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Traverse Comedy Wants to Help You Believe in Your Comedy Dreams

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Mary Jane French knows a thing or two about making someone laugh. Whether you have seen her stand up at open mics or showcases, or have seen one of her recent shows around town with her comedy production team, Traverse Comedy, I’m sure you’ve laughed at at least a few of her jokes. And by a few, I mean all of them. 

Comedy itself is a very intimidating art form, and isn’t always the most inclusive and welcoming for anyone not already in the circle. Traverse Comedy hopes to change that by offering classes to anyone who has had “Learn Comedy” on their to-do list. It’s their hope that they can help make comedy in the area at least a little bit easier to get involved with. While at one time, French held the opinion that comedy classes were questionable and it was better to just get out there, she realized that getting out there isn’t always an option. 

“In the intervening years since I held that opinion, I have come to the conclusion that it is not as easy for every person to just go out and do open mics, because those can be iffy to downright hostile environments for some folks,” said French. “I wanted to be able to offer something that gives people an accessible pathway into doing comedy. And so it’s not a class that pretends like, ‘Hey, we’re going to make you the funniest person in the world.’ But you’re going to have an instructor who’s been doing this for a long time, who makes for a good mentor and has a lot of knowledge that they can impart on you. You’re more likely, when you go out into the greater Richmond comedy scene and the open mic scene, to feel more sure of yourself, instead of just getting chased off by the first asshole you meet.”

Mary Jane French

At the end of their six-week courses, Traverse Comedy promises to leave you with headshots, video of yourself performing, five minutes of material you feel confident about, knowledge of what to expect in an open mic, and experience doing said open mics. 

Traverse Comedy is not necessarily doing anything new. Standup classes have been offered at various venues around the city, including the Funny Bone in Short Pump and Coalition Theater Downtown. However, the way Traverse is breaking ground is with their emphasis on making a more welcoming space for marginalized communities, such as folks who are LGBTQ and/or BIPOC. As an openly trans woman, being the only one in the room was something French got used to for a long time in Richmond comedy. 

“Me winding up in comedy is just me having a very intense compulsion to do it, and I don’t think that that should be the bar for entry,” said French. To her, Traverse’s goal is “to create more opportunities for people to come into the scene. Another part of it is looking across the scene, seeing some of the things that I wish could be better, and realizing my ultimate goal and hope with these classes in general is that they will have a fundamental effect in changing the landscape of the scene, having more people, and making the scene more diverse and more inclusive to more people with different backgrounds. Right now, it can be hard.”

She also adds that right now the scene is better than it has been in a long time, with an increasingly more supportive environment, which if anything should encourage anyone who has had trying comedy on their wish list. 

So far, the folks signing up are a mixed bag of sorts. Some have done comedy in some fashion, such as improv, while others just couldn’t hold themselves back from trying it any longer. 

Naturally, the six-week courses end with a live performance. The inaugural class, which was an Intro to Comedy for Queers, just wrapped up, and will have their graduation show this Thursday, May 19 at 7pm at Strangeways Brewing’s Dabney Road location. Ticket sales will go toward Diversity Richmond, who donated the use of the classroom where the course was held. Tickets are $5 and can be purchased at the door. 

For more information on future classes, such as the Intro to Standup for BIPOC Folks, taught by Richmond comic Francesca Lyn, as well as other upcoming shows produced by Traverse Comedy, visit their Linktree at linktr.ee/traversecomedy.

COVID-19 Is No Laughing Matter

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The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted countless industries. People have had to adapt drastically to the new normal that we now live in, and that definitely includes the comedy scene.

Open mics have been prevalent in Richmond, and many comedians have cited the unique energy and receptiveness of Richmond audiences. But ever since the COVID-19 pandemic hit in March, open mics have become a bit of a rarity.

Winston Hodges has been doing stand-up comedy for five years, and has certainly seen the difference.

