PHOTO BY MONICA DULBERG
PHOTO BY MONICA DULBERG
About the Producer: Grace White
She may bill herself as That Old Hippie Chick, but she looks more country club than commune. Classy, blonde, and caffeinated, Grace White is in constant movement. A perpetual motion machine, she blazes through North Beach and takes some cell phone calls while giving a walking tour of local landmarks on her way to her favorite spot, Caffe Trieste, for a cappuccino. Even when she’s walking, she’s on the road. It’s no wonder she calls herself “a transient with an act.” She’s no slacker, that’s for sure.
For someone who only started performing stand-up seven years ago at age 49, when she became an empty-nester, White has come a very long way in a short time. She’s opened concerts for 3 Doors Down, Jefferson Starship, and Jethro Tull. She’s shared the stage with Father Guido Sarducci, Kevin Pollak, and Will Durst. She’s performed at Comedy Celebration Day before thousands of Bay Area fans, appeared on The Jerry Lewis Muscular Dystrophy Telethon and ABC’s “Good Morning America,” and played a role in “The Independent,” a film starring Jerry Stiller and Janeane Garofalo. Last year, she created a revue called Women Who Kick Comedy Butt (WWKCB), featuring funny females from all over the Bay Area. WWKCB’s proliferation and popularity means White spends more and more time producing the show in comedy clubs, casinos, and wineries all over northern California.
Responding to what she and fellow women comics saw as a need to generate more gigs, since women still aren’t perceived to be as funny as men, White thought a PG-13 showcase with a revolving lineup would be welcome at variety of venues seeking an alternative to lounge singers. She was right. “Because the discrimination that all women experience also predominates in comedy, I find myself even more committed to proactive change rather than just getting pissed off,” says White. “Simply, I am a comedian that wants to perform. Being very scrappy, I have found ways to do just that by working outside the ‘comedy box.’” That’s how her WWKCB brainchild was born, and her persistence is why it’s become a favorite of comedy fans from Larkspur’s Café Theatre to Lockeford’s Vino Piazza.
“I don’t see myself as a female comedy leader, or a prophet, or a smarty pants purporting that I know everything on or off stage. I am old enough to be smarter than that. I see WWKCB as a win, win, win, win, win for myself and other females, no matter what direction it takes. More good female comics (which more stage time produces) means more good comedy shows, which means more for all female comics and more for comedy as a whole. My dream is to have a full-blown concert tour where comics can have their own careers while also participating in WWKCB shows when convenient to them.” Can a network show based on this boomer’s life be far behind?
Life may be a continuous café crawl interrupted by periodic stand-up sets, but always punctuated by punch lines. After a quick breakfast and latte at Oakland’s Coffee Mill, White spies a bookstore across the street that she has to hit. Walking into Walden Pond, she notices a remaindered Ed Rosenthal calendar featuring some pricey California flora. Upon hearing that the marijuana maven was angling to appear on “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” she flatly states: “Oprah would never allow that.” Because she’s anti-drug, of course. “No, she’d be afraid of getting the munchies.” And without breaking stride, as the booksellers behind the counter crack up, she hurries to the children’s section, finds a copy of “Curious George and the Dinosaur” for her 4-year-old grandson Brandon, and heads back to the counter where the booksellers are still chuckling. Always leave em laughing.
Funny Business Magazine
Pat Katzmann
June 2006 Issue