It was the year 2016 and I was an actress working for a political comedy troupe called The Capitol Steps. I was portraying Hillary Clinton, who was poised to become the first female President of the United States. On Election night, November 8th, at 7:45pm, I proudly stood on stage before an exuberant crowd of 2,000 people. Unaware of the poll numbers coming in, I began to sing and within minutes, before my eyes, I watched the mood of an entire audience change from pure joy to unbelievable shock. What was happening? I thought, as a young girl in the audience with the saddest eyes stared back at me. Then it hit me. “Oh my god, Hillary lost!” And as I stood there in that devastating moment, confused and alone in the spotlight, I knew my story needed to be told.
“Always A First Lady”
Working for a political comedy troupe for twenty years gave me a unique perspective on how women were portrayed in politics. Men have always been able to climb the political ladder, while women struggle just to be given the chance. I saw this first hand. Election after election, waiting to portray a female candidate (if there was one) only to be short lived when another male was elected into power. Women were non-existent in politics and unimportant in comedy and that mirrored itself in our show. The stories were about men. The jokes were about men. And no matter how hard I tried to get more women in the show, we were just an afterthought. “Girls aren’t funny!” I heard that so much, that after a while I started to believe it. If a bit didn’t work, putting a man in a dress was always the quick fix. Meanwhile, women were good for three things: holding a prop, being a mistress and portraying the ever invisible First Lady.
It wasn’t till 2019, when I was impersonating Elizabeth Warren who lost her bid for President, that I decided to write a play and put “pen to paper." Condensing a twenty year story into a two hour show wasn’t easy but I managed. In doing so, I featured as many female political figures as I could, from Monica Lewinsky to Kamala Harris and everyone in between. I was also still performing in the show nightly until March 2020, when Covid-19 hit and the troupe decided to close it’s doors indefinitely. Stunned, confused and without a job, I packed up my life and moved in with my parents.
Over the next few years and many months in a library, the story grew from a one woman show to a full TV series and now the stage musical, all with Decks and Treatments to match. And as I continue on with the process, I’ve come to realize that no matter what happens, I’m glad I put that “pen to paper.” If only to have closure to this unique time in my life. And though it wasn’t an easy one, I’m grateful to have lived it. For it taught me strength, resilience and forgiveness, even in the world of political comedy.
