In 2015, the Houston Whatever Festival lineup limited the number of female comedians to just three in a sea of male stand-ups, falling back on an antiquated excuse — there simply weren’t enough women comics out there.
Valerie Tosi was angered by the festival’s response. The incident happened a year into her career as a comedian, and she noticed that shows around Los Angeles also used that same flimsy excuse. So she set out to prove the gatekeepers of the comedy scene wrong.
Tosi, originally from Boston, knew there were plenty of women comedians everywhere seeking stage time. Enter the Mermaid Comedy Hour, a monthly show at the Hollywood Improv that books only women and nonbinary comics.
“The first year that I ran it, we booked 75 women without repeating a single comic just in L.A.,” Tosi said. “It kinda grew after that, and it kind of kept growing.”
On Monday, the show born out of a clap-back will celebrate its 10th anniversary. Their celebration will be stacked, with Chelsea Handler, Okatsuka, Brig Giger, and Kilmartin performing in the Hollywood Improv Main Room.
“In a lovely state of karma, the [Houston] festival is now defunct. Our show lasted years longer than their fest,” Tosi said.
Over the years, the Mermaid Comedy Hour has grown into a staple of L.A. comedy, offering a stage where women and nonbinary comedians can thrive. By spotlighting underrepresented voices, the show has reshaped L.A.’s comedy landscape, while creating a community where everyone feels safe.
For co-host Kari Assad, that sense of family began as a direct counter to the hostility she felt early on.
“When I first started comedy, I felt like men were very aggressive to me when I would show up to open mics and they’d get in my face,” Assad said. “I felt like they were trying to intimidate me, personally.”
Dani Otter, from left, Kari Assad and Valerie Tosi are the movers and shakers of the Mermaid Comedy Hour. “We’re not gonna gatekeep people,” Tosi says. “We want more women to have more opportunities.”
Assad attributes her work with other women comedians as the reason she stuck around the comedy world.
“That is the birth of Mermaid, a response to that energy,” she added.
The production has become a sounding board for a lot of women in the local scene. Everyone in attendance is there to support each other. Whether a comedian wants to drop by to punch up their set for a late-night appearance, or a person is seeking professional advice on how to navigate the world of stand-up, the Mermaid Comedy crew is there to help in any way, Tosi said.
Its reputation for booking great talent has made it a stepping stone for comics. Other show producers now approach the crew to connect with their acts.
“We’re not gonna gatekeep people. We want more women to have more opportunities,” Tosi said. “That benefits you, that benefits them, that benefits everybody.”
Tosi and company have created a “slumber party” vibe to the show that includes a “Future Besties Table.” The table, filled with friendship bracelets, is for anyone attending solo. This way, they can walk away with new friends.
“A couple of recent shows, we were walking away after them like ‘Oh, yeah we really needed this night,’ ” Dani Otter, producer of the show, said after each show ended. “It’s what keeps bringing us back, on all sides of it.”
The Mermaid Comedy Hour is an all-female/non-binary comedy show at the Lab at Hollywood Improv.
The tone of the show has rubbed off on the performers, who, as comedians, feel they can experiment with their acts, according to Laurie Kilmartin, who was one of the Mermaid Comedy Hour’s first headliners.
“I think you’re naturally defensive if you’re the only woman on a lineup,” Kilmartin said in an email. “You get so used to it, because that’s the stand up world — it seems normal. Then you’re on a show like Mermaid and the vibe is so relaxing and natural.”
In a nurturing room like that of Mermaid Comedy Hour, the guardrails come down, comedian Stevona Delgado said. Being surrounded by a group of supportive women and nonbinary comedians made her feel safe to walk to her car by herself after the show. In her experience, she also noticed that none of the comedians on the bill were chilling backstage.
“Normally when I go to shows, everybody is just kicking it in the green room waiting for their turn,” Delgado said. “At the Mermaid Comedy Hour, everybody was outside watching everybody.”
Delgado participated in their benefit show to raise money for Centro CSO, an organization that helps undocumented people. This was the first time she got behind the mic of such a storied stage like the Hollywood Improv.
The show has lifted the careers of comics from outside of the city limits who probably would not get a chance to perform on such a big platform, Delgado said.
“I noticed through the Mermaid Comedy Hour that they definitely make sure to have people from all over, not just from L.A.,” Delgado said. “They’re definitely giving regular people a chance.”
During its decade-long history, the show has helped launch the careers of comics like Taylor Tomlinson, Atsuko Okatsuka and Steph Tolev. The Mermaid Comedy Hour intentionally makes sure to keep its lineups diverse, the thinking being that no one wants to watch a show with one perspective.
Paul Benton, center, and Sara Jackson, far right, both of Los Angeles, at the Mermaid Comedy Hour.
Or, as Kilmartin puts it: “It’s a show where you can see a ton of great, experienced female and nonbinary comics, one after the other. Not a single lazy, sexist dud in the bunch.”
Still, men continuously send their audition tapes hoping to get booked. They are obviously not reading the room, but the door remains open.
“Come support the show. You are welcome here,” Otter said. That’s not a clap-back, that’s an invitation.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
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