#LADYCRUSH! Whitney Chitwood

Hey everyone!  I’m really excited to announce “Lady Cush!” These are comedians that we think are absolutely crush worthy, on so many levels! We tell you a little about them and then ask them 10 Questions! So, here goes! Our very first “Lady Crush” is….

Name: Whitney Chitwood
City: Chicago, IL
Pronouns: She/Her/Hers, They/Them/Theirs
How many years? 6 years
Bio: 
Whitney Chitwood is a stand-up comedian and stand-up gal who will stand-up to moderately dangerous things. (Not a bear, though. She’ll run away from those. But who wouldn’t? Poor bears.) She’s been featured by MoveOn.Org, OUT Chicago and has opened for the likes of the great Eddie Pepitone, Shane Torres, and Andy Woodhull in addition to performing at Riot LA, FoCoMX, Altercation and Cinderblock Comedy Festivals, The Hollywood Improv, and the Chicago Laugh Factory. Her audacious, highly personal style has left audiences… Full disclosure: she struggles to write about herself in the third person. It just feels vapid and hollow, but mostly it sounds silly to me… I mean “to her”… SHE means “to her”. See what I mean? I mean, “what she means”. SHE means, “what she means”. Damn… Whitney just hopes audiences leave her shows saying, “I never thought of that,” or “That was witty,” or “Look out! There’s a bear!” (We’ve got to keep on top of this, guys.)

 

 

 

 

1) Tell us about your first time doing comedy: I was drunk and overconfident at an open mic. I had a bunch of half baked material and probably barely coasted on any tiny bit of “charm” I had in me. Then I ran the light like crazy and one of the producers afterwards asked “Are you professional?”. I responded, “Ohmigosh! No! [Thank you so much.]” In hindsight, he wasn’t asking because he thought I was talented, but because I acted like such an entitled shitheel.

2) What’s the worst joke you’ve ever written? “I feel like douches should be called ‘Vagenimas’.”

3) What do you LOVE about doing comedy? Love the sincere relationships and connections made with so many bananas talented/sweet humans in the comedy world, seeing so much of the country, and getting to meet/work with people all across it. Love the mutual admiration and creative sandbox sharing all us womyn and queer humans participate in.

4) How do you deal with bombing and heckling? Bombing I either dig in or turn to crowd work. Heckling I’ve found I can go too hard too fast. So I’ve been trying to take more time and work the heckler more.

5) What’s your favorite place to perform? Any room that supports/promote/elevates womyn, queer people, and people of color.

6) What’s the WORST advice you’ve received about comedy? “Divide a paper into 9 squares. Write a topic in each of the squares. Write five minutes on each topic. There’s your hour. Oh! And the middle space is a free space.”

7) What would you tell someone just starting out in comedy? “Don’t. There’s too many of us. Just kidding! Write. Write. Write. Know your limits. Punch up. Flaunting a demeaning/negative opinion of someone else’s work will get you nowhere. Write. Be nice!”

8) Who would play you in a movie? A clumsy version of Charlize Theron in Mad Max: Fury Road.

9) Who is your Comedy/TV/Film/Celebrity crush? Gina Gershon’s character in the Wachowski’s “Bound”: Corky. She’s handy, sexy, adventurous, and has a truck so we wouldn’t need to rent a uHaul.

10) What are you reading or listening to?
Reading: Darling Days by iO Tillett Wright; The Beauty Myth by Naomi Wolf; We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (just started); Fun Home by Alison Bechdel (at least once a year)

Listening: Amy Shark “Adore”, Gin Wigmore “Cabrona”, Nai Palm “Crossfire” , Larkin Poe “Come On Up To My Kitchen”, Whippoorwill “My Baby”