“Much like my career ambitions, my huge, juicy ass both can’t and won’t quit.”
By her own description, Cara Connors “is an LA-based comedian and multifaceted homosexual with an ass that won’t quit.”
By our description, she’s hilarious. And with her solo show, Straight for Pay, heading to Hideout Comedy in Boston on Thursday, June 9, we caught up with Connors for an interview …
We get a lot of touring comics hitting us up for interviews, but few with the basic knowledge of how to communicate and write a press release. What the fuck is wrong with your contemporaries?
This made me laugh very hard. Is it sick if I say this somehow makes me feel better? I imagine your job is quite annoying in that way. I honestly have no clue what my contemporaries are up to in this arena (or what the hell is wrong with all of us). Comedians in particular are a funny little collective of sometimes brilliant yet often feral souls so a lack of general decorum in their communication style is not surprising. However, I’m sure I have been guilty of my fair share of stupidity too since I’ve learned almost everything in my career in a trial by fire fashion (she’s a kinaesthetic learner!).
In any case, maybe you can send me a few of the worst emails you’ve gotten? I keep a file of these sorts of things to read after bad shows.
Cara Connors. That’s apparently your name. Does that mean a lifetime of annoying Sarah Connor Terminator questions? Or is it just us who sees the rhyme? And is that insufferable?
It happens somewhat regularly, but I think I honestly miss the references most of the time because I only saw it once when I was little. This confusion/disinterest deters most people from continuing as I make it painfully boring! So I guess that makes me the insufferable one in this equation.
Please tell us about this “ass that won’t quit,” as we heard about in your press materials? We assume you mean figuratively.
Sex sells, baby! But also much like my career ambitions, my huge, juicy ass both can’t and won’t quit. It’s the gift that keeps on giving and I felt it time to come clean in my press materials.
You sure do have quite the hustle. Any memorable moments from your most recent tour worth mentioning?
#Girlboss alert! So many funny things have happened on tour. I was once doing zoom therapy on the patio of this hotel, because it was the only place I could find any privacy, when a wedding planner turned the corner with a family of 16. I overheard her show them the view and then loudly say, Was that young man crying? Savage!
LOL at your joke that you “don’t want to offend your huge base of police officers.” But surely you have had audience members of the fascist sort. Any incidents that stand out?
Thankfully I haven’t had too much trouble (knock on wood!) and most people seem to like it when I mouth off, even if it makes them a little nervous. I’ve had the odd drunk guy yell out, but when I challenge them to wrestle me on stage they suddenly get quiet. Which really sucks because I love wrestling.
From your standpoint, as a writer, are you imagining a queer or at least mostly queer audience? I ask because you introduced yourself specifically as a queer comic.
I would say my comedy is definitely quite universal, but this hour specifically is very queer in its content and perspective because it’s so autobiographical. But then again, even if the material I am covering isn’t inherently gay, it’s still being written by my very gay hands and increasingly homosexual brain so the two are sort of inextricably linked.
My typical audience member is a post-menopausal lesbian therapist trying to blow off some steam and/or a woke Gen z bro who heard about it from their bisexual girlfriend, but there is definitely something for everyone. Even hatemongers and homophobes! But in general I will lead with being a queer comic in certain spaces as a way to celebrate that aspect of my identity and also to call forward people who are down with the cause and might get an extra kick out of my silly nonsense on stage.
Any thoughts on Pride month and Pride celebrations in general? In Boston we have had quite the schism over commercialization, inclusion, and a number of other intersecting issues.
Personally, I am so excited for Pride month because I love seeing all the little gay angels spring forth and take up space in large numbers. I also love any excuse to be completely unhinged with my friends in public. That being said, corporations who don’t give a shit about us the rest of the year attempting to be relevant and cash in for one month a year is so cringe.
Politically, I think it’s embarrassing that cops don’t understand why they aren’t welcome; way too many queer spaces are super segragated and not inclusive, and people forget that pride started as a riot!
On the flip side, the more mainstream and “normalized” some of these celebrations and events become is ultimately important and lifesaving and good on a societal level. Especially given all the recent homophobic legislation swirling around. It’s nice for LGBTQ+ folks to have something nice and fun to look forward to every once and a while, and for people to see us as out and proud three dimensional humans. Gay people, they’re just like us!
Finally, what can we expect with the Boston show?
Excitement! Naughtiness! Surprises! Look, we’ve all been cooped up for almost three years and I’m not going on tour during the holy month of Pride to be on my best behavior. I think people can expect kick back, relax and let themselves be entertained by a sassy little gay cowboy. The world is ending. Let’s have some fun!
caraconnors.com
Tickets at eventbrite.com
Dig Staff means this article was a collaborative effort. Teamwork, as we like to call it.
