FUNNY, AND A WOMAN?

funny

Don’t sleep on these seasoned Vancouver comedians

and a woman?

Vancouver’s Nasty Women Comedy represents some of the all-stars of the local comedy scene. And together, they’re earning a reputation for putting on the top comedy night in the city.

The smell of stale popcorn and fresh cookies hangs in the air as comedian Stacey McLachlan leads me down the worn carpeted stairs of the Biltmore Cabaret. The room is quietly empty—we’re still an hour or so from showtime. Two Biltmore staff hurriedly work to set up folding chairs and prepare tech for the night’s main event. Balmy red lights flood the graffiti-tagged walls of this more than 50-year-old Vancouver institution, giving the room an edgy punk-like vibe with a strikingly warm sense of intimacy.

“Do you want a cookie?” asks McLachlan with a broad, welcoming beam. “They made too many for us… there’s no way we’ll finish them all.” She’s a member of Nasty Women Comedy, a group of 10 Vancouver-based female improvisors performing at the Biltmore tonight. They’ve had a monthly show here for more than two years, and many of the women have additional weekly, monthly and annual performances in their own duos and trios: McLachlan, along with fellow nasty woman Denea Campbell, creates the sketch-comedy duo Garbage Sisters. Kerri Donaldson and Allie Entwistle perform together as the Vancouver Comedy Award-winning Brunch Comedy. And many members of the group have travelled with their performances: from Instant Theatre and Blind Tiger Comedy to the world-renowned Del Close Improv Marathon in New York and Vancouver International Improv Festival, the events and festivals these comics have performed in has put them alongside myriad outstanding improvisers and comedians. “We’re like the Avengers of comedy,” says McLachlan with a laugh. Before they’d joined together as Nasty Women, they’d long admired one another’s comedy careers, and jumped at the opportunity to do a show together, she explains, motioning for me to take a seat on the couch across from her. The cozy dressing room manages to comfortably fit two sofas, a bottled-water-stocked mini fridge, one small table and an overflowing tray of those freshly baked cookies—and the 10 performers using the room to relax between sets. “I think we’re very mischievous,” Stacey continues, gesturing for me to take another sweet treat from the platter between us. “What unites us is a sense of playfulness.”

And the show is certainly playful. Back out on the Biltmore stage, the projector screen rises to reveal the host of the night, Allie Entwistle, who takes control of the pace, speeding it up in times of action and slowing in times of heartbreak. These women lean on their expertise to engage and entertain the audience in a comfortably familiar way—albeit hilariously lewd at times—that gives the evening a genial aura of affection.

The “Nasty” in Nasty Women Comedy doesn’t just refer to the group’s subject matter. On October 19, 2016—during the 58th U.S. presidential election between Donald Trump and Hilary Clinton—Hilary Clinton gave a concise and well-practiced speech on American social security. Trump snapped back, “Such a nasty woman,” clearly overwhelmed by Clinton’s address. The act of childish rhetoric sparked a movement within the feminist community, part of which included the Nasty Women Project, a group that gathers uplifting accounts of women from across the world to show the true power that they possess. Spinoffs from Nasty Women Apparel to Nasty Women Exhibition and a plethora of smaller groups formed, standing up for women’s rights across the world. Nasty Women Comedy is one of those groups. “We were all just looking for an avenue where we could play a little more freely without being stepped on,” explains McLachlan. “It’s not meant to be a political statement, but it is, inherently, when you have representation of a minority group on stage.”

Tonight, the venue itself feels in part

Love Nasty Women? Here are 5 Other Great Comedy groups in Vancouver

BRUNCH COMEDY

Perfect for a night out with friends to watch a few well-practiced improv performers do what they do best: make people laugh.

THE GARBAGE SISTERS

A less-structured improv show with familiar Nasty Women and plenty of random encounters.

INSTANT THEATRE

For a show with more structure, check out what Instant Theatre offers. They also have classes if you want to test your skills on the stage.

RAPID FIRE THEATRE For largescale and well-produced improv events, Edmonton-based Rapid Fire Theatre is the place to check out

THE CANADIAN IMPROV

GAMES Watch young improvisers compete in a national battle of comedy fame. Don’t count these guys out too early. Alumni include Sandra Oh, Seth Rogen, Nathan Fielder, Alanis Morissette, and Tatiana Maslany

responsible for success of the The Avengers of Vancouver’s tar vomit. The women seem to show. Folding chairs lining the comedy scene—also known find a way of perfectly skimedge of the stage urge viewers to as the women of Nasty ming the line of the humorously become participants of the per- Women Comedy. Top row, explicit without passing into the formance. The comfortable booths from left: Racquel Belmonte, upsetting. From sex, feminism surrounding the walls of the Bilt- Carla Mah, Allie Entwistle, and murder to continuous refermore are commonly left empty, Stacey McLachlan, Jenny Rubé. ences to Harry Potter—it’s all on even though the night’s show had Bottom row, from left: Denea the table. sold out all pre-sale tickets—the Campbell, Annalise Stuart, Ese As the lights fade in, illumiaudience wants to be close to the Atawo, Rae Lynn Carson, Kerri nating the faces of the audience action, and the front row is packed Donaldson. members, the onlookers include in shoulder to shoulder. The event the expected—a seemingly sweet feels as if it is a part of the space, not just hap- group of older women in the front row—as well pening within it. The comedians set up chairs as a large, gruff-looking tattooed man named during scenes on stage, in order to just as Jackson sipping on a beer as he chuckles to quickly heave them across that stage. And with himself at the bar. But they’ve all come for the little warning, the comics follow suit, diving same reason. The spectators are here to watch a to the floor of the stage, scarcely missing the group of bad-ass women tell their truth through audience intently engaged mere inches from the outrageous stories that arise from bawdy the action. Next, as if planned from the start, improvised comedy. And the impact here all the women on stage frantically move about, is more than just a smile on everyone’s face running across the stage from left to right form- tonight: before the show began, as the audiing a line to the side as their fellow performer ence anxiously waited to the theme of Brittany announces the next theme to be explored. Spears’ “Toxic,” the screen flashed slides stat-

Tonight they use a collection of “mature ing in large bold letters “Nasty Women will be love” novels looking to find a provocatively making monthly donations to the Unist’ot’en entertaining theme. (In improv comedy nights Camp to support indigenous people.” such as this one, the group uses word prompts “I have a smile on my face, and I have no to create their set.) The women flip through one clue as to why,” says my mom, Caroline, as she of the novels, waiting for a member of the audi- steps out of the Biltmore, after experiencing ence to ask them to stop. The page selected is her first Nasty Women show. “It didn’t matter then read out loud and used as inspiration for that they were funny, they just made me happy.” the following scenes. “Oh, come on…” exclaims The authentic nature of the act continues to Entwistle, receiving the second prompt of the motivate others—that perhaps sometimes, night referring to underage sexualization. “Oh we don’t need to fight with violence and anger. well...” she continues and jumps back straight That sometimes making someone smile for no into a scene of demonic childbirth and black reason at all can truly change lives. n