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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 7, 2011)
M Ü L S TO U T COM JANUARY 7 2011 COMEDY Born Funny 1 Dana Goldberg baptizes PDX with tears of laughter M ■ BY ERIN ROOK * gill café castagna 1318 SE Hawthorne, Portland, OR 97214 stir 503.235.1254 1758 SE 11 author ru at IHth 503.231.9959 castagmurUauraiü. ram olives fa x: 503.236.8457 11 : 30 am - 9 pm M on - S at 12 - 8:30 Sunday A IN SW O R TH H O U S E & G A RD EN S : ■ Portland Lesbian Choir Tickets: SO NG S \ A C R O SS TJ I $12 at the d o o r/$10 in advance at Flying Cat Coffee Co. SE Division St. Seniors/Students $2 Discount no one turned aw ay for tack o f fundi Dianne Applegate ; l)l)S, LLC N e w L o ca tio n ! 4S44) SI: 30tli Ave. Portland, OR 97202 D ig ita l X -R a y s C o s m e tic D en tistry ’ In v isa lig n C o m p r e h e n s iv e D e n ta l C are 503-775-9500 DrDia nneApplega te.com THE DIVÌDE Dana Goldberg is sort of, well, funny. But don’t hold it against her, she was horn that way. Finding and relating the humor in everyday life is as much a part o f Goldberg’s DNA as is being a lesbian or being Jewish. “My kindergarten teacher told my mother 1 was the funniest 5-year-old she had ever met,’’ says the New Mexico native. As she got older, the audiences just got larg er. Goldberg made her stand-up debut as a high school senior with a 10-minute set at the school talent show. It was also so natural, she found herself working the crowd before she began. “Let’s hear it for the emcee!”she remembers telling the audience. “I didn’t even know who the emcee was.” After high school, Goldberg set aside dreams of comic stardom for what seemed like more practical ambitions— a degree in physi cal education and a career as a P.E. teacher. But eventually, the desire to do comedy nagged at her once more and she decided to give it three years. I f she didn’t make it in com edy by the time she turned 30, she would rele gate it to the category of pipe dreams. A wealth o f material combined with a unique skill relat ing to all kinds of audiences put Goldberg on good footing, and she made it. “I was raised by a Jewish mother in a single parent household in which two out of three kids are gay,” Goldberg says. Fortunately for Goldberg, her family is okay with the fact that so much of her comedy is drawn from their interactions. In one variation on a recurring joke, G old berg, 34, tells the story o f how her mother knew she was gay. Her mother looks at the re ceipt after going to the grocery and sees “homo milk.” Suddenly, she understands why two of her children are gay, but the third is not: She’s lactose intolerant. Goldberg follows up with, “[It] turns out, that’s the only thing my sister won’t swallow.” After a successful first performance in front of some 700 lesbians (at 2002’s Lesbians for Change comedy showcase), there was nothing stopping Goldberg. “I killed it,” she recalls. “I could literally see my heart beating through my shirt. I didn’t want to touch the mic because I was afraid I’d turn it into an amplifying vibrator.” Before long, Goldberg was performing for Olivia cruise audiences, appearing on Logo and named one of the top five funniest lesbians by Curve magazine. Her talents, coupled with her passion for nonprofit work, have even landed her on stage between Barack Obama and Lady Gaga. Goldberg was invited to provide comic in- ln on© variation on a recurring joke. Goldberg tells the story of how her mother knew she was gap. Her mother looks ot the receipt after going to the grocerp and sees "homo milk." Suddenlp. she understands whp two of her children ore gap. but the third is not: She's lactose intolerant. Goldberg follows up with. "[It] turns out. that's the onlp thing mp sister won t swallow." terludes between speakers and performers at the 13th Annual Human Rights Campaign National Dinner in October 2009, a gig that put her on the same bill not only as the presi dent and the pop diva, but also with Jane Lynch and the cast o f Glee, Kathy Griffin, Por tia de Rossi and Kathy Najimy. But she’s not letting any of it go to her head. W hen Goldberg’s not earning her keep behind the mic, she lends her ability to elicit laughter to a wide range of charitable causes, especially those involving H IV /A ID S or LGBT rights work. Goldberg co-produces the Southwest Fun- nyFest in Albuquerque, a comedy fundraiser for New Mexico AIDS Services that marked its fourth year in 2010 and has raised more than $10,000. She says she chose recipients such as NM AS because it played a vital role in her early career. “I t’s important to me to give back to the communities that support me,” Goldberg says. She also lends considerable support to the Human Rights Campaign— helping to raise more than $200,000 during performances and live auctions in Seattle, San Francisco, Wash ington, D.C., Cincinnati, Austin and Palm Springs— and plans to tour with the H RC again in 2011. But it’s Portland that gets Goldberg early this year. Aside from small local shows in her new home base o f Los Angeles, Goldberg’s Portland performance marks her first major date of 2011, as well as her first ever in Stump- town. New year. New city. New funny. Belinda Carroll Comedy Presents: A N ight with D ana G oldberg ; Jan. 22, 8-11:30p.m.; The Hawthorne Theatre, 3862 SE Hawthorne Blvd.; $12 advance, $15 door; danagoldherg.com.
