Most comics spend ten years writing and performing short sets in small towns before they’ve developed enough material to headline minor venues in bigger cities. In contrast, only four years after her first stab at comedy, Suzanne Westenhoefer had already been nominated for a Cable ACE Award for her own HBO Comedy Special. In fact, there’s little, if anything, typical about Westenhoefer. Many gay comics begin their careers eschewing gay material, but this comedian says she’s “always been ‘out’ as a stand-up, since day one.” Most gay comics have a primarily, if not exclusively, gay following; Westenhoefer performs mostly at mainstream clubs to mixed audiences. A lot of comedians are fervent writers, but Westenhoefer once told The Modesto Bee, “I have never written a joke down in my life.”
This article appears in Feb 13-19, 2003.