Another year and another comedian is taking to the stage at Philly Pride to bring mirth and merriment to an environment that isn’t the ideal for standup comedy. But if you’re out comedian, actor and self-described badass Sandra Valls, you rise to the occasion with assured grace and confidence.
“They’re distracted by the weather and by the people and it’s hard to pay attention,” she said about performing for outdoor festival audiences. “The key is keeping it real and keeping their attention by talking to them. It’s not just like you’re just telling jokes at them but you’re telling a story and talking to them and being a part of them. It’s a very different animal when you are doing an outdoor event but those who want to listen, listen. I do my thing. Every event and outdoor audience is different. I find that some Pride audiences really want to hear what you have to say, especially this year. This year is a protest kind of year. This year, people really want to hear positive and enlightening messages. They want to have some sort of healing and that is what comedy is. Comedy is healing and that’s what I strive for as a comedian and a performer: to give healing vibes and positive laughter to the audience. It makes everyone feel good, so who wouldn’t pay attention to that?”
Besides standup comedy, Valls channels her talent for entertaining into writing and acting, having cowritten a hit play, “The Latina Christmas Special,” with Diana Yanez and Maria Russell, which sold out its 2015 run in Los Angeles.
But for the next few months, Valls is focusing on her comedy gigs.
“Right now it’s just my gay Pride tour, my protest-comedy tour, my ‘We can hang in there and stick together’ tour,” she said.
This is a strange time in history for comedians and other performers who walk the shifting line between entertainment and socio-political messaging, and a lot of comics are facing strong backlash for the things they say and do as a result.
Valls says that phenomenon is just a result of the times in which we live.
“I don’t think it’s about us,” she said. “I just think that people feel the right to express — and they do have a right to express — their opinions about what they like and what they dislike.”
Being a native of the big ol’ red state of Texas and currently calling Los Angeles home, Valls said she hasn’t seen that large of a shift in the social attitudes of her home state after the recent election.
“I see that the nation is divided,” she said. “I see that there is tension everywhere I go. The Texas audiences have been amazing to me and the message that I give them. I think people now just really want to be empowered and enlightened. You can’t please everyone but I try the very best I can to speak to the audience that will listen. For the LGBTQI community, it’s very important to present shows in places like Texas where they need it a lot more than New York or other bigger, more liberal places. My audiences are more open to being empowered. Right now, I think people are waiting to hear someone say that we’re going to be OK. People need to be reassured that if we stick together, we’re going to be OK.”
Valls lists “badass” as one of her occupations/talents, so we asked her what that means.
“I don’t care what you think about me being a lesbian,” she said. “I’m going to say it anyway. I’m not going to change my comedy for anyone. I’m not going to change what I talk about for anyone. I’m not going to ‘gay it down,’ which I was told to do back in 2001 when I first started. I had more difficulty, yes, in the beginning because I was a lesbian. But I didn’t change my comedy. I was true to myself. I remained true to myself in spite of all the obstacles around me. I chose to remain true and out and honest. That’s a badass right there.”
Sandra Valls performs at Philly Pride June 18. For more information, visit www.welovesandra.com.