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The LGBTQ+ community, especially its transgender and nonbinary members, will need support as former President Trump’s second term looms. Trans and nonbinary people are being targeted as social scapegoats, to blame for everything from broad social tension to Vice President Kamala Harris’ loss. But people like comedian Ally J. Ward are leery of the performative activism they saw on display during Trump’s first term, from people who talked a big game online but whose words and deeds amounted to nearly nothing meaningful.
“I really want audiences who want to support trans people because they really care about trans people and want to support them,” Ward says. “I don’t want to use scare tactics. I want people who are genuinely interested in the trans community, people in the trans community who haven’t found trans comics, or legitimate allies who want to support us. I feel like there’s been a lot of fake outrage since the election, and it’s like, if you weren’t mad before, why are you mad now?”
November marks GLAAD’s designated Transgender Awareness Week (Nov. 13–19), though Ward and plenty of other people in the LGBTQ+ community celebrate all month long. This year, Ward has organized three nights of live storytelling and standup comedy, all featuring different formats and rosters of trans and nonbinary talent, to demonstrate the trans and nonbinary comedy scene’s numbers, strengths and range of talent.
The events are: Trans Spites, a storytelling show at Curious Comedy Theater on Thursday, Nov. 14; Hear You Loud & Queer, a standup night at Schilling Cider House on Thursday, Nov. 21; and The Big Trans Comedy Show back at Curious Comedy on Sunday, Nov. 24, which will also feature a vendors’ market with makers featured on Ward’s business directory Portland Trans Awareness Project.
All raise funds to support gender-affirming health care for Mx. Dahlia Belle, a stalwart member of Portland’s comedy scene and Ward’s mentor. She half-jokingly credits Belle with “paving the way” to prove that “trans people can be funny.”
“I hear a lot about people who don’t like standup comedy because it can feel mean-spirited, it can feel hacky or like people are punching down, and I genuinely feel like Portland’s queer comedy scene overall is really focused on authenticity and people who speak on their lived experiences, and not some cis-het white dude who has opinions on trans people,” Ward says. “I don’t want to see a comedian who doesn’t have jokes about them[selves] or their lived experience…it creates the most authentic forms of comedy.”
Ward started performing standup two years ago after attending an open mic and comedy classes. Originally from Portland, she moved back to the area after spending time south in Albany, which she characterized as more transphobic and less accepting than Portland. Standup helped her regain her confidence. Producing shows, including the kink-focused Giggle Bottom and the wrestling-based Punch Lines and Piledrivers, falls within her organizational strengths. She doesn’t consider herself an activist per se, but is aware that what she does helps people do more than laugh late at night.
“Comedy is, at the heart of it, pretty self-serving,” Ward says. “You’re the only person on that stage, and your worth is laughter and what the audience thinks of you. But I do honestly feel like the most valuable thing comedy has brought me is to help me build my own community in the scene…because of that, I’m able to do great things to uplift others and share the stage and platforms.”
Among more than a dozen other comedians on her rosters, Ward highlights Moisés Da Silva’s sets at Trans Spites and The Big Trans Comedy Show. The Venezuelan-born performer uses comedy to educate audiences on Venezuelan politics and human rights issues.
“I see a ton of work that Moisés is doing, they’re actively involved with the community and puts in so much work and is extremely funny,” Ward says. “Moisés deserves a spotlight more than ever.”
SEE IT: Trans Spites at Curious Comedy Theater, 5225 NE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., 503-477-9477, curiouscomedy.org. 7:30 pm Thursday, Nov. 14. $16.50–$51.50. Hear You Loud & Queer at Schilling Cider House, 930 SE 10th Ave., 971-352-6109, hearyouloudandqueer.eventbrite.com. 7 pm Thursday, Nov. 21. $5–$10 suggested donation. The Big Trans Comedy Show at Curious Comedy Theater. 5 pm Sunday, Nov. 24. $11.50–$21.50.