Photograph by Jeremy Kramer
A reporter walks into a bar. Except, it’s not a bar; it’s a basement comedy club in Clifton. And there’s no bartender serving corny one-liners; it’s a group of women serving actually funny punchlines.
Perhaps I should stick to reporting and leave the jokes to the professionals?
It was a rainy night in December when I attended an Alphas Comedy variety show. I didn’t know what to expect. Would it be funny? Crass? Cringey? I’m no comedienne (as we’ve established), but I do consider myself a bit of a comedy connoisseur. (OK, I attended Saturday Night Live once and follow Nate Bargatze on Instagram. So.)
But as the city’s first and only all-female comedy troupe, Alphas Comedy is doing something new and bold—and honestly, that’s all I need to give it my endorsement.
That said, they’re also actually funny. Between improv, sketch, and stand-up bits, my giggles were genuine. Especially during this improv scene about an old woman and a candy jar and…well, I guess you had to be there. But let’s just say the female quotient added something special, and that’s what was most notable to me.
“Sometimes having male-dominated spaces, especially in comedy, makes it harder for women to shine and to express ourselves, because often men are frankly louder and exude more confidence,” says Patricia Mullins, who founded the troupe in 2022 after a stint at Second City’s Conservatory program in Chicago. “Women can certainly steamroll in a scene, but I find it’s much more common that it’s men. Removing the male element has just allowed people to be in a space where there’s less judgment.”
There’s an archaic assumption that women aren’t as funny as men, but misogyny in comedy is no laughing matter. At the first Alphas Comedy performance in April 2022, Mullins says it was “a magical experience for all of us.” They had created something supportive, encouraging, and, most importantly, safe. “I feel like it’s the presence of more women, and not necessarily the absence of men, that makes performing with an all-women comedy group such a positive experience,” says Mullins.
Three years later, Alphas Comedy includes a rotating roster of about 20 women. Monthly shows feature seven or so performers. Most members come via invitation, but Mullins says auditions are on the horizon for 2025. The members’ ages and lifestyles are diverse: from twentysomethings to sixtysomethings, students to professionals. Many have studied theater or acting, but some are novices. “I love that everyone brings their own perspective into what they’re doing,” says Mullins, a former public school teacher. “It’s important to have different backgrounds.”
The audiences are an equally diverse casserole of ages, genders, races, and lifestyles. A desire to laugh, it seems, is the only common thread.
You can catch an Alphas Comedy show at the Clifton Comedy Club, Know Theatre, the Falcon Theatre, or various other venues around town. You can also hire them for private events. Think you’re funny? Try one of their stand-up or improv classes, which are open to all female-identifying students over 18.
So, what is funny? In many ways, it’s a matter of taste, but according to Mullins, “Funny is the unexpected.”
And that’s exactly what Alphas Comedy is.
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