“I would say before COVID, you could get up [on stage] in Richmond… if you never wanted to leave Richmond proper, you could perform three to five times a week,” Hodges said. But since COVID-19, Hodges says the shows have dwindled. “In the city, I think you can get up once a week.”

Hodges says that while he misses the open mics, he’s taken the opportunity to create his own standup special, Grieving Productively, in which he does about a half an hour worth of material on the topic of his father passing. Over the course of the pandemic, Hodges wrote, recorded, and edited the comedy special, which premiered on Friday, October 16 on YouTube.

Many comics have gone through different avenues working on projects as well. One such comic, Francesca Lyn, is even hosting her own open mics virtually. Her open mic show, “Caged and Enraged,” is hosted via zoom on the first and third Thursday every month. “I call it ‘Caged and Enraged’ because I’m trapped here,” Lyn said. “I’m here in my house all day and everything else is going on around me.”

Other comics like Sarah Ahmed had hosted comedy shows in the past, but once the COVID-19 pandemic hit, they had to make some major adjustments. Ahmed used to host “Beans, Bits, and Brews” at Crossroads Café, but since February the event has become nonexistent. “To think that that was such an ingrained part of my life and my routine…” Ahmed said. “…and now it being that thing, like, ‘What was that life?’”

Ahmed said that she did enjoy some time to relax and not have to worry about the show, but inevitably has plans to potentially start a virtual “Beans, Bits, and Brews” as early as November. “The show has a solid reputation,” she said. “So even that encourages me to do a digital version of the show.”

All three comedians have been participating in virtual open mics. All reported that the atmosphere was supportive. Hodges chalks that up to the kind of people that are participating in these virtual shows. “I think it has to do with the fact that a lot of the comics who are at my level or higher have felt like they’re either too good to do online shows, or they’ve been like, ‘I’ve been doing comedy long enough, I don’t have to do this stupid shit,’” Hodges said.

Because of this, Hodges feels that jaded people have been weeded out of the crowd for virtual open mics. “You just have a huge community of people that want to be so supportive because they know how tough this time is, and you’ve gotten rid of all the jaded bitter people that have been doing it,” he said.

Winston Hodges

Other comics have also noticed the receptiveness of virtual open mics, but have also cited how drastically different it is. Ahmed recalled her first virtual open mic. “The first virtual stand up show I did I was extremely nervous for it,” she said. “I was like, ‘Do I sit down, do I stand up, do I have a microphone just they’re not plugged in?’ It’s like, what the fuck is zoom comedy?” Ahmed even noted that some comics do in fact have a mic set up, though it’s purely optical.

Lyn in particular noted how different shows are, because comics can’t get amped up. “You have that transition time where you’re driving to the job… you get there and you’re like now you’re in work mode,” Lyn said. “It’s weird to be like, ‘Okay, I was sitting on my couch watching Selling Sunset, but now I’m on my couch doing a comedy show.’”

All of the stand-up comedians noted that the virtual shows have been great for networking, now being able to utilize comedian social media groups like Displaced Comedians to connect with other comedians who are feeling the same way during the pandemic. They reported that they’ve been able to connect with people from across the United States, to England, to Australia, and even Japan.

Make no mistake, there are still hecklers in some of these shows even though they’re virtual. Hodges in particular has participated in virtual shows from across the country and even across the world and has come across “zoom bombers” — people, according to Hodges, that will join zoom open mics to heckle in the form of swearing, posting porn, and saying racial slurs. If the host isn’t on top of things, the heckler can go unmuted and ruin the show.

“It’s not like a show in public, where I can yell over somebody with my microphone, or just talk louder, or ignore them,” Hodges said. “All you can hope is the host ejects them out of the room.”

Luckily, in person open mics aren’t completely dead. Each comic said that the socially-distanced comedy show held at Buskey Cider, Back Alley Comedy, is an amazing experience. The show is outdoors and there is limited seating with table reservations available.  Even when the shows sell out, patrons are allowed to watch from afar while still observing social distancing guidelines.

