Kirsten Rasmussen is doing it every night
13 Jan 2019.

Kirsten Rasmussen is a Second City comedian, currently starring in the popular female-centric show She the People. "The show comes from a feminist point of view," she said. "It's written by all women and it's exciting to have material that is specifically feminist. I'm not interested in doing comedy that is anti-men, but I do like to talk to the other people in the room."

Those of us who have seen She the People know what she's talking about. As the world of comedy grows, it becomes more and more inclusive. So, yes, the past few years have seen a seismic change. "It now seems weird to see a comedy troupe that is all-white, or all-male," declared Rasmussen. It took companies like Second City to help change that. Part of the company's genius is that it can deal with controversial topics without being controversial itself.

However, it still remains a challenge to attract a gay audience. A few months ago, Rasmussen directed Tom Hearn's all-queer show Extravaganza Eleganza, which played two nights at Tallulah's in November. The room was packed, but even at a glance it was obvious that the audience was made up more of the comedy community than gays. For decades gays and lesbians were mocked and marginalized, the brunt of the joke, and there is still a mistrust of comedy. But Rasmussen welcomed the opportunity to write queer material. "When you're the only woman in the room full of straight guys, there isn't even any space to bring queer comedy into the process. So Tom's show was an opportunity for us to write for the gay community instead of writing for an empathetic straight audience like we do at Second City."

Rasmussen is busy. She has two other troupes, K&M and The Bloody Marys, and she is prepping two shows for the upcoming SketchFest. "I'm doing Binge with Leigh Cameron, and a solo show called The Kiki, which is my nickname. I'm not sure what's going to be in it, but for sure there will be a song about cysts." There is also the possibility that there will be a She's the People 2.0. "They're doing it in Chicago, so it might trickle up to Canada," she said. 

And she's still immersing herself in the queer community, but slowly. "I want to be more involved, but when you're a comedian you have to devote so much time to that. My other queer friends spent all their time becoming gay, but I had to choose. Well, I thought, my sexuality isn't going to change, but I can't get better at comedy unless I'm doing it every night." I understand. I did the same thing.