Ladies Laugh Lounge creates a platform for both professional and first-time female comedians

Before 2019, writer and artist Becky Blades had never been a comedian, let alone considered starting her own comedy show.

Ladies Laugh Lounge creates a platform for existing female comedy writers and provides a chance for female “debutantes” to take the stage and give comedy a whirl for the first time. It serves as a space for women within the KC comedy scene.

“A lot of humor either leaves women out or it’s at our expense,” says Blades. 

In a 2015 questionnaire with The Pitch, Blades refers to herself as a stARTist, a word she uses to describe a serial beginner. 2019 was her “year of saying yes,” her year of seeing how far she could push her self-imposed moniker. Though there were several endeavors that came out of this personal journey, detailed in Blades’ newest book Start More Than You Can Finish, her most off-the-wall one began when her daughter, writer and comedian Taylor Kay Phillips, invited Blades to be a part of a Mother’s Day comedy reading with her troupe in Brooklyn. 

Having only been a writer on paper and not identifying herself as an extrovert, this idea was far out of Blades’ comfort zone. But Blades couldn’t very well say no, so she went with it.

When that night came, Blades stepped onto the stage in front of a crowd of millennials and Gen-Zers, swallowing her stage fright as she read the piece she had rewritten just hours before. She was pleasantly surprised by the number of laughs she generated from the audience, and excitedly posted about her latest experience to social media. Soon, her comments were flo

Jen Mann performing at Ladies Laugh Lounge // photo by Tarah Jansen

oded with requests to begin a comedy show in Kansas City.

Though there were lots of puzzle pieces that needed to come together to make this idea happen, Blades knew it was possible, so she got to work on bringing it to life. She got in touch with several local female humor writers, including New York Times bestselling author Jen Mann. When she fell short of the number of performers she was hoping for, she started going to comedy clubs around the city to recruit female comedians to be part of her show. 

She chose the Comedy Club of Kansas City for her show, which took place in Sept. 2019 and decided on Ladies Laugh Lounge as the name after brainstorming with friends. Though men are more than welcome to attend, the performers are all female. Her goal was to sell out the venue, a lofty goal given that the Comedy Club had only sold out one show previously. However, she met her goal—something the venue wasn’t prepared for, even (*gasp*) running out of wine before the end of the night. Despite this discombobulation, the event was a hit.

Something unique that Blades did for the first show was to write jokes on cards and leave them on the tables. Then, five women were called onto the stage to read a joke and were given a photo op. After the show, Blades was approached by several women wanting to be a part of the next event and give comedy a try.

The first Ladies Laugh Lounge logo // courtesy of Becky Blades

With this starting point in mind, Blades immediately began planning the next show, hoping to work out the kinks and improve upon what went well with the first show. Originally, the second show was to take place in April 2020, but Blades was forced to cancel due to COVID. 

Blades wasn’t discouraged, and her second show took place in April 2023, when she began to incorporate newcomers to comedy to a larger degree. Her third show just took place Oct. 4, which was different from the previous two shows in that it incorporated improv by featuring the women of Crusty Mustard Improv. Throughout this process, her daughter has been a huge help, assisting Blades and the debutantes with writing jokes.

“I really like helping people who are kind of timid about acting on their ideas,” says Blades. “It is something that really energizes me and I think the most fun part is seeing these wonderful women do it for the first time.”

In one of her newsletters, “Find Your Funny!” Blades writes about the ways laughter and creativity go hand in hand, along with the benefits of laughter. As a creator herself, Blades says that this is a driving philosophy behind the continuation of Ladies Laugh Lounge and one that she hopes the attendees and the women who are part of the show can take with them. 

Of her own creative process, Blades says that each iteration of Ladies Laugh Lounge has been an improvement, and intends to keep it going and growing.

“The process is, you just take a step,” says Blades. “And then it’s all about what you do with what you did.”

Becky Blades at Ladies Laugh Lounge // photo by Tarah Jansen

So far, the fourth iteration of Ladies Laugh Lounge promises to follow this pattern, with the show being expanded to two consecutive nights, April 16 & 17, 2024. Tickets will go on sale in February 2024—if you don’t want to miss out on the announcement, you can subscribe to Becky’s Substack newsletter. If you’re interested in being part of the show, whether you’re a professional comic or a newbie, you can put your name in the hat by reaching Blades through her website.