Christine Ferrera’s Laughing Tap Night Owl Comedy

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Photo by Sarah Elizabeth via christineferrera.net

Christine Ferrera

Take it from Christine Ferrera, someone who found her way into stand-up from painting and other artistic expression; comedy is about more than generating laughter. 

"Stand-up comedy is a kind of performance art, and I’ve always approached it that way," affirms the Chicago-based 1994 graduate of Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design (a painting & printmaking major). "As with all art forms, it’s fun to find ways to play with or even subvert established tropes."  

Ferrera may subvert some tropes during her headlining set at Laughing Tap's Night Owl Comedy show at 10 p.m. on Saturday, October 10 in conjunction with Milwaukee Comedy's Milwaukee Comedy Festival, going Monday, October 5 through Sunday, October 11 at multiple venues (complete schedule at mkecomedyfest.com).

For festivals, I usually go with straight stand-up. Buuuuutttt…. I might have a little something up my sleeve!," Ferrera tantalizes when asked whether she performs in a more standard comedic fashion or brings her audience at the Tap something unorthodox, more akin to her debut special.  

Shy Vaudevillian

That special, “The Shy Vaudevillian,” finds Ferrera assuming the persona of robot comic Awkward Pauzez, through whom she finds time to wax autobiographical, plumb the history of comedy, confront her melancholy, take on sociopolitical targets, and even play with some edible prop humor. If that seems like a lot, the darkness of her material is kept at bay by her silly streak.  

"I wish more stand-ups would study performance art because I think they’d get a lot of ideas!" Ferrera enthuses."I use humor, outlandish imagery and juxtaposition in my work. For example, talking emotionally about a toxic relationship into a banana-phone is a fun juxtaposition that calls attention to the absurdity of it. I have actually done that in stand-up and in a painting."  

As for the difference between the formality of MIAD's academic setting and a comedian's stage, she elaborates, "I love painting and telling stories but there is something about the context of a comedy club that raises the stakes. 

"Like, there are no excuses. You can’t write an art statement about why a joke is funny; it has to actually make people laugh. It’s almost the complete opposite of painting, in which you’re generally alone in your studio. On stage with a mic, you have nothing to hide behind, and I find that, when it’s going well, it’s such a direct connection with an audience that is literally intoxicating."  

Funny Art Women

Though she may not be formally trained in comedy, Ferrera applied her interest in humor to her MIAD studies. "In grad school, I wrote a master’s thesis on this very topic called ‘Funny Art Women,’" she shares. But the love of comedy is part of her led to her current work, too.  

"Comedy was very important in our house growing up. We listened to comedy albums over and over. The first and most influential was Steve Martin’s, ‘Let’s Get Small.’ My dad also took me to Second City and comedy clubs when I was young. I was debilitatingly shy as a kid, but my dad was gregarious and hilarious. He was super charming, and I admired the way he could talk to anyone and make them laugh. He was also my champion when it came to making art," Ferrera recollects.  

"Steve Martin influenced me very early on,” she continues. “His sense of absurdity, wild vacillations in energy and tone, and something about his voice. I’m sort of shocked he’s not from the Midwest." Some of those elements of erstwhile Wild and Crazy Guy's artistry and that of other comics Ferrera admires, ranging from Jerry Lewis to Maria Bamford, may be reflected and directed toward institutions she'd like eliminated. 

"I think that humor is the best way to dismantle and disarm toxic hierarchies," she states. But, if Ferrera is a social justice comedian, she is at least as much a comic working out her owe issues through her work. "Comedy, for me, is mostly about mitigating my own struggles with aging, sexism and capitalism. In my own stand-up scene, I feel a bond with most comedians regardless of gender."  

Senior Comic? 

Per being in her mid-50s, Ferrera seniority in this year's Milwaukee Comey Festival and in the realm of stand-up generally. Naturally, she has insight to share about her position in that regard,  

"Our whole culture is super ageist, so around the age of 50 I decided to confront my fear of aging head on. So much in comedy is geared toward youth. 'Up and coming…,' 'New faces…,' ;The future of comedy…,” etc. “Thirty under 30??” Screw you! I am much funnier and more interesting now than when I was younger. But getting booked becomes harder and harder. The irony is that once I am on stage, I do well with all age groups because, guess what? Everyone worries about aging."  

And the words of wisdom she would impart to her juniors in the same field? "All I can say to younger comics is that aging is a fact of life so I would just embrace it and find what’s funny about it to you. I’m not successful enough to give career advice, but as far as doing comedy, or art in general, just have fun and continue to challenge and amuse yourself. As long as you’re doing it, you’ve succeeded." 

And as for what her Night Owl audience should expect from her? 

"I don’t know what I’ll be doing for the Milwaukee Comedy Fest, probably nothing topical… lol. But it will definitely be new, weird and probably a little awkward."