Every month Marcella Arguello curates a lineup of fierce women to showcase their jokes at The Improv in LA. What originally started as an open mic night at the Comedy Store, Women Crush Wednesdays has grown into a clear-cut way to find your new favorite comedian. Although this event normally takes place in LA, she’s teamed up with Sketchfest to deliver the vibes to the Bay Area. Marcella hosted the night at The Swedish American Hall and her lineup included the following; Jes Tom, Francesca Fiorentini, Kate Willet, Shalewa Sharpe, and Lydia Popovich. Needless to say, I’m proud that my first Sketchfest event was a Women Crush Wednesdays.
Marcella, standing over 6 feet tall from Modesto, CA, let us know from the start what kind of show we signed up for. She made us laugh about her height, being a proud Latina, living in the city, and had an amazing way of connecting with a crowd. Before announcing the first act, Jes, she asked the crowd if we’d like to hear an impression. The crowd replied with a mediocre response and she let us know more energy was required to keep up with her for the rest of the night. We learned quickly.
Jes Tom resides in New York City. She codirected + starred in the viral video “Ghost in the Shell PSA.” Dry with their humor, Jes ended up being my personal favorite of the night. They delivered a comedic perspective on being a nonbinary queer Asian in 2020. They introduced and shed some knowledge on choosing your next apocalypse boo, and made it clear they’re out on the prowl for a Christine from Phantom of the Opera.
Up next was Francesca Fiorentini, the host of “Red, White, and Who” on MSNBC and “Newsbroke” on AJ+. She made fun of being Chinese and Italian and clarified that feminism for her is making men feel as uncomfortable as possible. She compared the want for a baby at this point in her life to wanting an Apple Watch: it’s cool but she’d probably just give it to her mom. She also opened up to the crowd about her 13-year-old diary entries, and how they were less insecure than Trump’s twitter feed.
At this point in the show, Marcella came back to ask if we were ready for the impression from earlier. The crowd reacted with enough enthusiasm this time around and was ready for the next stand up, Shalewa.
Shalewa Sharpe was raised in the ATL but resides in Brooklyn, NY. She’s brought her funnies to projects like “2 Dope Queens” & Comedy Central’s “The New Negroes.” Like myself, Shalewa appreciates a dress with pockets. She shed comedic light on aging and explained the time she went to “drop it low” and heard a pop in her knee.
Kate Willett was the second to last stand up of the night. She was on Splitsider’s list of “2016’s Best Late Night Standup Set’s” and toured with Margaret Cho. Kate’s sense of humor was on the dry side as well. She gave her perspective on being a feminist and what it’s like dating today. She also got the crowd feeling nostalgic bringing up the pencil game MASH.
The last standup of the night was Lydia Popovich from San Francisco, CA. Her set was just as amazing as her all leopard outfit and let us know from the beginning just how confident she is. Her jokes consisted of feeling awkward during the Trump administration while being mixed with both Mexican and Russian. She also explained how feminism for her is holding up traffic with other women to yell things at attractive men on corners. One of my favorite parts was hearing how surprised she was to learn you can have chicken and waffles smothered with gravy. I know, it’s almost too good to be true but it’s real life.
Everything about this event was perfection. From the drinks, to the jokes, to the merch table at the end of the show. Each stand up delivered their very vulnerable perspectives on life and connected with members of the audience in different ways. I will be digging into some of the projects they’re apart of and can’t wait to catch a Women Crush Wednesdays in the future.
