Make way! Queens of comedy are coming to town! Sacramento State will host a performance from the Women Who Kick Comedy Butt tour on Thursday. The show at Sac State will feature three of the 200 comediennes involved with the tour.

“This show is outside the comedy box,” said Grace White, the show coordinator. The tour was created in 2001 by White, who is a comedienne herself. She said Women Who Kick Comedy Butt strives to bring fresh material and fresh faces to the comedy scene.

“It is a show that is designed so woman can showcase their talent in a show where they are working with other women and producing PG-13 material,” White said. “Some people like graphic material and other people are turned off by it.”

Alissa Morotti, senior communication studies major, enjoys going to the Sacramento comedy club, Punch Line. “There is nothing like a live show and I am really excited that there will be a free show on campus,” Morotti said.

Jackie Kashian is an accomplished comedienne who will be performing with the show on Thursday. You might recognize her from NBC’s Last Comic Standing or from Comedy Central’s half-hour special “Tough Crowd Premium Blend.” Kashian has been with this comedy tour for three years.

“I play a lot of video games and I am a giant dork,” Kasian said. Her routine focus on her life includes her love for video games and her relationship with her husband, who happens to be a video game creator.

“People have a misconception about woman comics; that they are all going to talk about the same thing. So what she likes to do is get women from all different walks of life and it makes it much more interesting,” Kashian said.

Kashian has found what makes comedy enjoyable for her without feeling that she needs to push the audience to laugh.

For some comedians, their on-stage act is an exposed telling of their life. Kashian has a very interesting way of looking at her stage performances: “In my opinion I am always doing a caricature. To a varying degree as a performer you are taking part of yourself and exaggerating it.”

Kashian has learned a lot about what works in her act. “When you are talking to people you are definitely affecting their opinions and their attitudes. What you choose to say and do up there is very important. You shouldn’t take it lightly,” she said.

Gayla Johnson will also be performing in the show. Johnson has been performing in the comedy realm for approximately 12 years and has been with the comedy tour for three years.

Johnson and White agree that there is no need for any comedy to be crude or violent. “She sees that women are the mothers of our earth and they need to be honored,” Johnson said.

Rather than focusing her act on the pain of being a woman, Johnson looks for the positive light to tell her story.

She would rather take painfulmessages and put a spin on them so women can learn to laugh and grow from their life experiences.

Johnson said that there is a type of sisterhood that goes hand in hand with these performances. “Women can get together and not be catty. Women can get together and can do just as good a job as guy comics,” Johnson said.

This show gives women new ground to stand on and it avoids the cliché Hollywood look of women in the public eye. “A real woman has feelings and emotions and can articulate them,” Johnson said.

Johnson originally wanted to be a broadcast journalist. After spending some time working in that field, Johnson realized it was not for her. She ventured into acting and, through acting, found comedy.

Comedy is Johnson’s passion. “Through comedy I can stand up on a stage and talk about what is real for me, it is my own voice and it has changed as I have changed,” she said.

The show will also feature comedian Beth Schumann who has been with the tour for about four years. Schumann was one of the first groups of comediennes to start working on the tour when White created it in 2001.

In some tours, Schumann said, they will try to throw a female performer in just to feel like they have done the right thing.

To Schumann, this tour is even more compelling because of the female camaraderie and the joy of women working with other women to create entertainment. “What we are trying to accomplish is to present a show that is well-rounded with unique stories that each performer will bring to it,” she said.

Morotti is anxious to see the show and see the women in action. “Its nice to know that there is a tour that promotes female comedians. I am really excited to see what these women can do,” Morotti said.

Women Who Kick Comedy Butt will be performed at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday in the University Union. The event is free to all students.

Cozette Roberts can be reached at [email protected]