby (congratulations!).

When I saw how well the SUFYS and other female comics around town were doing, and noted that many comedy rooms in Toronto were still programming “old school” (which is one token female per show), this past September I created a monthly show at Poor John’s in Parkdale called West End Girls. It’s an all girl stand-up room (with one token boy) and the room is always filled to capacity with an all-ages crowd of enthusiastic comedy fans of both genders.

Heidi Mole, who you might remember as last year’s liturgical dance maven, is a crowd favourite at West End Girls, and, I’m proud to say, is now producing this year’s Gilda’s Club show with me and Becky Bays. Her background in film production has made her a natural at fundraising and organizing, and she’s pulled off some major miracles.

Elvira rocked the house so well last year that it took us a long time to come up with a celebrity MC to match her level of skill and funny, but we did it. When Martha Chaves said yes to hosting The ‘C’ Word, we jumped for joy. If you’ve never seen her work, you’ll know what we mean when you see the show. And Jo-Anna Downey – beloved host of Spirits – and Sandra Battaglini – who did the best-ever set so far at West End Girls – are sure to slay you.

How could The ‘C’ Word possibly get any better? Well, the legendary Cylla Von Tiedemann did a photo shoot with us this year outside the famous red doors of Gilda’s Club, and we were honoured to have such an incredible artist lensing us at such an iconic location.

It was touching to be photographed in front of the clubhouse, which is also where Gilda got her comedic training. This show is our small way of honouring the late, great Gilda Radner, a pioneering woman in comedy and the wellness community, and our inspiration.

We hope you will enjoy the show as much as we enjoyed putting it together for you.