Arts & Entertainment
Going for the laughs
Lesbian comedian plays four shows this weekend at Riot Act
Lesbian comedian and actress Erin Foley plays Riot Act Comedy Theatre tonight and Saturday. (Photo by John Skalicky)
Even before 7 a.m., after dropping her girlfriend off at the train station, comedian Erin Foley can elicit a laugh.
“If I have a sentence that is not grammatically correct, if you could make it grammatically correct so I don’t sound like an idiot … if you could make me sound more literate, that would be fantastic,” Foley says, though the suggestion turned out to be unnecessary.
Foley has brought her act to the D.C. area and plays Riot Act Comedy Theatre (801 E St., N.W.) tonight (Friday) and Saturday at 8 and 10:30 p.m.
Foley got into comedy after moving to New York with every intention of going to graduate school to teach.
She did an improv show then stuck around to see the stand-up comics.
“I was in Manhattan and I did some improv at a New York comedy club and then right after the improv shows was all the stand up shows and I had never seen stand up before,” Foley says. “I tried it and it went OK … I could definitely see the potential … I started again and I just didn’t stop.”
Foley covers a little bit of everything in her act from politics to news and just ridiculous things. Nothing is safe.
“After you’ve been doing stand up for a while, you become trained,” she says. “I have a heightened sense of ridiculousness.”
Foley is constantly writing down things she thinks are funny, not always knowing it’ll work, but trying everything anyway.
Audiences are a major part of stand up, if they don’t think something is funny, the joke falls flat, she says. Traveling to different parts of the country is also part of the job and that could cause problems with some jokes.
“I’m a pretty liberal Democrat and I’m gay, so some of that material is not going to work all over our country … we have other things in common,” Foley says. “Coming to a city like D.C., its fantastic, because there’s no editing, I can talk about anything I want, it’s a like-minded crowd.”
She’d also like to travel to London and Australia at some point and spend some time performing over there.
Foley has also done some acting, including a role in “Almost Famous” and a couple short films. Acting is what made her move to Los Angeles.
“You have to be out here for a while. When you move here from Manhattan, you think, ‘Oh it’ll be great, it’ll be seamless,’” Foley says. “You kind of have to almost start over in a way … the last couple of years, there has been more and more opportunities.”
She has also done some TV pilots, commercials and was a semi-finalist on NBC’s “Last Comic Standing.”
She definitely has some favorite shows, ranging from FOX’s “New Girl” with Zooey Deschnel to HBO’s “Game of Thrones,” some of which she would definitely like to be on, but really she just wants to work.
“I’d jump into any one of those shows that’s on air,” Foley says, laughing. “I think TV in the last five years has really taken off. I mean, there’s such amazing programs.”
Opening for Foley will be John Betz, Jr. and Will Hessler. Tickets are $20 and available online at riotactcomedy.com.
“I’ve never been at Riot Act … and I’ve heard nothing but good things,” Foley says. “I’m super excited and it’s been … a couple years since I’ve been [to D.C.]”
For more information, visit erinkfoley.com or follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/erinfoleycomic.
The 13th annual Frederick Pride Festival was held at Carroll Creek Park in Frederick, Md. on Saturday, June 27.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
View on Threads
Photos
PHOTOS: Fredericksburg Pride March and Festival
LGBTQ celebration held in historic Virginia town
The sixth annual Fredericksburg Pride March was held in downtown Fredericksburg, Va. on Saturday, June 27. Stafford County Board of Supervisors Chair Deuntay Diggs led the march alongside Fredericksburg City Council Member Jannan W. Holmes. The Fredericksburg Pride Festival took place at Riverfront Park after the march. Bree Fram was the featured speaker.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
View on Threads
Iran and Egypt on Friday faced off during the World Cup’s “Pride Match” in Seattle.
Iran is among the handful of countries in which consensual same-sex sexual relations remain punishable by death. Discrimination and persecution based on sexual orientation and gender identity is commonplace in Egypt.
Friday’s match coincided with Pride weekend in Seattle. The Egyptian Football Association and the Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran both objected to playing in the “Pride Match.”
Egypt and Iran tied 1-1.
FIFA, for its part, allowed Pride flags inside the stadium during the match.
“The FIFA World Cup 2026 is an inclusive event that welcomes people from all backgrounds,” a FIFA spokesperson told the Washington Blade in a statement. “Fans of all sexual orientations and gender identities are welcome at matches and events. General statements of human rights, including rainbow flags and other flags representing sexual orientation and gender identity, are permitted under the FIFA World Cup 2026™ Stadium Code of Conduct and may be displayed inside stadiums provided they are used in a manner consistent with the code.”
Human Rights Watch welcomed FIFA’s decision to allow Pride flags inside the stadium. Outright International, a global LGBTQ and intersex rights group, distributed Pride flags in Seattle on Friday, which was Pride Match Day.
“Visibility matters,” said Outright International Executive Director Maria Sjödin. “Pride is now being celebrated in more than 100 countries, including this weekend in Seattle. For many LGBTIQ people, seeing a Pride flag in public is a reminder that they are not alone, and that their rights and dignity are recognized.”
FIFA President Gianni Infantino earlier this year told Die Weltwoche, a Swiss magazine, that “there will be no ‘Pride Match’ at the (FIFA) World Cup.”
“There will be a FIFA World Cup match in Seattle, and on the same day, events organized by external organizations will be taking place in the city,” said Infantino. “But that has nothing to do with the match itself.”
Peter Tatchell, a long-time LGBTQ activist from the U.K. who is director of the Peter Tatchell Foundation, was among those who traveled to Seattle for Friday’s match. Tatchell accused FIFA of not vetting World Cup teams — specifically Iran, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Ghana, Senegal, Qatar, Tunisia, Morocco, Iraq, Uzbekistan, and Algeria — over whether they would allow gay players.
“FIFA is protecting LGBT+ visibility in the stands while failing to protect LGBT+ players on the pitch,” said Tatchell.
Actually, I’m gay and I’m queer. It matters
Centenares de personas participan en la Marcha del Orgullo en la capital salvadoreña
Delaware approves amendment protecting same-sex marriage
ACLU says trans athletes ruling is narrower than many believe
Gay US couple among four people found dead in Mexico mass grave
Iran, Egypt play in World Cup ‘Pride Match’
PHOTOS: Frederick Pride Parade
D.C. has a chance to lead on equitable transit through AVs
Carla Hall goes from ‘Top Chef’ to the stage
