A longtime problem for the comedy business has been the absence of female acts on a consistent basis. Everybody knows there are some funny women out there, with Ellen DeGeneres, Rita Rudner, Paula Poundstone, Brett Butler, Roseanne and Carol Leifer leading the pack. But at the local level, aside from acts like Diane Alaimo, Carrie Snow, Caryn Bark and a few others, the pack is kind of small.
There are two ongoing shows in Chicago, however, in which women are squarely in the spotlight.
On Sunday nights Cafe Ashie on North Clark Street hosts “Funny Chix Hour,” where several female comics present a standup show, joking about being single, divorced, a mother and all the other diverse sides of their lives.
Running weekends at Second City’s Donny’s Skybox Theater is “Succulence,” a sketch comedy show written and performed by residents of the ImprovOlympic and other local improv venues that features character vignettes played out in scenes, monologues and music.
Lisa Ridolfi, a member of the “Funny Chix Hour” ensemble, is a standup comedian who feels that getting a chance to work on a regular basis is nothing but helpful for her fledgling career.
“It’s harder for (women) to get showcases,” says Ridolfi, 36, who started working about 10 months ago. “We just banded together, a bunch of us, and we’ve been performing at all different places. We decided to find a venue, a place, to go to and put together a funny chicks hour.
“The nice thing about it is that each one of us has an avenue to get exposure,” Ridolfi says, and it certainly has worked out that way for her. She’ll miss a date at Cafe Ashie to do guest sets in New York, with gigs lined up at Standup New York on Jan. 25 and Catch a Rising Star on Jan. 27. Ridolfi also has a date set at Zanies here next month.
“We’re like, why don’t we just go ahead and do it, because we’re not going to find anybody who’s going to say, `Oh, yeah, let’s get a bunch of female comedians to go up there to perform,’ ” says Ridolfi, who was born in Evanston and raised in Winnekta.
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The performers behind “Succulence” didn’t have an agenda in mind when putting their production together. They just wanted to take “characters that are dear to us” and explore them at length, according to one of the show’s players.
“We got into the process and thought we had a script, and then realized everybody had such strong feelings,” says Jennifer Bills of Rock Island, who is also one of the show’s writers. ” `No, we really need this in there,’ `This character’s got to be in the show,’ `This has to be in’ and `That’s too preachy.’ It’s funny what you get into during a woman’s show.”
Bills, 27, got into Chicago’s improv scene after studying theater at the University of Iowa and toiling in Chicago’s theater district for several years. She has performed improv with Jane, ImprovOlympic’s all-female team.
In a lot of improv and sketch troupes, the ratio between male and female members is skewed heavily toward the males. Even such outfits as the Not Ready for Prime Time Players from “Saturday Night Live” and the fine performers from “SCTV” never had an equal number of men and women.
Bills had to think long and hard before coming up with a proper response when asked about the issue:
“Growing up as a woman,” she says, “I think that there’s a sense of play that’s very intimidating. I wasn’t taught to get up and give the punchline all the time. I kind of learned how to do it at some point in the game. But there’s something that’s just not proper, and I don’t think I would have gotten away with it in high school, or had the courage to do it in high school — of taking the chance and standing up and yelling something that I know is funny.
“I think you really have to learn how to play.”
“Succulence” is staged Fridays and Saturdays through Feb. 28 at Donny’s Skybox Studio Theater, 1608 N. Wells St. Call 312-337-3992 for more details.
“Funny Chix Hour,” featuring Lisa Ridolfi and others performing standup comedy, is happening every Sunday through March at Cafe Ashie, 5419 N. Clark St.; call 773-561-7363.
The standup lineup
Here’s who’s working at the clubs. Current sets are set to run through Sunday; new acts begin on Wednesday unless otherwise noted. Lineups are subject to change.
– Local comedy-variety showcase Chicago Comedy Works has found a new home: The Map Room, 1949 N. Hoyne Ave. Scheduled for the show are six comedians, a comic poet and more, including a taping of the cable show “Big Fat Nude Hippo Show.” It all happens Sunday at 8:30 p.m.; call 312-409-2181.
– Headlining this weekend at All Jokes Aside (1000 S. Wabash Ave.; 312-922-0577) is local comedian Tony Sculfield. Next Thursday All Jokes presents Juan Villareal and Alex Ortiz as part of its “Best Kept Secrets” series.
– At the Barrel of Laughs in Oak Lawn, (10345 S. Central Ave.; 708-499-2969), Tim Walkoe is the headliner. The longtime local light was a grand-prize winner on ABC’s “America’s Funniest People.”
– Calling all “X-Files” fans: Dean Haglund, one of the “Lone Gunmen” on the hit Fox series, does some unique improvisation — he creates an entire “X-Files” episode off of suggestions from the audience — at the Funny Bone Friday and Saturday. On Sunday, Mike Toomey performs his one-man show, “TV & Me: Confessions of a Vidiot Savant.” The ‘Bone is at 1504 Naper Blvd. in the Tower Crossing Shopping Center in Naperville; call 630-955-0500:
– Returning to the Chicago area after a long absence is John Rathbone. The Cleveland-born comedian, who was a regular on Showtime, is working this weekend at Zanies, 1548 N. Wells St. (call 312-337-4027).