Four days after the incident in
my last blog entry, Jose (the man who takes care of Mustache the cat) saw me in
the deli.I nodded to him, trying to
keep our new status of ‘not enemies’ alive.He came over, referred to me respectfully as Miss, and told me, as he struggled through English, that Mustache
left and hasn’t been back for a whole day.He told me that he saw on the camera where she headed, but she didn’t
return.He said that in the past year,
she once left for two days and did return. That felt hopeful.
Mustache is very smart and
skillful.She’s an indoor/outdoor
cat.For years, she has navigated the
world outside – people, dogs, other cats, cars, weather, etc. – and always knew
when to wait by the door of the store until someone opened it and she’d run
inside.A real survivor.I’m remaining hopeful.
Those of you who know and those
of you who want to find out how hilarious women comics can be, come to my Almost Spring Comedy
Showat The Artist,
249 City Island Avenue, on Friday, March 14th at 8pm (7:50 for seating of your
choice).In honor of Women’s History
Month, the wonderful comics are:
Lisa Harmon
Linda Marcus Smith
Rachael Parenta
And me, Mindy Matijasevic
I hope so much you get there, enjoy the island and the
comedy.You may get your tickets in
advance or pay at the show.
I've been financially limping along, but thanks to angels in my life, I have been able to eat.
The good news is there will be a small raise in my salary, I'm performing comedy in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn this Wednesday evening, and I might have a paid acting gig in two weeks. Not a big amount at all, but something. I feel a bit hopeful again. The role is that of a widow named Carmen. I can do melancholy.
For those of you who are in Brooklyn or willing to travel to Brooklyn, I'll be performing my stand-up comedy on Wednesday, March 15th, 9pm at Red, White & Brew, 8910 5th Avenue in Bay Ridge. It's free. I don't know what other funny people are on the line-up. I know it's no cover and no minimum. Come have some post-blizzard laughs on me.
It's only Monday night/Tuesday morning, and I'm tired. I hope my motor picks up to get through the week. I have gotten some ideas for earning money without going anywhere to teach, proofread, or any of that. Once I get it going, I will announce and display. This idea connects me with my mother, who I love and have missed most of my life. I hope I actualize what I'm imagining.
For now, I want to share the work of a woman who calls herself PsychoSuperMom. (Canada Anne, you might want to check her out -- she does comedic songs about all kinds of stuff. I think she'd enjoy your "Propaganda Pussy" (or was it "Pussy Propaganda"?).)
It is Women's History Month, and many of us are making history right now. Maybe one day it will be called herstory (and it will encompass a much fuller picture). And on that note...
"In societies where men are truly confident of their own worth, women are not merely tolerated but valued." - Aung Sang Suu Kyi (1945)
Burmese opposition politician Suu Kyi was under house arrest for 15 years for her pre-democracy campaigning. She only gained release in 2010 following an international campaign to let her free. She won a nobel prize in 1991 where it was said that "Suu Kyi's struggle is one of the most extraordinary examples of civil courage in Asia in recent decades."
It is still women's herstory month. I'd like to think we are making tomorrow's herstory. I've decided to share women in comedy who are not yet as well known as last week's sharing and are some of whom I have enjoyed.
People, it's been a very packed week on many levels. I did have several wonderful experiences in the mix of stuff that felt truly elating. One was in an acting class taught by a soap opera director and a soap opera actress; one was at one of my jobs where I led a very fun staff development session; and one was yesterday in an email exchange with Lisa Harmon (a funny comic and former "She"). Of course, there were other good moments, but those were outstanding for me. I consciously rerun them in my mind in order to at least even out the battles with the other team of voices.
This is women's herstory month, and this is a site for women in comedy, so I'd like to share some more funny women I've enjoyed over the years.
I have Kate Clinton on vinyl from her earlier days in the early 80s.
As Black History Month Meets Women's History Month...
National Women's History Museum highlights Jackie “Moms” Mabley! “The Funniest Woman in the World,” Mabley was a celebrated American stand-up comedian whose career started on the “chitlin’ circuit” and lasted over 50 years. Mabley was a trailblazer for African-American women in comedy, and was notable for her success in tackling difficult and edgy subjects.
I hope you enjoyed. It was fun laughing through the line-up as I put this together. The hardest part was not including so many.
...........
On March 8, 2014, International Women's Day, I will be performing my stand-up in this mostly music variety show. Admission is free, and I hope to hear you sharing the laughter.
