Page 12
Street Roots • August 18-24, 2017
News
Politics, empowerment and some laughs
BY EMILLY PRADO
couple of fundraisers for him over the winter
but hadn’t yet branded as Revolution
Comedy. We had a couple shows at
ndie Main is a stand-up comedian and
Bossanova Ballroom, and I wanted to do
the founder of Revolution Comedy, a
more dates, but it didn’t quite come together.
bimonthly series that marries comedy
and music with fundraising for progressive Then Dylan Reiff of Kickstand Comedy Space
approached me about doing a regular series,
organizations. Since Revolution Comedy
and I created the show based around his
began in 2016, it has raised over $10,000 for
invitation. Eventually, we grew too big for the
causes such as Planned Parenthood, Q
space, and that’s why we moved to Curious
Center, and Immigrant and Refugee
(Comedy Theater).
Community Organization, or IRCO. Its next
S T A F F W R IT E R
A
IF YOU GO
event, “Stand Up to Literally Impeach
Trump” on Aug. 28, will benefit
Swing Left, a digital community
focused on connecting users with
their nearest Swing Districts in hopes
of regaining Democratic power in the
House of Representatives by 2018.
Emilly Prado: How does comedy
allow us to deal with trauma and the
bleakness of our political climate in
ways that other avenues might not?
Andie Main: At its best, stand-up
comedy is cathartic. Sitting in a
room, listening to a person tell you
their truths can do a lot more for
people than just make them laugh. I
get a lot of feedback from people who
are moved by the topics covered in
my jokes. I am focused on politics
and empowerment right now. I
probably won’t be able to move on from
these focal points until the world radically
changes, but I think comedy is a way for
people to remember experiences and have
empathy in a more direct way than music or
movies because the act of laughing is actually
involuntary when you think about it. I
consider it to be a way humans communicate
validation with each other, which we totally
need right now.
E.P.: The election sparked the launch of
many politically inclined events and
organizations, but Revolution Comedy started
in February 2016. Can you tell me about what
moved you to act at that time?
A.M.: It was Bernie Sanders! I had done a
E.P.: In what ways has Revolution Comedy
changed since the election?
A.M.: We got bigger. The first show at
Curious Comedy Theater was the day after
the election. When we planned it, we thought
it was (going to) be a party, but instead it was
more like trying to entertain at a funeral.
Our attendance has shot up, and the
audiences are very smart and understand a
lot of references that I would not have
expected from a regular crowd at a comedy
club. I don’t know if that’s because a lot of
people are educating themselves about this
era - I def have stepped up my media
consumption of current events - or they
were already smart, but I sure do appreciate
them.
E.P.: How do you decide which group or
cause to feature?
COURTESY PH O TO
A.M.: Whatever is making me
uncomfortable!
fascism all of the time, whenever it shows its
head.
E.P.: Your upcoming event calls for the
impeachment of (Donald Trump) and is
benefiting SwingLeft.org, but a successful
impeachment and removal would make Mike
Pence president. What do you see as the next
steps to continue challenging this
administration, should the impeachment work?
A.M.: I think if we do reach impeachment,
it will bring down the entire current White
House. Russiagate has money and roots in so
much of the Republican Party that I could
see Pence and Paul Ryan going down too. I
think this generation has become so
radicalized that we will resist all of the
E.P.: How has punk rock prepared you for
community organizing?
A.M.: Ha ha! I love this question. To me,
punk equals authenticity and direct action,
which is a part of my identity.
E.P.: Anything else folks should know about
Revolution Comedy and Andie Main?
A.M.: I try really hard. I love my dog,
Martha. And this is my real hair. Go to
Facebook.com/RevolutionComedyPDX to like
the page and keep in touch with what we’ve
got cooking up next!
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Andie Main is
the founder of
Revolution
Comedy.