By Danny Valle

If you’ve already seen the Excuse My Beauty YouTube clip by the Queers of Comedy, then you know how funny they are. Some of you may have even had the opportunity to catch them performing one of their live shows. For everyone else, we’ve got a great surprise. The Queers of Comedy is composed of three male comedians and together they’re bringing a distinctive new voice to the queer comedy scene. Mikey, Teddy, and Cory are the men behind the laughs in this hysterical trio that is set to take the world by storm. I recently had the pleasure of speaking with them during a backyard barbeque at Teddy’s house on a warm Los Angeles evening.
I’ve heard that sometimes the funniest comedians on stage are also some of the most serious people in real life. I prepared to meet the trio with this sobering thought in mind, but my fears were quickly eschewed when one of them thrust a WeHo Award for Outstanding Entertainer into my face. With the ice thus broken (and almost my nose), I asked Teddy when he had first known that he wanted to be a comedian. He replied, “Ultimately I just wanted to be famous. It’s this sickness that I have…” We all laughed. “It is — I’m serious. I’m obsessed with fame and anybody famous. I’ve tried to analyze it, but I don’t care. I’ve given up. It’s just really what I want. For me, there is no better sensation in the universe — sex included — than when you’re up on stage and you’ve got the audience. There’s no better feeling.”
Not all of them are in it for the fame, though. Mikey’s friends suggested comedy as something that he might be good at after enjoying all of his funny stories. Cory, on the other hand, was already an established actor with countless credits to his name when his therapist suggested that he should participate at an open mic comedy night. Most comics get a high when they’re on stage and making people laugh, but for Mikey there’s another layer to his performances. “Everything that I’m embarrassed about or feeling ashamed of, I take onstage. And I own that shame.”
Mikey’s exorcism of personal demons is one of the traits that makes this trio so easy for audiences to relate to. During a recent performance, Teddy told a story about meeting a guy online who was into furries — as in, folks who get off on dressing up as various animals. Teddy went along with the guy’s fantasy, but never actually hooked up with him. Luckily for us, the surreal trauma of that particular experience managed to make its way into his stand-up routine. Cory explained, “One of our main unspoken rules is to be honest.” Without missing a beat, Mikey counters Cory’s sentiment by sharing that he was once told, “Never let the truth get in the way of a good story.”
In the past, many gay comics have relied on their homosexuality for most of their jokes, explained Mikey. “We’re ready to show the gamut of what gay comedy can be. Rather than gayness always being the punch line, we’re about gay people who have a lot of different stories. The gay thing is there, but it’s not like “Oh my god! I’m so gay! Bud-ump-bump.” Even so, the trio still has to overcome stereotypes about being gay — especially in a world where so many comics rely on gay jokes. At times, it can start to feel like the straight comedy world is a bit homophobic, but Teddy doesn’t think so, telling me, “I don’t think it’s homophobia. I just think it’s unenlightened.”
As we talked, Teddy fired up the barbeque grill and said, “You’re staying to eat, right?” Before I could answer, he was saying, “Of course you are!” This is the perfect example of the welcoming vibe that permeates this group of friends. It's obvious that they truly care for one athey’ve got each other’s back. Cory told me about one heckling incident where Mikey had been harassed by an audience member. When it was Cory’s turn to take the stage, he was quick to put the heckler in his place. Such solidarity is one of the many perks of working in a group — but is it always rainbows and sunshine? I asked Teddy if there were any downsides. “To be completely honest, I think ego sometimes comes into play — at least for me. I can’t believe I’m going to say this… But there are times when you’ve done a set and you think you did awesome. And then you get off stage and people are running towards one of the other two, saying, ‘Oh my god — you were the funniest!’ First of all, I would never say that to a group of people, singling one out in front of everyone and saying they were the funniest.” Cory immediately interrupts, clearly baffled. “Who gets picked out?” he demands. Without missing a beat, Teddy flicks his head and snobbishly replies, “You’ve gotten picked out a couple of times, bitch. Don’t even try it.” It’s easy to see that this kind of razzing is part of what makes the Queers of Comedy so incredibly funny and close.
When asked about the process of developing new material, Teddy and Mikey explained that they often drew inspiration from incidents in life that had made them laugh. Cory took a different stance, however. He said, “The things I take up on stage are those that make me sad or angry or depressed.” It’s funny that Cory should mention this, because during the previous night’s show he discussed the fact that his parents were supposed to be in the audience. Unfortunately, his sister (Teddy spelled out her full name for the audience) had managed to whip up some sort of eleventh-hour trauma and it had prevented them from attending.
My favorite moment of the interview was when I asked Mikey, Teddy, and Cory to identify the Diva of the group. From his place at the grill, Teddy cautiously glanced towards the table as Mikey surreptitiously pointed to Cory without saying a word. When Cory realized that all eyes were on him, he stood up and flailed his arms furiously — with his voice about two octaves higher than normal — and shouted, “Excuse me?!” He then launched into a dramatic tirade that would have put even Naomi Campbell to shame. When I pointed out that he had just answered the question, we all broke out in laughter. “You’re just jealous!” he slurred petulantly, like a Texas housewife who’d just been caught trying to pass fake Xanax prescriptions. “All of you are just jealous, nasty, evil bitches.” Then she sat down curtly, like she’d just said her piece to the Harper Valley P.T.A. Perhaps this familiar rivalry is why the three of them work so well together, because they each bring unique personalities and abilities to the table.
The Queers of Comedy are now in negotiations for their own show and an extended tour — so it looks like they may soon break into the mainstream. As we wrapped things up, Teddy and Mikey facetiously chastised Cory for “not practicing The Secret.” We all laughed, but it was clear that all three of them had already begun looking towards the future — and imagining the possibilities.
Photo Courtesy of Randy Brant

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