Austin's Girls, Girls, Girls
Laugh It Up
Issue #36
All-female improv troupes sweep the nation
By Erik Adams
Published: June 1st, 2008 | 3:21pm
Mo Daviau has been convinced of her own cleverness since childhood, but she made a shocking discovery upon joining the Austin-based improv comedy troupe Girls Girls Girls. “Rather than give me a soapbox upon which I could relay my cleverness to the world, improv did the opposite,” she says. “It made me realize that cleverness takes a back seat to good storytelling.”
Girls Girls Girls specializes in on-the-spot storytelling infused with spontaneous singing and dancing. In the ever-expanding field of improv, they’re hardly alone in this respect, nor is their all-female membership unique. What began with Chicago’s Jane has spread to other comedy capitals of Los Angeles (Silver City Pink) and New York City (The Pearl Brunswick, Skinny Bitch Jesus Meeting) and to lesser-thought-of municipalities like Atlanta (The Gorgeous Ladies of Comedy) and Phoenix, Arizona (Mail Order Bride).
Improviser and author Asaf Ronen says improv is still largely driven by straight, white dudes, so the creation of all-female troupes is inevitable. “It seems to give them the best opportunity to more fully explore all the different ways to improvise: the different styles, approaches, speeds and play a wider variety of characters, including male characters,” he says.
Davieau’s castmate Aden Kirschner says women bring a more patient, thoughtful perspective to a medium that can get very silly, very quickly. “Rather than immediately jumping up and acting the clown, a woman might see a unique opportunity for a real observation of the moment that in its truth brings up more bubbling laughter than a goofy response would bring,” she says.
To help promote this perspective, Girls Girls Girls founded the Ladies Are Funny Festival, or LAFF, a showcase for female comedy talent that celebrated its second year this April. Austin also recently welcomed a second all-female troupe, Pom Pom Sisterhood, much to the enthusiasm of the Girls Girls Girls cast. “We’re happy that we get to delete ‘Austin’s only all-female troupe’ from our marketing materials,” Daviau says.
Comments
Please login to be able to comment on this article.
more