As an out-comedian and businesswoman, Poppy Champlin knows the weight of being honest and proud in the entertainment industry – specifically, comedy. It’s no wonder Showtime came knocking at her door for their newest feature Pride - Gay and Lesbian Comedy Slam (airing June 2, 2010 with encore presentations throughout the month). Hosted and produced by longtime comedy guru Bruce Vilanch, Pride - Gay and Lesbian Comedy Slam also features lesbian-favorite and Poppy’s Queer Queens ofQomedy friend Sandra Valls and newly-out Seinfeld writer Carol Leifer.
With nearly thirty years under her funny-belt and the battle scars to prove it, Poppy is blazing trails for future female comedians across the nation. The University of Rhode Island graduate worked with Rosie O’Donnell before she was Rosie O’Donnell. She also opened for comedians Ray Ramano, Denis Leary and Bill Maher in her early days back in the 1980’s and 90’s. With her cruise line appearances, upcoming Showtime special, A Prickly Heat comedy CD on iTunes and Queer Queens of Qomedy in her future, is there anything stopping Poppy?
Hi Poppy! You are gearing up for Showtime’s Pride - Gay and Lesbian Comedy Slam premiering on June 2, 2010. How were you asked to be a part of this hilarious comedy festival?
I am excited about it being shown very shortly (on Wednesday, June 2, 2010).Sandra Valls is the other female comedian on the show and I think she is managed somewhat by the producer of Pride - Gay and Lesbian Comedy Slam (Scott Montoya).Scott also did a show with her by the name of The Original Latin Divas of Comedy.Bruce Vilanch is the host of Pride - Gay and Lesbian Comedy Slam and he wanted me to be involved, too.So, that is how they picked me!
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Since the Showtime special has already been recorded, can you tell us what it was like behind-the-scenes?
It was great!Sandra and I were given the go ahead to basically put as many people in the audience as we could.It was going to be free and it was going to be on TV so we loaded that house up!
Sandra Valls is also going to be performing her stand-up act for Pride - Gay and Lesbian Comedy Slam as well. I imagine the two of you were laughing the entire time.
Sandra and I have worked together before.I do a show called The Queer Queens of Qomedy and tour with that show and choose different comedians to join me.I’ve chosen Sandra a few different times to be involved on the tour.We’ve worked together in P-Town and we both live here in L.A. so we’re friends.It was really great.You know, the stakes are always higher when it’s TV.Just to be on Showtime is a really big deal for us because, you know, it’s not Logo!It’s Showtime.It’s not the gay network.It’s pretty much a mainstream network and they are showing some gay stuff and we’re it!Besides Queer As Folk and The L Word, I don’t think Showtime really has anything else queer-themed right now so this was a pretty big deal.
Yeah, I just completed an interview with Hal Sparks from Queer As Folk and he mentioned that it was an honor to have a comedy special on Showtime at his age. Being that he played a beloved gay character on Queer As Folk, it seems like a pretty big deal to be recognized for Showtime.
Wow, cool.Yes, definitely.
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The comedy field is overwhelmingly male-dominated even today. Why do you think there aren’t other Poppys, Sandras, Rosies and Ellens hitting the big time in comedy?
Well, I have a theory on that from many years ago.I mean, I started doing stand-up back in the 1980’s in Rhode Island.I’ve been in this business a long time and I certainly didn’t come out as a lesbian until about 2000.Basically, to grow as a comedian, you can do the in-town comedy clubs about one or maybe two times per month, but then you have to go out on the road to find work.Out on the road there are bars and bars equals drinking and drinking equals men and their girlfriends.So, you really need to learn how to cater to straight men.It’s a man’s world still.Television does the same thing.So, you just do your jokes to a pretty straight crowd.I did comedy for a straight crowd towards men for many, many years until I was tired of lying and changing the pronouns.I couldn’t stand myself any longer doing it.I said, “screw it” and came out.Since then, I’ve just been working the gay rooms.The gay community is my niche. It’s what I do! I’ll try to get back into the straight world a little bit, but I’m not really sure how much I enjoy it.
It sounds like you really felt the need to come out of the closet for your craft to grow.
Yeah, you know, comedy can almost be described as fragile.I have to be honest in order to be funny and I have to be truthful in order to be funny.I mean, I could write jokes that aren’t dealing with the heart, feelings or emotion and they can definitely strike a funny bone, but if you really want to get deep into somebody, you have to have this honest exposure of your soul while you’re doing comedy.I had to tell the truth.
You once opened for Rosie O’Donnell on the club circuit and now you can be seen in her HBO Documentary All Aboard Rosie’s Family Vacation. How has your relationship with Rosie changed over the years as you’ve climbed the fame ladder?
I’m so glad that I was able to have that relationship with Rosie. I had opened for her in Chicago and New York and then she was offered the Stand Up Spotlight show on VH-1 and asked me to help write for her. A lot of comedians went on Stand Up Spotlight so I wrote a letter to her and asked if she would give me a shot and she did! I’d seen her again in New York a couple of times and stayed friends with her. When her cruise started up, I wrote her another letter to ask if I could perform on the ship and she said sure! I was able to get a demo from HBO to forward to Atlantis and they’ve started to use me as well. Olivia started using me after Atlantis started using me so now I am going all over the world performing on these cruise ships for everyone.
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You’ve performed at the Gay Games in the past. What was that experience like for you?
Because of the Atlantis cruises that I’ve been doing, gay men love me! I don’t use that word lightly. Someone saw me on the cruise ship and told the guy who was booking the gay games that he had to use me and they basically were like, “Oh, yes, we know about you. You’re on!” To perform for 25,000-35,000 people at Wrigley field was – wow. Really scary. After the dress rehearsal, I went home and went to sleep. I thought, “I’m going to go to bed and wake up with a whole new fresh way to think about this and get through it”. So, when I woke up, I self-talked myself into being comfortable with the gig and getting through it.
Tell us about the other projects you have going on.
I recently picked up a digital outlet so my CD is now on iTunes! It’s called A Prickly Heat. You can just download me now – which is awesome! My Queer Queens of Qomedy has made me a producer as well as a comedian. Wearing two hats is a little difficult. You can only get so many cruises so you have to continually create your own show and revenue. Queer Queens of Qomedy will be at Zanies in Chicago on June 14, 15 and 16, 2010. Sandra Valls and Vickie Shaw will be performing along with me. August 19, 2010 is the next show after that in Philadelphia. Carol Leifer will be joining us for that show. She just came out and has been this mega, mega comedian who was the original writer of Seinfeld and has been on Leno, Letterman and Carson. Two days later, we will be in Alexandria, VA on August 21, 2010! If you’re in the area, come on out!
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