Queer Comedians Find a Safe Space in Austin
- Natasha Day
- May 24, 2023
- 4 min read
By Natasha Day
AUSTIN — When Austin resident Ky Krebs’ boyfriend told him he didn’t have what it takes to be a good comedian, Kreb dumped him and vowed to prove him wrong.
“Spite is a powerful motivator,” he said. Krebs, who is openly gay, has found success as a comedian in the burgeoning Austin comedy scene.
Krebs, 27, has only been doing comedy for three years, and he’s already going to compete in the Funniest Person in Austin contest later this month. Krebs usually performs two to six times per week at bars and clubs around town.
During the last 20 years, societal norms regarding sexual orientation have shifted dramatically, and queer comedians have found success. Comedians such as Wanda Sykes and Hannah Gadsby have achieved international fame. In Austin, an growing number of queer comedians are using their platform to discuss issues around sexual orientation that were considered taboo just a few decades ago.
Growing up in Alexandria, La., Krebs said he used his humor as a defense mechanism in high school. “I thought to myself, ‘If I’m funny, I stay alive.’” There were only two other openly gay students, and they faced bullying, Krebs said. “I coasted through because I was funny.”
Throughout his career, Kreb has experienced indirect and direct homophobia. In 2018, he was scheduled to perform at the Laugh Factory in Los Angeles, until they asked him, “Are all of your jokes gay jokes?”
Krebs told staff at the Laugh Factory that some of his jokes did revolve around being gay, and the gig fell through.
Krebs said he and other LGBTQ+ comedians and storytellers have found joy performing in such an inclusive city as Austin. Cheer Up Charlie’s bar, a popular venue on Red River Street, hosts a monthly event called ‘Greetings From Queer Mountain.’ Austinites Ralphie Hardesty and former Austinite Michael Foulk started Queer Mountain in 2013.
“We originally were going to do a queer comedy showcase, but at the time there were like four queer comics that we knew of in the city,” Hardesty said.
Foulk had the idea to turn it into a storytelling event to showcase different kinds of talent. There is usually a monthly theme, but people can share whatever stories they wish.
“The stories can be anything – coming out stories, funny embarrassing stories. A lot of the time, it is people sharing stories of trauma,” Hardesty said.
Heavy stories about racism, sexism and transphobia are what motivates Hardesty to keep Queer Mountain going. Hardesty, who is Caucasian, said that hearing heavy stories from his friends who are people of color, are really important to him.
“I'm angry about those things too, but I very often need an education and, or a reminder about what's happening in my queer brothers’, sisters’,siblings' lives,” he wrote in an email message.
Hardesty said Queer Mountain has provided queer comedians a platform to demonstrate their talents.
Another monthly comedy showcase, “Smile More,” is held at the Institution Theater in South Austin and features all female comedians, such as openly gay comedian Irielle Wesley.
Wesley, 23, joined the improv troupe Snafu while attending the University of Texas at Austin, she’s been doing stand-up for about a year.
“I just want to tell silly jokes” Wesley said after her set last weekend.
Her performance touched on a range of topics such as getting revenge in 2019, LeBron James, and Drake rapping about taking the required dose of Xanax.
Wesley is now a part of an all-female, African-American house troupe called “Sugar, Water, Purple,” they perform weekly at ColdTowne Theater in North Austin.
Austin resident Mase Kerwick is a part of queer comedy troupe called QueerTowne that performs at Coldtowne Theater as well.
Initially QueerTowne was an LGBTQ+ community project that only performed during Pride Week, but has grown to be popular week.
“Our success is reflective of three things: the way we continue to push the show in new and exciting directions, our talented queer and trans friends who boldly share their truth with the audience, and the eclectic LGBTQ+ community who've championed our sweet little show since day one,” Kerwick said.
Kerwicks motivation for creating QueerTowne hails from his desire to make queer people feel comfortable and forget about the discrimination they often face.
“There's nothing more rewarding than creating a safe space where people can escape from the world for an hour. And I hope that always come across to the audience,” Kerwick said.
There are many challenges for queer performers, including visibility.
“Hypervisibility is something that all queer people struggle with” said Lyndon K. Gill, Associate Professor of Africa and African Diaspora Studies at the University of Texas at Austin.
The challenges are simultaneous, hypervisibility and invisibility. “How do I push back and against the normal and step into the discomfort of being hyper-visible to create art?” Gill said.
The scrutiny of being a member of the LGBTQ+ community can make it more difficult to be a performer.
Queerness is doing its best work when it threatens the presumption of the norm. There’s ways in which your queer body is marked ‘other’ or ‘out of place,” Gill said,
“Queer performance helps to shine a light on what’s “normal.”
The brave queer comedians who still get on stage despite the mockery that still follows them is commendable.
To help him prepare for the contest, Krebs is performing later this month in his own comedy special at Kick Butt Coffee in North Austin. “If you cross me, I will make art about it..”
The theme of the show is “ Oops, All Gay Jokes.
Natasha Day is a journalism student at UT, follow her on twitter @natasha_jd
COVER SHEET
Slug: Feature story, queer comedians
Budget Line: The rising queer comedy scene in Austin
Sources
Ky Krebs
Stand-up comedian
www.kykrebs.com
Ralphie Hardesty
Host of “Greeting from Queer Mountain”
Lyndon K Gill
Professor of Africa and African Diaspora Studies at the University of Texas
Akaash Nair
RTF student at UT * didn’t end up using this source in the story*
Mase Kerwick
Stand-up comedian
Chandler Buse Bailey
Communications student at UT * didn’t end up using this source in the story*
Irielle Wesley
stand up comedian
Diversity of sources: I diversified my sources by talking with people who are members of the LGBTQ+ community, men and women of a range of different ages and races.
Credibility: My sources are all stand-up comedians who perform and have clips of their performances on multiple social media platforms. The only source that wasn’t a comedian was my expert who is a professor at UT.
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