Barbara Darko - Broadly Speaking: Quotes & Quips from Women in Comedy

Across time and across the globe, women in comedy have put in the work, paid their dues, and let fly a wealth of pointed jokes and humorous insights. Theyve poked fun at, made fodder of, crossed wits over, and set up punchlines about everything and everyone, including themselves. Their perspective has only sharpened the barbs and amplified the big ideas theyve let loose on the world. As womens roles have evolved, especially over the last hundred-odd years, so too has their comedy, breaking out from themes of hearth and home to cover femininity, fame, and fortune; feminism, philosophy, and, yes, the f-word; coming full circle to address comedy as a genre, a delivery mechanism, and a job. Funny women, by presence alone and with their words, spotlight the disparity between their lack of representation in mainstream comedy and the necessity be a coping mechanism; it can be a channel for information and empathy; it can be a teaching tool; it can be an icebreaker; it can be a bridge or a web. Comedy can be a common thread, weaving us closer together when things seem to be tearing apart. Keeping in mind the long history of the human condition, with all of its hilarity and heartbreak, this book collects a centurys worth of womens experiences in the form of observations, musings, anecdotes, instructions, and notes from the field. Whether wisdom from the golden girls of yesteryear or from the mouths of (relative) babes, these quotesin turn hilarious, droll, devastating, poignant, unrelentingly honest, and so comforting for the truths they corroborate and revealstay relevant and reflect our times while leaving us, if were lucky, with a lesson learned, and often with an earned and earnest laugh. Now, Ill let the women speak for themselvesand get the last laughas they very well deserve to do.

Barbara Darko

My father was a proctologist; my mother was an abstract artist. Thats how I view the world.

Sandra Bernhard

It took me years to realize that normal is actually super boring and that being myself was harder, but infinitely more rewarding.

Franchesca Ramsey

Normal is nothing more than a cycle on a washing machine.

Whoopi Goldberg

I didnt know about stand-up as an art. I just thought stand-up comedians were old men in suits talking about their wives.

Natasha Leggero

Theres never really nothing else I could do because it is my calling in life to entertain.

Luenell

You create your own voice on your stage. And people think that its very scary, but its about me! Im looking to be the center of attention, and I found it! Im here!

Hana Mae Lee

Im the youngest in my family and everyone is very funny, and I was always trying to keep up with them. I just loved making people laugh.... But I put it all away during high school and college. I thought, Thats not actually something you do with your life.

Lisa Kudrow

When I got into comedy, it scared me because [In theater] when youre onstage, youre not yourself and those arent your words. When youre onstage as a comic, thats you, and those are your words. But your destinys your destiny.

Dulc Sloan

Its like asking a basketball player, When did you first know you could probably nail a three-pointer? Who knows?... Funny is hard to define. Is it instinct? Science? Luck?

Jen Kirkman

There was no plan B. There were times when I had seven dollars to my name and was like, maybe I should get a job? And then I was like, nah.

Robin Thede

Nothing prompts creativity like poverty, a feeling of hopelessness, and a bit of panic.

Catherine Tate

I love stand-up so much, Ive got an almost unhealthy relationship with it. Like, if I dont perform I get really depressed.

Josie Long

If I dont write something or perform... I feel like I havent had enough water or enough to breathe.

Michelle Buteau

Stand-up keeps you on your toes because its instant. With TV and movies, you have to wait for the numbers to come in to see what happened at the box office. With stand-up, its right there, that night, in your face.

MoNique

People get hung up on writing smart shit. To me, its more about performance. Lucille Ball and Moms Mabley, they had face. Before they even said a word, they made you crack up.

Leslie Jones

People go to a comedy show because comedy can go either way.... Because it is so raw. Its not TV. They cant put a laugh track in. Youre out there.

Kristen Schaal

What is funny? Funny is subjective. Whatever feels most terrifying, I want to go to there.

Ilana Glazer

B eing onstage has this really great effect, where you really dont think about anything else thats going on in your life.... Its like an Adderall pill; you just have to focus on making whatever youre doing work, and making the audience enjoy it.

Jo Firestone

Accentuate the positives, medicate the negatives.

Amy Sedaris

I just prefer to see the dark side of things. The glass is always half empty. And cracked. And I just cut my lip on it. And chipped a tooth.

Janeane Garofalo

I dont thrive on misery, myself. I mean, Ive obviously created during a time of misery, but I also create from a place of joy.

Tig Notaro

Its actually really human to find some levity in something thats heavy. Youll talk to people, anyone really, and for example theyll say something like, We were at this really sad funeral, and then we got the giggles.... Thats really universal.

Maeve Higgins

Sometimes the only way to deal with horrific things in life is through a dark sense of humor.

Margaret Cho