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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 21, 1997)
jus« o u t T n o v M ib tr 2 1 , 1 0 0 7 ▼ 31 T he R iches , of R a g sd a l e New suede shoes a Dalmatian and a girlfriend with a house in Portland: How could one comic get so lucky? by Will O’Bryan Well, I did a little independent film called ew residents w ho’ve come to Port Never Met Picasso, which is opening in Boston, land via L.A. som etim es give them L. A., New York and a couple of other places over selves aw ay with their sunglasses. Thanksgiving weekend. While working on On a gloom y, overcast Portland the film I really fell in love morning, G eorgia Ragsdale is no ex in d e- ception. Looking just a bit too chic for a w M ith onday morning on Hawthorne, she joined Just Out for a quick chat and a bow l o f oatm eal at Bread and Ink. As the sunglasses hinted o f H ollyw ood, N omedy I definitely like the mix— and 1 find it really comical— the mix of like, you see people here who are literally 10 or 15 years behind the times “I think it’s going to be really fun. For me it’s going to be like a ‘Welcome to Portland ’ show. This is going to be my home team, and I ’m really excited about it. ” just living their daily lives in, like, 1980. And a mix o f sophisticated urbanites. Ragsdale’s fondness for sugar, both white and brown, hinted of Houston and Ragsdale’s South ern roots. Ragsdale has made a name for herself as a comic and found a com ic niche as a gay woman. Among her favorite audiences are the captive revelers she’s entertained repeatedly on RSVP cruises. A nother favorite audience for Ragsdale was, presumably, the millions of television view ers who caught her cam eo on Ellen in October. Audiences w ho’ve seen Ragsdale appreciate her re-enactment of a lesbian’s first trip to a gay bar (and successive evolution to old pro), her impersonation of Jackie Onassis, and her tale of an irritable cat on a road trip. And for those who ’ ve seen Ragsdale’s take on club music, Chaka K han’s “ I’m Every W om an” will never sound the same again. Why are you in Portland now? I am now in Portland because my wonderful girlfriend owns a house here and I could not resist. Her, or the house? The house, the girl. And I have a dog... What kind of dog? A Dalmatian. I’d asked you before about television and ABC. Could you just recap? I got to L.A. and had the most wonderful Cinderella story. I had been w orking as a comic for about five years, getting only slightly up the ladder.... I get to L.A., I had a show— which was the middle of the w eek— and by Monday I had a six-figure deal at ABC. It was amazing. I don’t see you on the Friday night lineup... The thing about d e als... that deal was good for a year. That expired. Then I had another deal with Norman Lear. That deal expired. Basically I ’m a free agent. You’re interested in television, you’re in terested in film...where do your priorities lie? What’s more endearing? pen- d e n t f i 1 m - making. Just the id ea o f what you can p u ll to g e th e r w ith a scrip t and superhuman e f f o r t.... I hope that my future lies in that arena. I ’m m uch better when I have my own point of view and I d o n ’t have to fit it in to ...I d on’t want to say “sterile com m er cial product,” because that would imply that there’s nothing good on TV. TV very much is what will appeal to the common denom i nator of humankind. At least [with] inde p e n d e n t film ...y o u still want a universal a p p ea l, bu t th e re ’s room for the unusual, the different. It’s more direct marketing. Are there any Portland idiosyncra sies you think you’ll Oeorgia Ragsdale be able to start working into your material? What’s your impression of us? ALBINA COMMUNITY BANK ( 503 ) 287-7537 POSSIBILITIES...NOT LIMITATIONS! LOW RATES! LOW FEES! FAST APPROVALS! We specialize in self-employed borrowers This lender makes loans without regard to race, color, religion, gender, or national origin. m em ber fdic Equal Housing Lender I just think the two cultures clash ing to g e th e r lik e th a t is v ery Shakespearean in a way. It’s the edge of tom orrow in some w ays and people still driving little Toyota trucks and wearing Birkenstocks and old teal raincoats. I’m guessing you haven’t lived through a Portland win ter, but you’ve lived through a Seattle winter. Does that affect your com edy at all? I love the North west. You’re not left crying by February with a bottle of wine in your hand? Probably I will be, but I really love the cool. I ’m from Texas, so every day it’s cool is like a day with free air c o n d itio n in g . I can ’t get over the fact that you don’t have to pay hundreds o f dol lars for air condition ing. I love it. Every day I wake up and it’s > cool, I’m so thankful. § I hate the heat. 1 1 Lots of comics are »the brooding type. 2 Does that apply to i you? I think probably. Not necessarily brood ing, but I’m definitely more quiet and more— w hat’s the opposite of revealed? Introverted? Introverted, yeah. I’m much more introverted and shielded in my personal life, whereas the time that I’m on stage I’m very open. I ’m just raw and hanging it all out. Do you ever see tapes of yourself on stage and think, “Oh my god, I can’t believe I said that?” Yeah, all the time. Or, you know, I’ll talk about ex-girlfriends or whatever or my real life and then I’rn like, “Oh shit, they’re going to be in the audience! What am I going to do? I can’t do that bit,” or “Oh, there’s a friend of Ellen’s in the audience. I can ’t do that joke about Ellen.” Do you have a stage persona that just takes over? Yes, totally. I really do. To me, that’s the thing that’s made it easier and easier over the years is the more that persona...I feel like I’m more secure, more comfortable to just let that go. And a lot of times my best jokes have come while I was onstage and I didn’t even know what I was going to say next. Is living in Portland going to have any affect on your career? Does the airport, and how fast you can get out of here, affect it? The airport sucks! That definitely affects my career. I think I ’ll definitely have to keep going down to L.A. several times a year and spend chunks o f time there to keep working. But hope fully I have all the contacts and all the support I need from the industry down there to continue my career and doing what I do, which should be doing my own projects. Will Portland affect your footwear? [Ragsdale raises her shoe to tabletop height, dis playing a very chunky, brown suede number.) Oh, my. I’ve discovered you can w ear suede shoes here if you have high platforms. My advice: w ear high platform s if you want to stay away from little duckboots. Is there anything you’d like to add about your Dec. 5 show at the Clinton Street The atre? I think it’s going to be really fun. For me it’s going to be like a “ W elcome to Portland” show. This is going to be my home team, and I’m really excited about it. Now if only I could get tickets to that Power g am e... Georgia Ragsdale will appear at the Clinton Street Theatre, 2522 SE Clinton St., at 8 pm on Friday, Dec. 5. Tickets are $10 in advance at In Other Words bookstore, 3734 SE Hawthorne Blvd., and $12 at the door.
