PRIDE GUIDE 1996 GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE B-19

Comic Georgia Ragsdale to perform at Cleveland Pride

Georgia Ragsdale, one of the hottest new lesbian comediennes, will be the featured performer at this year's 8th annual Cleveland Pride Parade and Festival June 15. Ragsdale will be performing on the entertainment stage at the festival's new location at Pier Park, next to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Ragsdale is no stranger to the Cleveland area or queer political events. She is a frequent headliner at gay, lesbian and bisexual events including the Philadelphia Lambda Awards and the Human Rights Campaign dinners.

This is her second performance in the Cleveland area in the past three months. In April, she performed at the Human Rights Campaign dinner, and she graciously agreed to come back for Pride. If you were not able to see

her perform in April, now is your

chance.

What is most

striking about Georgia Ragsdale is her refreshingly honest

But Ragsdale didn't start her professional career as a comedienne. She began her career as an actress and dancer. Branching out into choreography, she was the recipient of an National Endowment for the Arts grant for her piece "Boxiana," at the 1990 Goodwill Arts Festival in Seattle. Though critically acclaimed, she was not able to make a living from it, and turned to stand-up comedy to supplement her income. And how did she get her break in comedy? When visiting a comedy club on open-mike night, a friend of hers put her name in the hat, unbeknownst to her.

"I did it totally on a dare.” Ragsdale said. "I had no material. I just got up there and

What is most striking about Georgia Ragsdale is her refreshingly honest and open performance style. She is a comedienne who "believes in taking comedy up a notch."

and open performance style. She is a comedienne who "believes in taking comedy up a notch.

"No rampant ethnic slurs," she says. “No ranking on men. No tales of ugly neuroses, and certainly no bathroom jokes."

She is also forthright about her lesbianism, which makes her perfect for a Pride celebration. Ragsdale's humor runs the gamut of themes: from gays in the military (“Without any dykes in the army who would they have to fix the trucks?") to being a single gay woman in search of a relationship (“Being single is no fun at a lesbian party. There are only two uncoupled possibilities. One is totally inappropriate, the other is unavailable but perfect"). Ragsdale considers herselfakin to a modern cultural anthropologist, someone who observes and knows that behavior itself often tells an amusing tale.

Ragsdale grew up in Texas, spending most of her time in the Houston area. During her adolescent years she spent hours studying her favorite comedians. She recalls “rushing home to watch I Love Lucy, Dick Van Dyke, The Munsters, and Gilligan's Island." She remembers making mental notes on what they were doing to get laughs. She says that Lucille Ball is her model for ultimate suc-

cess.

started telling stories about my family, making jokes about their accents. When it was over I asked my friends, "So, what did I say? Was I funny?" Clearly, dance's loss was comedy's gain..

In one short year, she has appeared on over 100 stages and completed over 200 shows as part of an international tour. She

has appeared on HBO, PBS and numerous cable shows. She has two film credits to her name: a documentary for the National Film Board of Canada, and the independent film Never Met Picasso.

Most recently Ragsdale became the first out lesbian to sign a contract to develop and star in a half-hour situation comedy with one of the three major studios, ABC Productions. The deal marks the first time an out lesbian performer has signed to a major TV production house to star in her own series.

Ragsdale's character, however, will not be a lesbian. "They just won't go for it," she said. "I anticipate my character will be an active, non-traditional woman, but not a lesbian."

Ragsdale told Curve reporter Victoria Brownworth that she isn't so concerned with the show being queer as she is with it being funny.

"I'd like it to be a combination of I Love Lucy and Absolutely Fabulous-good physical comedy, if I can make people laugh and make them feel comfortable, then I think I will teach them a lot about me as a lesbian. I was given this wonderful life, and the rewards have been great. Everyone should see that. I hope everyone gets the chance."

Georgia Ragsdale

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