By Andrew Davis
Lesbian comic-actress Becky Drysdale may not be as well-known as, say, Ellen DeGeneres—but she’s certainly on the rise. An award-winning New Yorker who has lived quite a peripatetic life (having resided everywhere from France to Canada), Drysdale will be featured April 27 at the Chicago Improv Festival; she’ll perform with longtime friend Jordan Peele (of MADtv fame), with whom she’s performed a show called Two White Guys.
Drysdale recently talked with Windy City Times about everything from being in Versailles to approaching controversial topics through comedy.
Windy City Times: You have a very interesting life. What was it like growing up in France?
Becky Drysdale: I was [only] five and six years old. Coming from Ohio, it was like going to another planet. I thought the buildings were going to fall on me because they were tall.
We lived around the corner from the Palace of Versailles; that park was my closest one. We’d go rowing on the Grand Canal and feeding sheep. It was very strange. Of course, I saw these great works of art as well as churches and castles—and I had no idea of what was going on. It was just like, ‘When are we going home?’ I see pictures of myself now and go, ‘Oh, goddammit!’ I was bored and didn’t know what was going on.
WCT: Have you been back?
BD: I went back when I was around 13 but I haven’t gone back since. I think I’m gonna head back in July.
WCT: I understand that [Connecticut-based creative arts camp] Buck’s Rock changed your life.
BD: Yes, it did. It’s one of those socialist, left-wing arts camps with these different departments, like dance. I went into the clown shop and it was basic improv. I kept going back and, by the time I was 16, we had transformed it into an improv and sketch shop. Eventually, some friends and I decided to go to New York during the summer and try stand-up comedy.
Also, it was the first place where I had a real best friend and where everything that made me a weird kid was really encouraged. It was different than the private school I was attending in Montreal at the time. It was a huge awakening for me.
WCT: You felt like you belonged.
BD: Yeah! You could be who you are. In fact, I went back there to teach. It’s amazing; everyone feeds off of everyone else’s creative energy.
WCT: What do you remember from the first time you did stand-up in a club?
BD: Oh God. I was terrified. It was in Montreal and I remember having a guitar so I could hide behind it. I remember taking baby steps. I was 16 or 17 at the time.
Then, I came to New York. I’d walk in and say things like, ‘Who do I talk with about doing stage time?’ (I didn’t even know what that meant.) At the time, I really didn’t know who I was—but the material was fine. I just wasn’t a whole person yet. I was imitating the sounds of the people I admired. But I haven’t really done stand-up since then. I really love sketch comedy.
WCT: Is there any topic that’s off-limits when it comes to comedy?
BD: I don’t think so. Is there? I don’t know. That’s not to say that everything’s funny; there are just ways to talk about everything. There’s a difference between talking about something and making fun of something. There’s a responsibility involved. If there’s something that [most people consider] off-limits, that’s probably the thing that needs to be talked about.
The Chicago Improv Festival will conclude April 30. See www.cif.com for more info.