Hollywood Independent | West Hollywood Independent | Westsider
The Los Angeles Independent | 4201 Wilshire Blvd. Suite 600 | Los Angeles | CA | 90010 | Phone: 323-556-5720 | Fax 323-556-5704

Cover Story: Sex and the Tomboys

Tomboys in Fishnets

Bold, brash and born to be sassy on stage, the Hollywood troupe redefines sexuality

By ROSANNA MAH, The Independent Staff Writer 08.SEP.04
Try telling Edie Magoun that a woman cannot make it in a man's world and she will prove you wrong.

"I have worked so hard to to get women ahead in comedy," said Magoun, who runs an all-female comedy troupe in Hollywood called Tomboys in Fishnets.

"I just want to prove that women are just as dynamic as most comedy groups that contain mostly men."

Four years ago, Tomboys in Fishnets was a fledgling group aiming to make a name for itself.

It has since taken flight to several sold-out performances and a fourth production called "Voyage d'Amour," which is possibly the only show in town with a naked male Cupid stalking the stage, armed only with a bow and arrow.

This Cupid serves as a break between plots which elicits peals of raucous laughter from the audience cramped in the 80-seat Zephyr Theater in Hollywood.

"Men will say "What is the point of that? It's not funny,'" said Magoun.

Women, however, long tired of being subjected to gratuitous images of naked women in movies, often disagree.

"Some women tell me 'I love that guy" said Magoun, who wrote and directed the one-hour comedy program. When it comes to drafting comedic sketches, Magoun says there are no political, social or spiritual agendas.

"Honest to God, I am not trying to send any message," said Magoun. "I am just trying to make people laugh."

One of her favorite topics is women, especially the myth of the desperate single woman determined to find an eligible husband.

"I am poking at the myth that women, all they want is a man."

Everything else, she says, is up for grabs: Cheating senators, the fight against gay marriage, desperate women, insensitive husbands, even love. The 18-hour work day begins for her early in the morning up till late into the night, constantly rewriting and rehearsing.

But the pressure for this workaholic is sometimes too much to bear alone.

"I sit and cry the week of the previews, why am I doing myself, why am I killing myself, why am I driving myself?" she said.

"But I am driven to do it," she quickly answers, "and when the audience say they are coming back and bringing their friends, then I know this is why I am doing this."

Fresh from their trip to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, a five-week annual international festival where dozens of theater, music and comedy troupes descend on Scotland, Magoun said her show was a success.

"They laugh for an hour and they come out and their mood and spirit is lifted and I think that is a gift. I used to think to myself 'Gosh, I am not really doing anything important in the world, but I think I am.'"

Whatever Magoun tries her hand at, she only hopes to make people laugh and let others know women are talented actors, not token minorities in the comedy world.

One unforgettable experience took place a few years ago when she told a group of male comedians that she was starting an all-female comedic troupe.

They laughed, mocked, patronized and told her not to do it. Why? Because they believe that women are not funny, according to Magoun.

"Men can dress up as women and be funny but women can't dress up as men and be funny," she recalls one male comedian as saying.

In the male-dominated world of comedy, Magoun was, without question, doomed to failure.
With her drink in hand while listening to a litany of sexist reasoning, Magoun took it all in stride.
In the end, she might well have the last laugh.

Performances of Voyage d'Amour takes place from Sept. 9-11 at 8:30 p.m. at the Zephyr Theatre in Hollywood, located in 7456 Melrose Ave. For information, call (888) 208-9868 or visit their Web site at TomboysinFishnets.com.