improviserimprovisers:

(In which I take the UCB Sketch teams very, very seriously.)

Ancestor worship is horseshit.

Just like its brethren The Good O’l Days and the Golden Age, it’s a weak-sauce hovel built by a limp willed and fearful people, in which they may cower and meow, “How could anyone expect us to be good,…

Apparently a certain member (or members, I’m not sure how many) of my family has been talking about me, behind my back, to other relatives, about how no nice young lady should be doing comedy.

To those who think that: shut up.

One, to describe anything in terms of what ladies should do as opposed to what men should do is incredibly sexist. If you don’t like comedy, then you should oppose it whenever anybody does it but that’s even beyond the point. You don’t know what you’re talking about, and shouldn’t talk about it, unless you have engaged in particular experiences.

The New York comedy scene has saved me. I have been in dark places that improv and sketch have pulled me out of. I have made my best friends through the comedy community. The nicest young and old, ladies and men I have ever met have been part of the comedy community. This is where I belong.

Comedy is a positive creative force. It helps people work out ideas about the world around them and help themselves and others laugh through pain. It helps people figure out why certain aspects of life make them uncomfortable. This seems a lot like what nice young men and women should be doing.

Before you start knocking what I do, try at least experiencing it. Sign up for a class. Come to the UCB Theatre. Talk to some comedians, even if they aren’t what you would call “nice young ladies.”

And don’t talk about me behind my back and try to convince others that I am being unladylike by pursuing my goals. It’s ungentlemanly. It’s unladylike. It’s being a jerk. If you actually take issue with what I’m doing with my life, try starting an open conversation with me about it rather than just tracking my internet activity and then trying to slander me to others. If I’ve blocked you on Facebook, this may be a good indication of why.