There’s also an open mic at Intermission Beer Company that each comic spoke highly of. The Funny Bone Comedy Club is looking at reopening soon, and a new comedy club, Sandman, is opening up soon in the former Champion Brewing location.

Comics like Lyn are extremely grateful for these kinds of shows that are serious about safety guidelines. “I have a couple of health problems,” she said, “so I’ve been maybe even more cautious than other people about not venturing out too much.”

Ahmed said that when she did a set at the Buskey Back Alley Comedy show, she saw first-hand just how much people have missed watching stand-up comedy when it started to rain.

“They sat outside through [rain] — not sprinkling rain, it was raining [hard] on them,” she said. “We kept the show going, and not a single audience member left until the show was done.”

RVA Comics X-Change: Issue 30

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This week, Comics X-Change is focusing on the local scene, with an extensive report about the goings-on at the first-ever Comic Arts Richmond, which took place last weekend and was a rousing success.

Happiest Wednesday, comic fans! Welcome to the dirty thirty edition of our biweekly comic exchange. Not only are we old enough to drink and rent a car, but we can finally unironically tell youths to get off our lawn — and we’re reveling in it.

This week, instead of comic recommendations I am giving you one big, hearty recommendation in the form of a brand new comic fest to enjoy — Comic Arts Richmond. Comic Arts Richmond kicked off its inaugural event this past weekend at the Dabney Road location of Strangeways Brewing with a heavy focus on local artists and comic creators in the area.

Co-founded by comics scholar and writer Francesca Lyn and artist Christine Skelly, Comic Arts Richmond brought together various creators in the area, along with fans and the curious, all under one beautiful beer-scented roof. The event brought a myriad of genres together — from horror to indie, and even a superhero or two. However, the biggest takeaway from everyone I spoke to was the exact same sentiment: there was an overwhelming amount of support throughout.

“We really appreciate the work that William Ragland [and the staff at Strangeways] has done with us,” said Skelly. “”He has been super accommodating and communicative. All of our tablers were super happy that they have come. Some of our tablers have had to travel, and we have tried to be as in touch as possible. We hope it’s been a really good experience for them.”

The feeling was certainly mutual from the patrons’ perspective as well. The event remained busy for the duration of the day. Fans mingled with creators back and forth from the entrance all the way into the event space in the back. Even a rogue bridal party looking for its lost bridesmaid stayed for a while, checking out the various art and comics at the tables. (No word on whether they ever did find the bridesmaid.)

Richmond has always been and will forever be known for its thriving arts scenes and all the various subgenres that exist within it. However, an interesting note was just how many people were surprised to see that a thriving not-so-underground comic scene is hiding in plain sight.

“I don’t think people realize that we could have made this show three times as big and still not have been able to fit everyone, [even with] most of these people being local,” said Lyn. “There are people who are here to drink beer, and that’s fine, but there are some [of those] people who are sticking around and leaving with a print.”

Despite the fact that the arts and the comics scene especially is so strong and vibrant, the continuing existence of events like this and other similar ones remains vital. Comic Arts Richmond and similar events such as Richmond Zine Fest and the upcoming RICE! (Richmond Indie Comics Expo) at VCU continuing to provide a place for other artists and creators to meet and generate exposure for their work.

“Maybe it has to do with an old-school punk rock ethic, with Zine Fest especially,” said artist Oura Sananikone. “Making tangible, paper products in a world that is almost entirely digital.”

One of the most important things that events like this create is just a chance to meet others interested in what you do. Artist Meg Gandy noted that drawing itself is such a solitary act that it naturally leaves a lot to be desired where social interaction is concerned. So the chance to leave your house and meet other people? Totally worth it.

“It makes sure people mingle,” said Gandy. “In VCU you have all of the kids in their separate grades and they’re putting on RICE! and that’s great. But us older folks don’t get to go see that necessarily, and the younger folks don’t necessarily get to see us. When you have a show like this, we all get to learn from each other, see who’s coming up, see where they’re going, get tips.”

