PHOTO: Courtesy of Sean Jimenez
HINDI biro ang hamon ng pagiging babaeng komedyante, ngunit para kay Margie de Leon ay tila nahanap niya ang isang tahanan kung saan siya nabibigyan ng oportunidad upang umusbong.
Kamakailan lang, nagkaroon ng press conference ang Comedy Manila kasabay ng grand media opening ng bago nilang homebase na Brick Wall BGC.
At diyan naitanong ng entertainment press kay Margie kung ano-ano nga ba ang hamon na kanyang pinagdadaanan bilang isang babae sa mundo ng komedya.
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“I’ll be honest, when I started doing open mics with Comedy Manila last year, I didn’t feel like I was treated differently from everybody else,” sagot niya.
Paliwanag niya, “I think what’s great about this particular group is that all that matters to them is whether you’re funny or whether you work hard. So it does not really matter what gender you are or what background you are—rich or poor, or whatever school’s you’re from.”
Sinabi rin ng komedyana na malaking bagay ang “encouraging” na environment ng grupo para ipagpatuloy ang kanyang passion sa pagpapatawa.
“It never occurred to me na ako lang ang babae talaga kapag kasama ko ‘yung fellow comedians ko,” sey niya.
Mensahe ni Margie, “So my advice for women is just do it. Just go out there and do it. If you think you’re funny and you think you have something, then who you are shouldn’t stop you. You should go out and try an open mic and you’ll realize that as long as you love what you do and show that you care about being better at it, people will respect you.”
Kasunod niyan, binigyang-diin ng kanyang kapwa-comedian na si James Caraan ang layunin ng Comedy Manila na gawing “safe space” ang kanilang community para sa lahat ng gender.
“There are steps na may ginagawa ang Comedy Manila to ban misogynistic comedians na nagpe-perform at nag-o-open mic. May mga tao na kaming hindi pinag-perform on stage just because may mga natatanggap kaming harassment, complaints galing sa ibang female comedians kaya pinapanatili naming safe space ang Comedy Manila for all genders,” saad niya.
Ani pa ni James, “Kasi gusto pa naming makahikayat ng mas maraming soldiers na comedians to perform na walang pinipiling genders kasi your voice matters here in Comedy Manila.”
Samantala, tiniyak ng Comedy Manila na magdadala sila ng “consistently fresh, diverse, and entertaining” na lineup ng mga comedy shows sa bago nilang tahanan na matatagpuan sa BGC, Taguig.
Bukod kina Margie at James, nagkaroon din ng sample performances during the launching event sina GB Labrador, Alexio Tabafunda, Roger Naldo, Nonong Ballinan, pati na rin ang Filipino-American comedian na si Rex Navarrete.