Hello from our founder

In 1985, when I was 16, I went to a Jewish youth group ski weekend in New Hampshire. On Saturday night, a bunch of dudes, one of whom may or may not have been Adam Sandler, somehow got some grapefruits and borrowed nightgowns and did a sloppy, impromptu drag skit that brought down the house.

OK fine, I thought: Now what can the girls do? I was a comedy ringleader—it was my duty to respond in kind. But I also knew this: girls would have to work WAY harder than dudes in nighties to get that same reaction. Not even with bananas in our pants or whatever. Audiences aren’t that easy on girls. At 16, I knew it already. So we just laughed.

That night stuck with me into my career in and near comedy—where yeah, I was often the only woman on a lineup (or was told “Sorry, we already have a female”👀). So today, I want you to have the freedom and power to be like (unlike me in 1980-whatever), “WhatEVER, Sandler” and command the damn stage.

But the EVEN BIGGER POINT HERE is that getting funnier doesn’t just change how you feel about yourself. It changes the way people feel about you. Because when you make people laugh, you make people listen. And when people listen to women, the world will be a better—and funnier—place.

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