Starting this week at the Manhattan Comedy School, a class begins that’s open only to LGBTQ+ comedians. Veteran comedian and activist Kate Rigg, who leads the class, said it is more of a workshop where queer comedians can hone their craft and find their voice in a safe space. Open to comedians at all levels, including novice comics, the class ends with a performance.
Rigg joined WNYC Weekend All Things Considered host Tiffany Hanssen to talk about the program, and about comedy in the queer community.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Tiffany Hanssen: So this isn’t a class that’s pegged to Pride Month. So why do you think the class is important right now?
Kate Rigg: Tiffany, it’s so important right now. In this country, we’re being very assaulted with headlines that are all about banning drag queens and “don’t say gay.” And everybody’s flipping out over what your letter is or your pronoun is, or where you choose to empty your loins in the bathroom. Everybody’s freaking out and it’s having repercussions on societal levels, political levels, right down to school kids. It’s on people’s minds and I think that it’s very important for members of the queer community, no matter what your letter is.
I think it’s so important right now because we’re being told by a lot of media sources that there’s a kind of a cultural ambush for people who are just trying to live their lives and be part of the world with everybody else. And I mean by that, queer people are getting ambushed a little bit about their very existence. If you don’t live in New York City or San Francisco or on the coast or whatever, it’s very difficult to speak truth to power if you don’t have other images of yourself to sort of follow, like lamp posts or guideposts along the way to feeling good about yourself.
And so, comedy particularly is a way for us to, like I said, build bridges. And even though we’re in New York City, first of all, a lot of people don’t come from New York City who live…
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