Having the event at a brewery was not just very on-brand for Richmond, but also a good way to attract many people who otherwise would not have attended had the event been somewhere more predictable, like Gallery 5 or ICA. It attracted a slew of people who thought they were coming in for an IPA and suddenly were asking questions about issue #2 at table 18.

“Events like this are important for getting exposure for different artists,” said artist Emily Bradfield. “Especially having this at a brewery, you’ll get people walking by who otherwise wouldn’t come.”

Needless to say, the event was a success. Whether you were there and had a blast or missed it and are wondering if there will be another one – fear not. Comic Arts Richmond and its faithful mascot, Scraps, are already discussing plans for next year, possibly including a larger venue to accommodate more artists. Here’s to hoping 2020 brings Comic Arts Richmond 2: Electric Boogaloo. 

Until next time, comic fans.

Photos by Ash Griffith

RVA Comics X-Change: Issue 29

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Happiest of pre-Halloween Wednesdays, comic fans! Welcome back to not only another issue of your beloved biweekly comic exchange, but the last issue before Halloween. The next time we see each other, it is nothing but smooth sailing to comfort food and turkey time.

This week we have some gifts that keep on giving. I have some spooky recommendations for you on my end; what I’m looking forward to, if you will. But we also had the pleasure of getting some recommendations from comics scholar and writer Francesca Lyn, and fantasy and comics artist Christine Skelly. Together, they are putting on the inaugural Comic Arts Richmond show in Richmond on November 2nd, and made some time to give us some hearty recommendations of what they’re into — so we can stay busy until opening day.

Buckle up, grab your cider and the best bag of off brand Kit Kats Aldi has to offer, and let’s dive on in.

This week I’m looking at two comics between marathoning everything in the Ghostbusters franchise ad nauseam, and seeing It: Chapter 2 for the tenth time. I’ve been leaning more toward indie franchises lately, so no Marvel Zombies this go-round (although that would be seasonally appropriate).

Count Crowley: Reluctant Midnight Monster Hunter #1, by David Dastmalchian and Lukas Ketner

Without fail, I end up loving any franchise that has a Crowley in it. From Supernatural to Good Omens, I have yet to meet a Crowley I didn’t love, and I’m sure this four-part series will be no different. When would-be reporter Jerri Bartman gets bumped down to the midnight horror show on television, she finds out that hosting a creep show is a lot more than she thought. 

Something is Killing the Children #2, by James Tynion IV and Werher Dell’Edera

I’m a creature of habit. Much like my love of characters named Crowley, I also love anything Tynion puts his happy hands on. When the town of Archer’s Peak sees its children dying, not only do the few who survive have horror stories, but a stranger named Erica Slaughter comes to town saying she has been slaying the monsters. Has she? 

If there is one thing a good Richmonder loves, it is a festival or a convention. Quoth Clerks’ Randall Graves, “I love gatherings.” He also prefaced this statement with the statement that he hates people, but that’s not nearly as apropos to the RVA. Luckily for us festival-lovers (who may or may not hate people), we have another convention to put on our calendars, this time for indie comics.

Francesca Lyn and Christine Skelly, who originally met on Twitter, initially began their friendship wanting to contribute to an anthology about death. While, unfortunately, that project did not come to fruition, their mutual desire to put together a comic arts show focused on indie comics and creators did. That anthology’s loss is our gain.

Lyn is not only a professor at Virginia Commonwealth University but a regular recommendations contributor to, and friend of, the Comics X-Change. She is also the author of Flower Girls, and regularly helps organize the Small Press Expo (SPX) up north in Bethesda, MD. Skelly is a comics artist with a focus on mythology and lore, and has to date published over nine titles, many of which take a dark turn on household favorites.

Syllabus: Notes from an Accidental Professor, by Lynda Barry

A rare nonfiction take for our readers, Syllabus acts as a how-to guide for would-be cartoonists and writers, like Barry was once. Structured to look like a real composition book, Syllabus makes you feel like you are stealing secrets from one of your heroes.

