Lady Laughs Comedy Festival hits the bars this weekend
.jpg "Comedian Dina Nina Martinez, who splits her time between Madison, Wis., and Chicago, is one of several female comedians performing at the Lady Laughs Comedy Festival this weekend in Wichita.")
Female comedians will take center stage in Wichita this weekend, with more than 30 acts slated for two venues.
The Lady Laughs Comedy Festival, Friday at Lucky’s Everyday and Saturday at Barleycorn’s, has already been a hit since 2016 in Madison, Wisconsin, where producer and comedian Dina Nina Martinez splits her time with Chicago.
Martinez said Wichita comedian Helen Reicher, a performer at all of the Madison events so far, asked that something similar be brought to Kansas.
“She was like, ‘I really want to do something,’” Martinez said in a phone interview.
Reicher is one of several Wichita comedians on the docket, which also includes Kacey Quick, Jai Shanese and Katie Gette. All of the comedians at the festival submitted material via video for producers to consider.
The rest of the comedians represent a variety in geography, from coast to coast and Michigan to Florida, but also a variety of races and sexual orientations. Martinez is one of two transgender comedians who will be performing.
“It’s definitely a part of my act, but it’s not my entire act,” she said. “I talk about getting older and getting fat, but that I’m still a cougar.”
The headliners of the festival are the Denver comedy duo Pussy Bros on Friday, and Tucson, Arizona, comedian Kristine Levine, Saturday. The acts have not risen to the point of being a household name or having a Netflix special, Martinez said, but many of them have a following thanks to social media and their own YouTube channels.
While women have been seen as getting the short shrift in comedy through the years, Martinez said those Netflix specials and other forms of higher exposure have helped women get their views across to larger audiences than just three to five years ago.
And just because women have the spotlight and the mic for the entire two days, Martinez said, it doesn’t mean that the acts will spend their time bashing men.
“We are very hetero-male friendly,” she said.
Lady Laughs Comedy Festival
When: 7:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday, July 20-21
Where: Lucky’s Everyday, 1217 E. Douglas Ave., Friday; and Barleycorn’s, 608 E. Douglas Ave., Saturday
Tickets: $15 per night, or $25 for the two-day pass; VIP tickets are $40 per night or $60 for the weekend, and are available online.