About Kate: FAQ

What is your earliest memory of making people people laugh?

You mean the time I protested my participation at a pre-K dance recital? I thought I looked like a chubby mesh pot scrubber, so I tucked my tutu into my tights. It killed. In first grade, in what I believe was early gay lip-syncing, I mimed "I'm Gettin Nuttin' for Christmas" at a school assembly and I caused the gorgeous, curly haired, voluptuous fourth grade teacher, Miss Como, to fall off her chair laughing. I saw her go down. I was hooked.

Besides that, what is one of your memorable performances?

In 1989 during a show the Calvin Simmons Hall in Oakland, CA, there was an earthquake. The huge chandelier in the performance hall was still netted from the big quake a few months earlier. It started to tinkle madly. I felt my knees buckle, but I thought it was the coffee I'd had before the show. Some lesbian yelled, "Earthquake!" and they all started heading for the exits. I became the high school English teacher during a fire drill during assembly, and announced calmly, "Do not run toward the exits. Please remain in your seats, while I see, what's running down my leg." We have a tape of that moment. The next night in LA I did a show in a blackout and spent the whole show locating the lit exit signs.

How do you know something's funny?

I shamelessly test line on my friends. They're onto me now, "You're doing that thing again." "Is this for a show?" I also rip funny lines right out of my friend's mouths at dinner. Sometimes there's still half-chewed bits of corn stuck on them. If I laugh out loud or slap my desk when I write it, there's a chance it might be funny.

How do you memorize all that stuff?

The show has an interior logic. To me, anyway. Mind you I have broken three logic boards on my computer. I'm proud of that. My early Catholic memorization training helps. Onstage, I am actually mentally scrolling through a show – before computers, it was all about the page turning. After a show, I review my printed routine for things I missed. Often they are things that should be forgotten. Often a throwaway line, based on what I hear of audience response, becomes three pages. And after a few performances, three brilliant pages can quickly become a throwaway line. It's natural selection at its finest.

What is your greatest fear onstage?

That I will just go blank. As sometimes happens when I say to my dear girlfriend, "Could you go get me the...." And there is not a word there. I fear there won't be a routine there. I always make a set list, cheat sheet mapqwest of the show just in case. If I get lost on a tangential side road I ask the audience for directions. Sometimes I really don't know. Other times, I'm just making sure they are paying attention. Old teacherly trick. I think a show is a great wild mental ride. If I ask at the end of the show and they are totally lost, I believe I have done my job.

Which do you prefer – writing or performing?

Must you be so either/or, so with us/against us? Unilateralism is so insidious isn't it? When I'm at my desk struggling with a sentence– having shut down the phones, turned off the email and strapped on the time released seat belt – I think I'd much rather be performing. When I'm on a plane in row 37A, jammed next to a fat guy who thinks the arm rest is his alone, circling Newark for two hours, I think I could be home writing. I always love performing – the getting to the show is less fun than ever.

Do you find you censor yourself in this political climate?

Just the opposite. I find myself revving myself up as I approach political material. I even hear the voice of ice-skating commentator Dick Button whispering, "She's got a triple solcow planned here in her routine, here she goes, oh [disappointedly] she only did a double." I aim to do the full triple and nail all my political landings. Coming out as a lesbian has been great practice for saying dangerous things. Gay people know that.

What are your career goals?

I have two. One is an end to the oppression of women, worldwide. So it looks like I have a few years left before retirement and the collecting of the last of the big Social Security checks. The second is to be a clue in the Sunday New York Times crossword puzzle. "23 Across, Comedian Kate __________" [seven letters]

What's your favorite leisure activity?

Doing the Sunday New York Times crossword puzzle on the couch next to my dear domestic partner, co-conspirator, personal ATM, culture war bride girlfriend as she swears like a sailor at Sunday football. And Monday night football. It takes me a while to get the long clues but I'm dogged and believe the activity helps me accrue mental mileage for my later years. What was the question?

What woman do you most admire?

Other than Urvashi Vaid alluded to above, there are so many women to chose from – Adrienne Rich, Billie Jean King, the Dixie Chicks – but I'm currently in renewed awe of Gloria Steinem. I believe she should be on the fast track to secular American Sainthood. She's generous - from her Gloria Foundation to her perfectly thoughtful gifts. She's a very spiritual material girl. She is a relentless advocate for a justice based on the liberation of women. She's a feminist thinker of enormous integrity and flawless logic. She is a also slyly, wickedly funny. She first moved to New York City to write on That Was the Week that Was, a show that was to the weekly news, what Jon Stewart is to the daily news. And she says she has almost fallen off her chair laughing at my jokes.

What's the best compliment you ever got?

After a show in Lexington, Kentucky, I was having dinner with the producers and a young woman came up to me and clapped me a good one on the back, and exclaimed, "Kate Clinton! You made me want to fuck again!"

"Smart, gorgeous and funny as L!"

- AOL

Booking & Publicity

If you're interested in booking Kate, or if you're looking for a press kit, or high-res photos and logos, come check out the Booking & Publicity section. You'll find everything you need, including complete contact details.

KateMart

All of Kate's DVDs, CDs, books, and other merch - it's a one-stop shop! Stay warm and cozy this winter with all-new Hilarity Clinton '08 apparel. We've also whipped up tons of new items, including a 2008 Kate Clinton "Resolutions" calendar and an "I'm for Hillary" coffee mug. Visit KateMart.