One! Hundred! Demons!, by Lynda Barry

Equal parts hilarious and super sad, Barry’s take on emotions and grief, inspired by a painting by a seventeenth-century monk, is told in a series of seventeen vignettes. 

Girl Town, by Carolyn Nowak

Another collection of stories, this time focusing on young womanhood and the consistent maze that never ends. Buying a life-size robot boyfriend? Recording a podcast no one listens to? Who hasn’t been there?

Satania, by Fabien Vehlmann and Kerascoet

When Charlotte (aka Charlie)’s brother the scientist goes missing on an expedition to prove hell exists, she does what anyone else would do. She organizes a search party to find him — only to realize that maybe he was on to something after all. 

Night Animals, by Brecht Evens

Yet another new take for our readers – this book is wordless. Two separate stories feature, first, a young woman lost in the wild as she has to figure out where the wild things are. Then a man in a rabbit suit discovers his blind date is becoming the ride of his life. 

That wraps it up for this week, comic fans! What spooky comics are you reading this week? Are you diving headfirst into some indie favorites?

Until next time, and remember — Comic Arts Richmond is November 2nd at Strangeways Brewing Company, starting at 12pm. For further information, visit their website.

Top Image by Christine Skelly, via Facebook

RVA Comics X-Change: Issue 22

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Good afternoon, comics fans! The summer is almost halfway through and it’s only getting warmer from here. With only about 45 more summer days left until September, we’re quickly running out of go-to beach reads for those long, hot days relaxing by the pipeline. 

This week we met back up with local comic artist and VCU professor, Francesca Lyn (who you know best from her comic Flower Girls, with art by Sally Cantirino). Lyn had a few great picks for us to help get through July, and I’ll round out this week’s issue with the only graphic novel I’m interested in this week — from Sulu himself, Mr. George Takei. 

Grab your sunscreen and your seltzer flavor of choice. Let’s hop on in. 

Hot Comb, by Ebony Flowers

Based on creator Ebony Flowers’s doctoral dissertation and her own experiences, Hot Comb looks at hair care in black communities, the shared experiences black women have growing up, and the way they relate to their hair, whether metaphorically or otherwise. Flowers, who also illustrated the graphic novel, opens with the story of receiving her first relaxer, and the various events that happen around that singular event, among others. 

Gender Queer: A Memoir, by Maia Kobabe

Kobabe, who uses e/em/eir pronouns, tells eir life story from adolescence to finding eir identity, bonding over erotic fanfiction with eir peers, coming out to family and friends, and ultimately how violating being on the receiving end of a pap smear can feel (Answer: A lot). Comics featuring non-binary characters are few and far between in general, let alone one that is this intimate and focused on one person’s journey. What is gender identity? What is gender fluidity? These are the questions we ask ourselves daily, and it never hurts to have someone willing to help sort it out through their own coming of age stories.

George Takei has hardly been mum about the issues currently being faced at the border with immigrant detention centers, especially in regards to children. Now with news about the locations of ICE centers around the country popping up more readily with information, it is all the more important to listen to our elders — elders who have survived similar horrors, which my generation swore up and down would never happen again. 

We never thought we would be the generation to see concentration camps return, and yet here we are. 

George Takei is renowned around the world not only for his acting and comedy prowess, but as Captain Hikaru Sulu in the Star Trek franchise. He is world famous, and he is using his fame to shut down misconceptions about the detention centers along the border, which are being allowed to treat children in dehumanizing conditions, in any way he can. 

Cages. They are keeping children in cages. 

“I know what concentration camps are,” Takei tweeted last month. “I was inside two of them, in America. And yes, we are operating such camps again.”

Today, July 16th, 2019, marks the release of his graphic novel, They Called Us Enemy, which he wrote with Justin Eisinger and Steven Scott, and features illustrations by Harmony Becker. “Enemy” is told from Takei’s point of view as he recalls his childhood beginning in 1942 when, at only five years old, he was forced with his family to the Santa Anita racetrack, before being tagged and relocated again. 

