The Daily Breeze “Rave” section – COVER STORY – “Caught in Red Tape”

Friday, August 12, 2005

Girls gone wildly Funny!

“Feisty but sexy” female troupe is out to show that women can succeed in comedy.

BY SANDY COHEN
STAFF WRITER

Edie Magoun isn’t a bra-burner or a man-hater, but she doesn’t mince words when it comes to her message: Sexy women can be funny and funny women can be sexy.

“Comedy is a man’s world,” she said, “and something in me wants to prove that women are just as funny as men.”

That’s why she created Tomboys in Fishnets, a comedy troupe of a half-dozen hot-looking women that skewers stereotypes sketch by sketch.

“We’re feisty but sexy and funny,” said Magoun, who writes, directs and produces the troupe’s shows.

The women don’t limit themselves to typical female comedic fare such as man-bashing and PMS. Instead, the Tomboys make fun of anything topical, from city council meetings to censorship and gender relations to global politics.

Their fifth original production, “Caught in Red Tape,” rails against bungled bureaucracies with 18 quick-witted sketches in less than an hour. The DMV, the post office and the Patriot Act all go down in a hail of laughter.

“There’s no difference in what women find funny or are able to create,” Magoun said. “We just haven’t really done it.”

An actress her “entire life,” Magoun was frustrated by the lack of opportunities for women in comedy. She was tired of being the token female on sketch and improv teams. So in 2000, she created Tomboys in Fishnets.

“So many troupes have seven men and two women,” she said. “I wanted to even the playing field a little bit. Just because you’re a female doesn’t mean you have to play the wacky girl next door. We’re capable of a much broader range than what’s generally offered.”
The Tomboys play both genders and, for the most part, throw glamor out the window. In the latest production, statuesque brunette Jill Bartlett — whom men often approach on the street with lines such as, “Are you a model?” — plays a trashy male porn star and buttoned-up insurance salesman.

Playing male and female characters is one benefit of performing with an all-girl group, Magoun said. Another is letting go of the “beauty factor,” Bartlett added.

“It’s always been inside me to want to completely let go of the ego, not have to look pretty and just get up there and act like an idiot,” she said. “It’s very liberating. For me it’s a dream come true.”

Working without men allows the women to be raunchier and less self-conscious, Magoun said. Beauty isn’t the focus, comedy is.

The all-female group also fosters sisterly bonds, Bartlett said.

“People have this image of women that they can’t work together or build something together,” she said. “But this is such a unifying experience.”

That’s not to say it’s been easy. None of the actresses are paid for their efforts.

Each week, they haul costumes and supplies — most bought on their own dime — to and from the theater. They set up the weekly preshow reception themselves, slicing cheese and stacking napkins before donning costumes and performing.

Unrelenting 18-hour days aren’t unusual for Magoun, who also handles the show’s lighting and music.

During a production’s run, she often finds herself waking up in the middle of the night possessed, determined to rewrite a sketch or put together a press release.

“It’s absolutely insane,” she said.

But it’s worth it. She’s creating comedic opportunities for women with the hopes of a television future.

“My goal is to be a female version of ‘Kids in the Hall,’ ” she said.

Only this bunch looks a lot better in fishnets.