A lot of Emersonians can say they are interested in comedy, but very few can say that their love for comedy intersects with empowering women.
20-year-old Katie Conway is a junior Visual Media Arts major here at Emerson, and her passion, well it’s kind of funny. She has always been interested in comedy, and this past August joined a team of women who share that passion as well.
Photo Credit: Gil Kaplan
Her Campus at Emerson: What have you been up to this semester?
Katie Conway: I intern at The Women In Comedy Festival and I write articles based on women in comedy. It’s kind of like Entertainment Weekly but only for women in comedy. [For example,] I wrote about the new Gilmore Girls special that just happened, I write about new Netflix series that are coming out, and movies. But eventually I am going to be writing humor articles and helping with the festival in April.
Photo Credit: Katie Conway
HCE: What should people expect of the festival?
KC: We are trying to highlight women who are in comedy. Men are welcome as well, but there is a stereotype that women really can’t and aren’t supposed to be funny, so through the festival we are really trying to smash that stereotype. So basically, we are going to have a bunch of comedians come in, and judge some short film competitions. [For example] there is a competition to write a comedic sketch. The festival will cover all different parts of comedy. It will take place over the course of a week at different venues around Boston. Rachel Bloom is going to be one of the judges for the film contests.
Photo Credit: Katie Conway
HCE: What do you want to do once you graduate?
KC: I am hoping to be in the field someday. I would like to write for a female-centric comedy someday or a late night show like Full Frontal with Samantha Bee or something like that. I am really trying to make a difference for women around the world. I am really hoping to make it more even in the field among men and women. I don’t want it to be rare anymore to see women in comedy and on late night TV.
Photo Credit: Katie Conway
HCE: If you could have dinner with one comedian, who would it be?
KC: Rachel Bloom would be very interesting. She is the star of the show Crazy Ex-Girlfriend; she is really funny. She combines music with humor and makes musical parodies all the time. We would probably end up singing about the pasta or something.