Today we’d like to introduce you to Cori Isla.
Lavender Laughs was established by Nomie K Baker in December of 2021. It started out as a Zoom open mic for women and LGBTQIA members to have a safe space to perform and grow their craft as comedians. And as it grew popular, it quickly turned into a physical open mic in January of 2022 at Candler Rail Brewery in Atlanta. The open mic became women and LGBTQIA priority where women and members of the community get 5 minutes on stage and can pick their spot on the open mic list while straight, cis-male allies get 3 minutes on stage. This was made in order to combat the straight, male domination of stand-up comedy and to also showcase and highlight artists and comedians who might get overshadowed or find other open mics intimidating and non-inclusive.
Everyone in comedy starts out in the open mic circuit and we wanted to make it easier for different people to start expressing themselves in a welcoming and nonjudgmental environment. Not only do our women and LGBTQIA community love this mic, but we get a bunch of ally comedians who love the atmosphere, appreciate seeing and supporting new artists and even love performing themselves, despite getting less time, they have just as much fun. As the mic grew we decided to start putting on booked showcases where we could actually pay comedians and show the general public an all-female identifying LGBTQIA stand-up comedy show. Audiences love these shows as it makes way for new perspectives and new art, it’s a breath of fresh air from the typical comedy people are used to seeing. Nomie Baker left Atlanta in mid-2022 and started a Lavender Laughs branch in New York while she appointed Cori Isla and Gabriela Ramos Tavarez to lead the Atlanta branch. Cori Isla currently leads Lavender Laughs as of 2023. We currently host our open mic at Dynamic El Dorado in Atlanta every 1st and 3rd Thursday of the month starting at 6pm and do our booked comedy showcases of professional, local women and LGBTQIA comedians once a month.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Some of the struggles we’ve had is finding a physical venue for the open mic. After Candler Rail Brewery closed unexpectedly in October of 2022, we had to move the show back on to Zoom. It took months before I could find a venue again. Our community was devastated because this mic is one of the only ones some artists will attend due to how inviting and welcoming the vibe is. People feel like they can be their true selves. Luckily Dynamic el Dorado took us in and we’ve been hosting the open mic since March!
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Lavender Laughs is the ONLY women and LGBTQIA priority open mic and stand-up comedy showcase in Atlanta. Not only do we uplift these artists in particular but we made sure that these artists have more time than their straight, cis-male counterparts. Up north there’s tons of spaces similar to ours but we are the only consistent one in Atlanta. We’re most proud of our booked comedy shows. Not only does it give us a chance to support artists but they’ve been a hit! We always have a great and receptive audiences, some of who even return for the next one or end up attending our open mic.
What’s next?
We plan to stay at Dynamic El Dorado for the near future for the open mic. We love putting on our booked showcases here as well as playing across different towns in Georgia such as Dahlonega. We would love to do shows in more towns across the state to combat some of the bigoted narrative being spread around in our politics and media. We’re also always looking to grow the open mic attendance and uplift new artists.
Pricing:
- Open mic is free!
- Booked show tickets are 10$ online 15$ at the door
Contact Info:
- Website: https://dynamiceldorado.fourthwalltickets.com/shows
- Instagram: Lavender_laughs_atl
- Other: extragravybiscuit (Cori Isla) Instagram
This is Ashley Marcel from one of our open mic shows
This is comedian Mayowa from one of our open mic shows
From hosting our Galentines day show
Image Credits
Group image: Connor Lyons (front) Cori Isla (front) (going from left to right) Peyton Johnson, Gabriela Ramos Tavarez, Mira Mason, Gwen Evans, Reid Pegram, Laura Garner, Gloria White, Vandy Beth Glenn banana phone photo (Daniel Warner)
