Gayle Lewis of Atlantic Station on Life, Lessons & Legacy

We’re looking forward to introducing you to Gayle Lewis. Check out our conversation below.

Hi Gayle, thank you so much for joining us today. We’re thrilled to learn more about your journey, values and what you are currently working on. Let’s start with an ice breaker: What do the first 90 minutes of your day look like?
I am not a morning person at all! So, I like to ease into my day as much as possible. After snoozing my alarm once or twice, I try and start my day by drinking a glass of water and meditating for about 5 to 10 minutes. Afterwards, I either do a tarot card pull or journal a bit before checking my planner for the day. Once I finally get out of bed, I take my chihuahua mix, Rico, out for his morning walk, followed by feeding him breakfast before brewing some coffee and fixing myself something light to eat.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Gayle Lewis and I’m a standup comedian and show runner. I’ve been doing standup for 3 years and began hosting and producing shows about a year and half ago. I love the Atlanta comedy scene, but got frustrated seeing far too many shows with 0-1 women on the lineup. Atlanta has an embarrassment of riches when it comes to hilarious female comics, but sadly standup is still very much a “boy’s club” in many ways. I’m never one to complain without trying to come up with solutions though, which is why I’ve created showcases like Ladies Night Comedy, the city’s only monthly all-women standup showcase currently running at Onward Theatre in Adair Park, and Laugh Out Lore, Atlanta’s only mic exclusively for queer and women comics, located at Lore on Edgewood. It’s important to me to create spaces that are welcoming and inclusive to comics and audience alike.

Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. What part of you has served its purpose and must now be released?
The feeling that I have to do it all myself. I developed hyper-independence early on in life. I’ve accomplished a lot on my own, but the older I get, the more I realize that asking for help isn’t a bad thing. I’ve been working to build real community with folks so that I have a “village” I can turn to for support.

What did suffering teach you that success never could?
That life is full of ups and downs. I’ve been successful, I’ve been down bad. Life keeps moving, and being able to get through the hard times makes you appreciate the good times more. If anything, when things are not going well in my life in the present day, I’m able to handle it with more grace and patience than I had been able to in the past. It also has given me more empathy for others when they’re struggling through a hard time.

So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. What’s a belief or project you’re committed to, no matter how long it takes?
Creating opportunities in standup comedy for performers who may not feel comfortable going to most mainstream (i.e. male-dominated) open mics. When I first started hitting mics in Atlanta, one of my favorite local comics, Cori Isla, was running the now-defunct Lavender Laughs (a mic which prioritized queer and femme comics) at Dynamic El Dorado. I remember seeing amazing comics at that mic that I rarely saw at other mics, and it was such a supportive room to work out material in. Cori and that room were big inspirations for me when it came time to start Laugh Out Lore. I wanted to create a space that would be welcoming to new comics, but also provide more seasoned comics with opportunities for longer amounts of stage time which is why I book several 10 minute long featured comic spots on each mic in addition to the standard “show up and go up” list. The room has been amazing. We always draw an enthusiastic audience, and we attract some of the best comics in the city on a regular basis. Did I mention that the show is free? Especially when so many of us are struggling financially, it means a lot to me to be able to provide a space for folks to forget their troubles for a couple hours and enjoy some good laughs.

Okay, so before we go, let’s tackle one more area. What do you think people will most misunderstand about your legacy?
That I hate men. I don’t hate men, I absolutely love them, but I do always joke when I host Laugh Out Lore that if you want to see straight men doing comedy, you can go check out literally every other open mic in the city. For me, it’s not about excluding straight men, but rather including women and the queer community. For one, having a homogenous lineup gets very boring! If all your comics are coming from a similar background/experience, the jokes all tend to start getting repetitive. In the current political climate, marginalized voices are being silenced more than ever in my lifetime, and it’s important that myself and others never shut up about this. I think most of the male show runners in the scene absolutely get this, and it’s reflected in the lineups they book. I’ve learned over time that if your response to me calling out an all-male lineup is to be offended, it says far more about you than it ever will about me.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.laughoutliveatl.com
• Instagram: @gaylethequail
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Gayle-Lewis

Image Credits
Sam Spitalny
Robert Wolfgang
Xander Betts
JC Barger
Declan Callahan