Women's funny fest returns to Chicago
Amy Sumpter doesn't have to look far for comedic material.
“I'm always the butt of my own jokes,” the Streamwood native says. “I don't like making fun of other people. I'm a good old Midwestern girl; I don't want to hurt people's feelings.”
Sumpter's material will be on display at the fourth annual Chicago Women's Funny Festival, taking place June 18 to 21 at Chicago's Stage 773. The four-day event includes more than 80 performances by 160 groups — nearly 500 women — to celebrate all forms of comedy, including stand-up, sketch, solo, vaudeville, improvisational and musical.
“The goal is to put all these women underneath one roof and give audiences the best comedic talent possible,” says event co-founder Jill Valentine.
The fest combines fresh and familiar faces in female comedy, with highlights including the return of “Saturday Night Live” writer Katie Rich, stand-up performer Tamale Rocks and Chicago Sketchfest veteran groups Off Off Broadzway, The Cupid Players and Feminine Gentlemen.
Other performances include a comedian drawing from her perspective as a wheelchair user, transgender writer Dina Martinez and breast cancer survivor Kyna Lenhof.
The fest was founded in 2012 by Valentine and Liz McArthur to provide a showcase for female artists to network and view each other's work. Each year, it has grown.
“When we first put it out there, we were surprised by the reaction we got,” Valentine says. “Most women were like: ‘Why haven't we done this yet?' Every year, the festival redefines itself with new people. It's for a comedy audience, male or female.”
In the 15 years since Valentine has been doing comedy in Chicago, she's seen classrooms grow from including one or two women in a class to them now making up more than half the students.
Festival co-founder McArthur also has seen major progress. “I used to have to feel like I had to prove I was funny,” she says. “I used to get a lot of ‘You're funny for a girl.' Or ‘You're the funniest girl I ever met.' Now I've graduated to being just a human.”
Sumpter sometimes cringes when she hears those remarks. “Why does gender matter?” she says. “It's definitely a challenge at times, but we've come a long way.”
Funny Fest is a great way to bond with others, in a city that's known for its comedy scene, she says. “When you start doing one form of it, sometimes you get stuck in your genre,” Sumpter says. “This brings everyone from all different areas together. You meet a ton of amazing people.”
Inspiration from her material comes from everyday occurrences. “Something crazy will happen, and if I tell a friend of mine and they start laughing, I think, ‘Oh maybe this will be universally funny,'” she says.
Sometimes, other people — like bad dates — will end up in her stories. But they're always a side to the bigger joke — which is usually herself. For example, her clumsiness is a recurring storyline. Once, she tripped and fell in front of a homeless man.
“I fell, my iPod disconnected, and all of a sudden, I hear a voice yelling: ‘You get back up!'” she recalls. “It was him yelling at me. Like, OMG, a homeless man is yelling at me to get up. That's kind of my life.”
Even though she's a veteran, Sumpter says she still gets nervous before each performance. That's because each audience is different, and a comedian has to know how to read it.
“Every once in a while the universe knocks you on your butt, and it'll be crickets (at a joke),” she says. “When you have a bad show, you go home or get a drink at the bar. There'll be a different show, a different venue.”
Chicago Women's Funny Festival
<b>When:</b> 8 to 10 p.m. Thursday, June 18; 8 to 11 p.m. Friday, June 19; 5 to 11 p.m. Saturday, June 20; and 2 to 8 p.m. Sunday, June 21
<b>Where:</b> Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago, <a href="http://www.stage773.com">stage773.com</a> or (773)-327-5252
<b>Tickets:</b> $15