A question we should’ve asked our guest Stacey Hallal in this episode is, “when do you sleep?” The answer to that could very well have been “never”, because in her world, there is no rest. She works tirelessly, not only as a comedian and improviser performing across the U.S., but also as the artistic director of Curious Comedy Theater, one of Portland’s most popular comedy venues. And, if that wasn’t enough, she is the founder of the All Jane Comedy Festival (formerly All Jane No Dick), which brings in female comedic talent from all over the country to Portland, being held Oct. 14th – 18th.
Performers at this year’s festival include Janet Varney, Ms. Pat, Karen Kilgariff, Page Hurwitz and Sarah Burns, as well as popular Portland comics Amy Miller, Bri Pruett, Kristine Levine, Whitney Streed, Barbara Holm and one of our personal favorites, Caitlin Weierhauser, who also joins us on this episode.
Caitlin has performed in the Bridgetown Comedy Festival and she’s also a member of Lez Stand Up, one of Portland’s most popular stand-up shows held monthly at Curious Comedy, which features performers from the LGBTQ community. She’s also the co-host of the YouTube show Video Game Bullies, which offers a comedic analysis of some of your favorite video games.
We were so pleased to speak with Stacey and Caitlin about their comedy origin stories, why All Jane is a necessary blessing in this day and age and why No Dick is no more.
We also talk with Stacey and Caitlin about how comedy and improv help us through tragic events, albeit in very different ways.
For more on the All Jane Comedy Festival and to pick up advance tickets and passes, check out their website alljanecomedy.org. To learn more about the fantastic goings on at Curious Comedy Theater, check out their website and follow them Instagram and Twitter @curiouscomedy.
And you can also follow Stacey on Twitter at @staceyhallal and Caitlin on Instagram and Twitter @grapetheist.