Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Zoe Rogers. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Zoe , appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

Boulder Comedy Festival has been a hugely meaningful project. I have been producing for almost as long as I’ve been doing comedy. Years ago I started a womens mic and a womens show and a show called Token Straight White Dude that that turned the usual model of all straight white dudes and one comic for diversity on its head. No one wanted to touch it, no venues were interested. I wound up doing it in a neighbors back yard. It’s meaningful to go from that to being able to have Boulder Comedy Festival be sold out at Dairy Arts Center. That happens when other people believe in you and agree that there’s a need for what you are doing. The community here is awesome.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I am a stand up comic, producer, teacher and creator of Boulder Comedy Festival. I started doing comedy twelve years ago, and at the time it felt like there weren’t a lot of women being booked on shows and not a lot of diversity. I got into producing to change that. I love teaching and seeing my students connect with people through humor and find their unique comedic voice. I started Boulder Comedy Festival and have been so thankful for the response and support of Boulders first comedy festival. It’s hugely encouraging when people pack the shows, apply and volunteer. This is a really beautiful community.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

It’s very rewarding to affect change. That sounds like a big intimidating thing, but it’s really using whatever tools you have to affect change in whatever way is possible. For me that was putting more women onstage and booking diverse comics. That affected change in a way that made fellow producers more aware of the fact that they could be more diverse in their lineups. Instead of having some big confrontation with them it was more of a lead by example approach. Whenever I was the only woman in the show or festival I would think to myself, maybe someone in the audience will be inspired by seeing a woman onstage and they’ll go to their first open mic. I was able to do that in a big way with Boulder Comedy Festival, and I am very fortunate to have the support of Dairy Arts and a phenomenal community of venues, sponsors, comics and audience members who also felt like there was a need for what I was doing.

Contact Info:

• Website: Bouldercomedyfestival.com, Highroadcomedy.com, ZoeRogersComedy.com
• Instagram: Boulder_Comedy_Festival
  
• Twitter: @boulderfestival

Image Credits
Boulder Comedy Festival (multi) Eyes crossed picture Matt Misisco, stripy shirt picture on stage Matt Misisco, Black and white images Matt Misisco