Five-minute audio clip featuring comedians from Disabled Comedy Only, produced by Nina G., and recorded live at the Impact Hub in Oakland on Oct 30, 2014.
These audio clips are in conjunction with the Humor and the Disability Experience: A Stand-Up Comedy Show on Apr 23, 2017 at The CJM.
Nina G., the program’s emcee and organizer, is a well-known stuttering stand-up comedian, disability activist, storyteller, children's book author and educator who uses comedy to help people confront and understand social justice issues such as disability, diversity, and equity.
This program at The Contemporary Jewish Museum is dedicated in memory and honor of the legacy of the founder of The Comedians with Disabilities Act, Michael O'Connell.
Disabled Comedy Only is the first-ever comedy compilation album featuring, as the title suggests, a lineup of all comedians with disabilities. The album is available on most music sites for streaming or purchase. Download Michael O'Connell's set for free at CD Baby.
Recorded live at the Impact Hub in Oakland on Oct 30, 2014
5 minutes audio featuring:
Nina G.
Michel O’Connell
Steve Lee
Loren Kraut
Queenie TT
Steve Danner
It’s so great to be part of The Comedians With Disabilities Act. The thing is a lot of times people say, “You know stuttering and dyslexia are not real disabilities you shouldn’t be in that show.” So I have to explain to people that if you look at the definition of what a disability is according to the Americans with Disabilities Act, it’s a physical or mental impairment that substantially results in having to deal with assholes [loud laughter and applause and cheering]. Pretty sure it qualifies. Pretty sure…
See employees in businesses can be helpful but sometimes if you’re in a chair they can be a little, a little condescending maybe. Like I was in this place the other day and this girl was like, “Is there anything else I can do to help you, are you sure? cos you know you shouldn’t be embarrassed to ask for help? We all need help sometimes don’t we.” I was like, “Lady can you please just finish the damn lap dance, I got Sharks tickets tonight” [laughter]. Not true. I didn’t have Sharks tickets [laughter], I can’t afford those I’m a comedian, come on.
When I was a little kid, little kids loved to laugh at my hands like, “Steve you have ladies' hands, ladies' hands.” I got upset for years until I discovered masturbation [laughter and applause and whooping]. Sometimes I like to wake up and do a little role play [laughter] I call my hands “Lyndsey Lohans."
And I must follow the obsessive rules of conduct which are: if it’s soft touch it, if it’s pretty touch it, if it lies in a row of soft and pretty things, count it. If you’re leaving the house and it’s flat, soft, pretty, or near the door, touch it twice, count it twice, smell the candle, kiss the plant, turn around, crack your neck, move keys to right hand, bless the house shut and lock the door [laughter]. Check you locked the door. Unlock the door and check cat isn’t trapped in oven [laughter]. Check you’ve touched and counted all the soft and pretty things, smelled the candle, kissed the plant, turned around, cracked your neck, moved keys to right hand, blessed the house shut and locked the door, checked the door, unlocked the door and checked the cat is not in the oven. [laughter].
When I started comedy almost five years ago I was very, very sick. I had congestive heart failure, stage 2 and 3 lymphodema, which I am currently fighting and winning [whooping and applause]. I also had acute hypothyroidism. My thyroid has been normal now for 2 years [applause] and I also battled food addiction. My top weight was 465 pounds and tonight I stand before you, a slim and trim 189.5 pounds [cheers and applause]. Haaaay, that’s right [laughter]. Haaaaay, that’s right, my vagina making a comeback tonight! Real tall!
I was talking to this one lesbian lady for a while, and she told me she used to date men a long time ago. Been dating women for a long time but been thinking about trying to date another man. I’m like, that’s cool that you’d be willing to try that out again. But just don’t dive in the deep end with that shit. Start small [laughter and applause]. Work your way up [laughter]. She quickly learned though, once you go small you never go tall [applause and laughter and whooping].
Access Programs are made possible by major support from Wells Fargo Foundation. Additional generous support is provided by Toole Family Charitable Foundation and The Morse Family Foundation.