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By Raven Armstrong.
“Women aren’t funny.” That’s the phrase most women comics hear after their set, no matter if it’s the performance of a lifetime.
Constantly put down or pushed out of comedic spaces, they have to deal with being sexualized, hit on, criticized and more. They don’t tend to stick around to even have the chance at large scale comedy careers, because no room is made for them. The common story is that a woman will ask for a spot and be told, “Sorry, we already have the woman in the lineup.” Enter the Laugh Lab, the first women’s only comedy class in Atlanta taught by Lace Larrabee.
Larrabee has done comedy for over 10 years and is an Atlanta-based touring comedian. She even co-hosts her own podcast, “CHEATIES,” in which the two interview people who have been cheated on or have cheated on others and discuss the mistakes made in relationships. She has the experience, talent and drive to get what she wants. And yet, there is a difficulty that stacks against her and all other women in comedy, in Atlanta and elsewhere. Larrabee wanted to start a safe space for women so they would avoid all the negativity and be able to support each other so that more women would stick around in comedy.
This six-week course has turned into a “bit of a cult,” says Larrabee. “I’m fine with it though, there aren’t enough female cult leaders!” With the Laugh Lab, she aims to teach the basic principles of comedy so people can set out on their own. The class itself is a diverse group of all types of women, in all shapes and sizes, with one thing in common: a good sense of humor.
Some of the students are using the class to get more comfortable in front of others. Laila Wagner says public speaking is, in her own words, “her worst nightmare.” She wanted a fun way to break out of her shell and knew Larrabee from college. She heard about the class through her podcast and when she asked Larrabee if anyone had ever taken it just to improve public speaking, Larrabee excitedly welcomed her. “Absolutely! People take it for everything!”
Wagner was shocked by how comfortable the class is. She said once she got over her anxiety about being around other people, it’s helping her get her foot in the door with her confidence.
Others took up performance as a hobby over the pandemic. Sahiti Solipuram started taking acting classes last year during the pandemic. Unhappy in her current job, she started questioning what she was doing in life and wanted to investigate some other avenues. She started with acting classes and wanted to get into stand up too. Her acting coach said to think of the people she wanted to emulate and that she looked up to; she realized all those people were funny women writers. When looking for a class, she found Laugh Lab and was surprised it was all female. All the shows she has attended are from male performers, and she thought it was refreshing to see a space for women.
“When male performers go onstage, they wear ratty t-shirts and slouch their way onto the stage. They show up barely bathed and just do their thing,” said Solipuram. “This one woman performed and was so funny. She had a unicorn crown and a whole matching outfit. I realized there were levels to her performance, she outperformed everyone, but she has to do so much more to even get on the stage with these men.”
She loves the idea of an all-female class because it shows the women’s perspective, which needs to be told. “Women are funnier than men. Comedy comes from pain, and women deal with more pain. Women experience things, if you tell it to a man they won’t even understand. Women are more detailed; we notice things men don’t even pick up on which isn’t good or bad it’s just true. The details are what make comedy funny.”
Laura Schroeder is post 50 and most of her friends are all the same, and that bores her. She wanted a strong community of brave women to be a part of, and also has wanted to do standup for years. She has had many different experiences in life, and comedy has become the big way she has survived things. Her stories help her through life, she tells her story to reframe those experiences and laugh about them, and she can have others laugh with her.
Schroeder feels that doing stand up is a brave thing that requires guts to do. “Women have important messages to send. It’s a unique perspective and I want to craft the things I learned as a parent and things along that journey that are important. It can be shared humorously. There are stereotypes to challenge and things to overcome, but humor challenges where people are stuck and allow us to bring up and process the bizarre things.”
Other women came for even deeper reasons. Corey Widener has been interested in Larrabee’s class since it was first announced in late 2017. She wanted to take a women-only class to meet more like-minded people and learn a new craft, to hopefully open doors to further engage in the arts of Atlanta.
Last year, she faced much hardship in her personal life and decided to write everything down to use as material for the class. The pandemic made her realize she doesn’t have to work a job she hates for a paycheck, and she’s at a point in her life she wants to find happiness. “If there’s something in the back of your mind you have always wanted to do, time doesn’t wait. You must stop wasting time, find someone to give you the opportunity and take it!”
This class is affecting these women for the better, but also is drastically changing the wider comedy scene in Atlanta as well. Before these classes started women were practically invisible in comedy, but now thanks to the Laugh Lab there is a Facebook group with over 300 women to help support each other and book each other. The scene has become more welcoming and has transformed into an increasingly diverse place for all people, and continues to do so. If you’re interested in learning more, check out the Laugh Lab Website.
