There are 219 comedy specials on Netflix. This does not include the specials that are in series form. Bill Burr’s “You People Are All The Same” premiered exclusively for Netflix on Aug 16, 2012. This was just the start of comedy becoming more accessible to people. But as more people became interested there was more of a push for diversity.
Before Netflix, you could go to Comedy Central and catch a comedy special here and there, but rarely would you see a woman, up on stage, by herself, performing to a packed house for over an hour. There were a few breakouts of course that fought their way to becoming household names like Tina Fey, Amy Poehler and Kristen Wiig.
In an interview with Town and Country Fey commented on the industry culture. “Every single interviewer asked, 'Isn't this an amazing time for women in comedy?' People really wanted us to be openly grateful ー'Thank you so much!' ーand we were like, 'No, it's a terrible time. If you were to really look at it, the boys are still getting more money for a lot of garbage, while the ladies are hustling and doing amazing work for less.'”
Much like other white-male dominated industries comedy had a long way to go to become more diverse. Over a year after Netflix’s first comedy special Iliza Schlesinger’s “War Paint” premiered on Netflix making her the first female to receive this honor. It took another year of men before another woman's comedy special premiered on the platform. On Netflix, and right here on Kent State’s campus comedy is changing for the better.
Meet Jane Fitz.
Fitz is the president of the Black Squirrel Improv Troupe on Kent State’s campus. She is a 21-year-old female majoring in special education with a minor in autism spectrum disorders. She has been a part of the troupe for three years now.
“I got into it my freshman year, right away. There were two nights of auditions, and I think there were about 80 people auditioned but they only took six, only two girls and only two freshmen.” Fitz was one-half of the girls, and the freshman.
“I always loved making people laugh, my mom says I’ve been trying to get a laugh out of complete strangers since I was in preschool.”
The Black Squirrel Improv Troupe started as the Portage County Players back in 2004. The name changed around 2013 - there isn’t much documentation of the troupe’s past - in tribute to Kent State’s population of black squirrels who have lived on campus since 1961. They have become the unofficial official mascot for the campus, Sorry Flash.
If we take a closer look into what exactly is improvisation, hideouttheater.com says “improvisation, or improv, is a form of live theatre in which the plot, characters and dialogue of a game, scene or story are made up in the moment. Often improvisers will take a suggestion from the audience, or draw on some other source of inspiration to get started.”
Improv isn’t a new art. The Northwest Herold says that the beginnings of improvisational theater can go back all the way to Roman Theater in 391 B.C. Back then, the scene was set around a set of funny archetypal clowns. But many would say the same for today’s improv theater.
One thing that has changed, though, is the diversity of these “clowns.”
This year’s improv troupe includes 12 members, the majority women. Maria Serra, a junior member of the troupe celebrates the change. “It’s also cool that for the first time in Black Squirrel Improv Troupe history, the majority of the team is non-men. That means we’re making comedy that is diverse and inclusive.”
Fitz shares Serra’s enthusiasm. “It’s been really cool. I love having that balance because it keeps the guys in check. Like this year we’ve barely had any dick jokes. And last year it was like only dick jokes. So that’s been refreshing.”
In addition to fewer profane jokes about the male genitalia, Fitz has also noticed a change in the group scenes that the troupe comes up with. “There’s a lot less violence in the scenes, too, which is interesting. I don’t know if it’s just because of the new mix of people or because of the women. But that is something else I have noticed that’s really interesting, for sure.”
Other women in the troupe have also taken notice of the changes on the group as a whole since the presence of Fitz and the other women in the troupe. “It is so, so important to me that the president of the improv troupe is a woman,” Serra said. - “Comedy is a male-dominated field and many popular comics rely on sexist jokes for laughs. People like Jane are important for moving comedy in a new direction and encouraging the entire troupe to think outside of the box and work together to create awesome, hilarious scenes that don’t put people down. She’s also just a fabulous leader, and I have nothing but respect and admiration for her work ethic, and I’m honored to be friends with such a crazy talented person.”
Being a woman in a male-dominated field ー more specifically a white-male dominated field ー has its challenges, Fitz said. “You see a lot of the same stuff over and over again. That gets old pretty fast. So personally I find it exhausting. I don’t know. I don’t have a lot of good things to say about men in comedy. There are some that are great and allies, but a lot of them are not.”
As former stand-up comic and journalist Lynn Harris wrote for Time in 2017 saying, “More women in comedy begins with more girls in comedy.”
Fitz agrees. “Get out there! Yeah, do it. Rip the Band-Aid off and do it. The only way you’re going to feel comfortable is by doing it and getting used to it and realizing nothing bad is going to happen.”
The Troupe gets out there by doing a free show on campus every month. They practice twice a week for a total of four hours. Their monthly shows consist of short-form improv structured like games with rules. They transition to a long-form improv skit for the final half of the show.
Their season came to a sudden end because of COVID-19. All of their monthly shows have been canceled. This included a show called Wingin’ It, which was in partnership with Bowling Green State University’s improv troupe Lady Parts. The event was going to showcase the women of each improv troupe and the ticket for entry was going to be pads, tampons or other mensuration products that would be donated to the Kent State Women’s Center. Money donations would also go to the center.
Nevertheless, the Black Squirrel Improv Troupe didn’t want “to stop the funny,” as they mentioned on their social media. They created a backup plan: Fans can send money via Venmo and receive a funny meme or a funny video, depending on the amount of contribution. The memes varied from COVID-19 jokes to lighten the blue mood to more personalized inside jokes if they knew the contributor. In just a few days they raised $65, which they donated to Kent State University’s emergency fund for students in need.
With all the laughs and smiles the troupe has given, Fitz can not wait to see where next year takes the group. “I don’t think I will be president next year, as I will be student teaching and trying to balance that would be difficult. I won’t be able to dedicate as much time as it needs. But I do plan on being in the troupe and helping whoever steps up. I really look forward to seeing how the group adapts and changes going forward.”
Fitz has helped to change the comedy game here at Kent State and her legacy will live on after she graduates. She and her fellow female comics - those who came before her, and those who will follow - will continue to pave a way that includes more diversity and inclusivity in the world of comedy.
One day, they hope, they will be known not just as funny girls but as funny comics.
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