Breaking the comedy glass ceiling with the Once a Month Comedy Showcase
It’s no secret that comedy is a male-dominated industry. While high-profile performers like Amy Schumer are shaking up the boys club and bringing visibility to female comics, local stand up scenes are still heavily male. Chattanoogans Grace Holtz and Natasha Ferrier want to change this.
The duo’s new showcase, “Once A Month,” which opens this Saturday at the Palace Theater, is an all-female performance that brings in comic talent from all over the southeast. The opening night lineup includes Sam Gordon, Jen Lenny, Paige McBride, Laura Peek, Brynne Ruff, and Samm Severin.
Holtz and Ferrier definitely want the audience to leave these shows with “a six pack of abs” from laughing so hard, but that’s not all: “We want the audience to leave with a different outlook on females in comedy. The stand-up scene is dominated by males, and as female comics, we are used to being booked on shows as the ‘one girl’ or the ‘token female,’ which is such a false representation of how many hilarious women are pursuing comedy.”
A showcase like this one is not just an opportunity to enjoy a fun Saturday night, but also a different way to experience women in comedy. Rather than sandwiching the requisite female between male acts, “Once A Month” allows female comics to define themselves on their own terms. As Holtz and Ferrier say, “They’re not the token female; they’re a comic, and one that everyone is going to love.”
Once a Month Comedy Showcase
Saturday, 8 p.m.
The Palace Theater
818 Georgia Ave.
chattapalace.com