Takei’s Enemy follows in the similar traditions of March by Congressman John Lewis, and Maus by Art Spiegelman, graphic novels that recalled similar personal experiences from important moments in history. Lewis’s March recalled his time during the civil rights movement and the Selma to Montgomery march, while Maus is Spiegelman’s father’s story of his experiences in the Holocaust. 

There is no way to come back from this heavy of a comics column, friends, but I think we can all agree that Enemy is one of the most important graphic novels you can read right now. Comics have always been political (See: Superman), and they always will be. Comics allow us to not only make a statement against what is going on in the world (See: Marvel’s Civil War), but how we wish things could be and know they should be.

Anyone who doesn’t see that comics are inherently political has the privilege of not needing to pay attention. 

See you next week, comic fans.

RVA Comics X-Change: Issue 8

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Good afternoon and happy holidays, comic fans! Welcome back to yet another issue of your favorite biweekly go to spot for comic and pop culture talk. If you’re like me you used Sunday’s Snowmageddon to hole up and catch up on the latest and greatest out there right now (and honestly, to rewatch the new Avengers trailer ad nauseum, which we will also go into. Stay tuned). Now that the snow is melting, we’re ready to warm up to some new soon-to-be favorites.

Luckily for us, this week we have local comic writer and VCU adjunct professor Francesca Lyn to tell us what she has been digging lately. Lyn is the author and co-creator, along with artist Sally Cantirino, of Flower Girls, which explores what happens to magical girls after they grow up. While Lyn got a lot of her favorite comics from this year’s Small Press Expo in Bethesda, MD, Richmond’s Velocity Comics is her home store.

On a Sunbeam by Tillie Walden

“It’s a space story but mostly set in a boarding school,” said Lyn. “Her artwork reminds me a bit of Sam Alden but she is definitely doing something that is completely hers.”

BattleArc 2088 by Danny Djeljosevic and Brett Marcus Cook

A 40 page Cyberpunk one shot inspired by series such as Blade Runner and Bubblegum Crisis.

Girl Town by Carolyn Nowak

“It’s already been on a lot of best of 2018 but it deserves it. It is incredible.” said Lyn.

That Box We Sit On by Richie Pope

Two friends decide to uncover the mystery behind the titular box they sit on every day.

Woman World by Aminder Dhaliwal

“I started reading it when it was a webcomic on Instagram,” said Lyn. “It is so funny and good.”

“Nancy” by Olivia Jaimes

The daily comic strip, which dates back to the 30s, was recently taken over by a young female cartoonist, Olivia Jaimes. She has injected modern touchstones and absurdist humor into the strip, making it suddenly relevant again. “A lot of fans of Nancy are super divided, but I really like this fresh take.” said Lyn.

My own recommendation to you is something you have undeniably already seen. Marvel decided to stop toying with us and not only finally released the Avengers 4 trailer, but gave us an official name to go with it.

Avengers: Endgame.

I have been calling it forever and everyone rolled their eyes at me, so to see it official made me do a Looney Tunes-esque style cackle before my phone fell on my face. There is so much to unpack though with this trailer, and honestly, I have never wanted a film to come out right now more. At least, since probably every other Avengers film.

Tony Stark is officially just giving up and accepting his destiny to drift along through space. Thanos is enjoying the peace and calm after he totaled half of the planet; his armor hangs like a creepy scarecrow. Captain America has shaved the beard.

But is Shuri even still alive, though? How did Ant-Man escape the Quantum Realm? Does John Watson ever make an appearance and ask Sherlock why he is wearing a towel around his neck and talking in a weird American accent?

So many questions!

As we sit here in as little patience as possible until April 26th, at least we can be sure of one thing — NASA is finally doing what we pay them to do, and is trying to help Marvel figure out how to bring Tony Stark back home. 

Until next week, comic fans!