GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE

MAY 2, 1997

Evenings Out

Comedy 101

Judy Carter makes you laugh, then teaches you to be funny

by Doreen Cudnik

"I didn't even know there were gay people in Ohio," Judy Carter admitted That was until she spent some time here.

Carter recalled, "I was in Columbus and I said, 'Oh, God, this

music scene is so happening, and people use sentences that

have real words in them!' I admit, I had attitude about Ohio and I want to extend my apology to the people of Ohio for thinking they weren't as significant as those of us in New York or L.A., just because you don't have an ocean by you. I thought you had to have an ocean by you to be gay!"

The stand-up comedian, magician and author will be making several appearances in Ohio from May 3 to 7. The tour follows the October 1996 release of her book The Homo Handbook: A Guide to Coming Out.

The book has been doing a brisk business at lesbian and gay bookstores around the country, and sales have increased at mainstream bookstores due to the interest being generated by Ellen DeGeneres' coming out. It currently resides near the top of the general interest best-seller lists of the Advocate and the San Francisco gay weekly Bay Area Reporter, and has been nominated for a Lambda Award for exceptional gay and lesbian literature.

In addition to the Homo Handbook, Carter is also the author of a book that has come to be known as the 'bible for stand-up comics': Stand-Up Comedy: The Book, currently in its sixth printing. She is perhaps best known by wanna-be comics as well as industry insiders as the woman behind the Comedy Workshops of Los Angeles. Most recently, she has created her "Coming Out with Humor Workshop," which includes "snappy retorts to stupid Bible quotes, bigot bashing made easy, and how to come out and stay in the will." Carter will be conducting her comedy workshop while in Cleveland on May 6 and 7.

"I dealt with it for a while by avoiding pronouns altogether, I spent my weekend with them ́like, right, nobody knows you're gay, they just think you're a big slut now, sleeping with them."

Carter has toured colleges and nightclubs throughout the country performing both comedy and magic. She has been featured on Oprah, HBO, Entertainment Tonight, CNN, and ABC's World News Tonight.

It was a love of magic that first propelled Carter to the stage. She studied the art with magic masters Doug Henning and Dai Vernon, and became the first woman ever to perform at the Magic Castle's close-up room. But even then, her unique brand of humor was an integral part of her act.

"A lot of times the trick didn't work, because I'm forgetful,” Carter said. “All this stuff would go wrong. But I realized that sometimes when things went wrong it was better than when things went right-you get more reaction."

It took something "going wrong" to finally put her on the stage as a stand-up comedian. "One day I had a magic gig, and my tricks didn't show up," she recalls with a laugh. “I had to go on anyway, and it was great. To do a show without all those tchotchkes—just being who you are and entertaining people with your ideas—well, it was a much lighter suitcase to schlep around on the road."

Like most people's, Carter's coming-out happened in stages. With her popularity as a stand-up comedian on the rise during the mid-seventies, Carter found herself feeling uneasy about lying on stage about a having a boyfriend.

"I dealt with it for a while by avoiding pronouns altogether,” Carter laughed. “And you know how that is—'Well, I spent my weekend with them '—like, right, nobody knows you're gay, they just think you're a big slut now, sleeping with them.

It was after she stopped doing stand-up and began focusing on teaching the art to others that Carter began to see the importance of being out.

"Here I was teaching people to just be yourself and to be authentic, because that's what stand-up is about. We don't laugh at people we think are phony. I was teaching people to be authentic, but I wasn't."

Things changed in 1988 when she was invited to perform on a lesbian cruise ship. "There you are in the water, and all the people are gay, and it was safe."

She then began to tour gay-friendly locales like Provincetown, where she would perform as an out lesbian.

"They were very safe gigs where I would be myself only if other people were gay. I realized that's how many of us live our lives: 'Well, I'll be gay among gay people, but not at work, or anywhere else.'

It was in 1990 that Carter said she "took a stand for who I was, no matter where."

Her next gig happened to be in Houston, Texas, a place not generally regarded as a bastion of liberal thinking. Judy came out to what she describes as a “totally straight crowd."

"They loved me!" she remembers. "And I thought, What have I been waiting for? Why have I hidden my whole life? These rednecks were like, well, I used to hate people like you, but you're great! Love ya!"

Of all her accomplishments, Carter is rightfully proud of the transformative power of her comedy workshops.

"People come to my classes from all walks of life," Carter said, "and they all have something in common-they think they're funny, or someone told them, 'You're so funny, you should do something with that.'

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The biggest fear that her students have is getting on stage in front of a group of people, so much of the workshop is designed to help people get over that hurdle. Not all of her students go on to be standup comics, but Carter's success stories abound.

"Some of the people who have taken my class are the producers of Ellen, the staff writers and producers of Coach, the director of Ace Ventura, Pet Detective and Liar Liar,” Carter said. "A lot of people who learn the technique of comcdy in my class go on to doing stand-up on the road, go on to having a sitcom, or go on to writing comedy for others," Carter said. "It's very powerful."

At the close of her workshop, Carter has students discuss what they want to do with the skills they've learned in her class.

"One woman decided that she wanted

to write for Rosie O'Donnell and guess what? She just e-mailed me and said, ‘Thanks to you showing me how I can transform my sense of humor. I am now a staff writer on the Rosie O'Donnell show. My dreams have come true.''

"So, that's magic," Carter said. "That's bigger than tearing up a newspaper and putting it back together. That's the kind of magic I'm interested in doing now.”

Judy does Ohio

Columbus, Saturday May 3

Book signing at An Open Book, 749 North High Street 3 p.m.; 614-291-0080. Wall Street Nightclub, 144 N. Wall Street (off Spring Street), 8:30 p.m. $8 in advance/$10 at the door. Opening act will be Bryan Lee Emler. Tickets are available at Tickled Pink, An Open Book, and Wall Street. Call 614-464-2800.

Cincinnati, Sunday May 4

The Dock, 603 West Pete Rose Way, 11:00 p.m., $3, 513-241-5623. Book signing to follow the performance, sponsored by the Pink Pyramid Book-

store.

Cleveland, Monday May 5

The Improv, at the Powerhouse in the Flats, 2000 Sycamore St., 8 p.m. Opening act will be Karen Williams. Tickets $10 in advance and $12 at the door. Call 216967-0293.

Tuesday, May 6, Wednesday, May 7

Comedy Workshops at It's Comedy, 5100 Pearl Rd. in Cleveland; 6 to 10 p.m.; $69 for one night, $120 for both nights. For information or to enroll call Debbie Schwensen at 216-967-0293.