My recent blogs have shared self-examination on matters of
sexuality.While some readers are
entertained and others horrified, the quieter ones who e-mail me privately are
the ones most grateful that I even am willing to bring such matters into the
light.They are female and usually
feeling lonely in the load they carry.It is what helps me stay on track when I’m having my own doubts about
continuing to write in such an open way.
Pulling
things out of the darkness is what I do.It was necessary for my own emotional survival in life, and it is what
truly helps.It does mean I allow myself
to be open to the world.With that,
comes good and bad.
In teaching, it is such a high to hear the light bulbs going
on in heads.People, many of whom
haven’t had that experience, feel so good when they can see what they couldn’t
before.Just knowing lights can be lit
is life-changing.
Even in my comedy, I often am simply shining a light on what
we do as humans, particularly in heterosexual behavior, how we treat each other
and ourselves.I’m not looking to get my
jokes at anyone’s expense.I think what we
really do and feel deserves looking at and is often funny in a ridiculous
way.Some people, both men and women, seem
to feel uncomfortable and might prefer we don’t examine our lives.Some are very disapproving of my unladylike
ways.Ah, too fuckin‘ bad.Once a woman came over to me after a show and
told me her husband was going nuts asking her if what “that female comic” said
was true and going more nuts as she kept telling him “yes.”I love these stories.But the most touching for me took place when
I was quite new at doing stand-up.I’d
been doing it less than a year, and I was fortunate to be included in a show at
Therapy (a mainly gay male bar in NYC) booked by comic Adam Sank.I was still doing my original 5-minute
set.It took on a lot of heavy duty
subjects in a very comical way.But the
underlying anger of my material was clear, and the path to funny was clear.The audience, mostly gay men and some women
friends of theirs, and I were on the same page from before I got on stage.I was very lucky.I think they liked my look and friendly
demeanor (I’m not a comic that makes you regret sitting up front).Plus when Adam introduced me, they heard that
my comedy was on a feminist radio program (Fran Luck’s “Joy of Resistance”),
and that seemed to be a plus.We were
all coming from a place of oppression.So when I got up there, nervous and shaking, I actually felt liked already.That helped my set go very well.I was proud.They don’t all go so well.Here’s
the touching part.When I went to the
unisex bathroom, which was clean, beautiful, and perfectly lit for looking in
the mirror, a young woman (looked Philippine maybe) looked at me and said that
she was sorry to bother me but that I was great.Then she lost her ability to speak and began
to cry.I was washing my hands and said,
“First of all, you’re not bothering me.And,” referring to her tears,
“I understand.”I dried my hands on my
pants to hurry and hug her.I really did
understand that I touched hurting spots for her.She was grateful I put it into words, but she
wasn’t at a place inside where she could laugh yet.We just hugged.“I really do understand,” I said, without
ever knowing her details or her name.
My then-husband told me, “No matter what you do, it’s always
social work in some way.”
It was the brave women who didn’t shut up and who risked being
thought of as crazy or too extreme who helped me so much in my life to have
hope that life -- even on a woman-hating planet -- was worth living and could
have much beauty in it.It was women
like that who gave me words when I so badly needed to know words existed for
what I was feeling.When there are words
for it, it would make me feel convinced I wasn’t alone because the words would
not exist for me alone.
So here I was being that woman for this pained person.It felt so much bigger than comedy to
me.Comedy was just the avenue that
reached this soul.
I am not striving to limit what I say and how I say it.I had once been the scared first-grader whose
teacher told my grandmother that I was too shy and afraid to raise my
hand.She pointed out that when she
called on me anyway, I knew the answer.Of course the teacher didn’t know I was under daily threat of being
given away to a foster home if I spoke about anything that went on in our
house, blah, blah, blah, so yeah, I was too quiet and too afraid.She got that part right.I’d like to continue growing up and out from
there.It’s not easy but so worth it.
In my adult years, there continue to be special people who
welcome my voice (as opposed to trying to shut me up, and I can’t express how
tremendous that is to me who has felt so suffocated) and continue to help light
my path in ways.One of those people is
Alexandra Jacoby, a woman very worth Googling.And it was at her Vagina Salon, that I was introduced to this
wonderfulness below.
In honor of Women’s History Month, I’d like to help give ourselves
back to us … so much has been stolen
and buried.Vagina owners and vagina
visitors, the next 3 minutes could potentially change the quality of the rest
of your life.
