A trio of lesbians, touted as the Queer Queens of Qomedy, will take Louisville by storm in the first of a four-city tour. The microphones come on at 5:30 PM at Louisville Improv at Fourth Street Live, and laughter is sure to ensue soon after.
The tour began with Poppy Champlin, who this year added Vickie Shaw and Barb Neligan. The girls will travel down south to Louisville, Birmingham, Atlanta, and Nashville.
I talked to Poppy recently to find out a little more about her and the tour, now in its sixth year.
(Portions of the interview have been edited for length and clarity.)
Tell me a little about yourself.
"I grew up in Rhode Island and studied theater at the University of Rhode Island. Along the way, I decided I wanted to do comedy. I went to Chicago and trained at Second City, and played some great clubs. I opened for the likes of Rosie O'Donnell, Gilbert Gottfried, Ray Romano, and Paula Poundstone. I moved to Los Angeles, and tried to get a sitcom. Since I came out in 2000, I've been working more with the LGBT community. I've done two specials for Logo and one for Showtime."
What was Second City like?
"I was there in the heyday with Bonnie Hunt and Chris Farley. I auditioned and got accepted into the school for a year. I really learned a lot, and branched out into stand up."
Where do you get your material?
"I live it! I do quite a bit of ad lib on stage. Working with improv helps me do that, instead of having to stay on script."
